Storyteller is the fifth studio album recorded by American singer and songwriter Carrie Underwood. It was released on October 23, 2015, via Sony Music Nashville. Following the release and success of her fourth studio album, Blown Away (2012), Underwood began working on Storyteller in early 2014. However, she tentatively suspended most work on the album because of her pregnancy with her first child. In the midterm, Underwood released her first greatest hits record, Greatest Hits: Decade #1, on December 9, 2014, to much success. After the birth of her son, she took some additional time off before going back into the studio in early 2015 to finish working on the album.
Met with mostly positive reviews from music critics, Storyteller became a commercial success and set multiple records upon its release. By debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, it made Underwood the only country artist in history to have all of her first five studio albums debut at number one or two, and with a number one debut on the Top Country Albums chart, it made her the only artist to score six consecutive number one albums on the chart. Storyteller also performed well internationally upon its release, including a number four debut in Australia, number three in Canada and thirteen in the United Kingdom. As of October 2016, the album has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. It marks Underwood's sixth consecutive album to go either Platinum or multi-Platinum.
The album produced five singles, "Smoke Break", "Heartbeat", "Chaser", "Church Bells" and "Dirty Laundry". "Heartbeat" and "Church Bells" reached number one consecutively on Billboard's Country Airplay chart, while "Smoke Break" peaked at number two. In addition, "Smoke Break", "Heartbeat" and "Dirty Laundry" topped the BillboardCanada Country chart, and those three songs, along with "Church Bells", received Platinum or multi-Platinum certifications.
Background and recording
After the release and success of her fourth studio album, Blown Away (2012), and its international supporting tour, Blown Away Tour (2012–2013), Underwood confirmed in August 2013 that she had begun planning on a new album and would start working on it in 2014.[1] However, she released her first greatest hits album in late 2014 to much success, while pregnant with her first child.[2] After giving birth, in February 2015, Underwood went back into the studio to finish working on the album.[3]
The cover artwork for Storyteller depicts Underwood in what Angela Stefano from The Boot described as a "dreamy" setting, seated on a pale floor against a similarly light-toned background, with a noticeable "haze" softening the image. She wears red, bejeweled cowboy boots and a flowing ivory shirt with red embroidery, while her hair is styled in a "slightly messy" manner and her makeup remains "simple".[6] Commenting on the album's visual direction, Underwood noted that "each album so far has had its own look, its own feel, its own sound", adding that Storyteller was "definitely no exception".[7]
Theme and inspiration
In discussing the thematic direction of the album, Underwood indicated that it would introduce "some new ideas" without constituting a dramatic stylistic break, emphasizing continuity alongside development. She noted that while certain elements would remain "familiar", there had also been "a lot of growth", describing the overall result as sounding "a little bit different" but still recognizably her, as she framed it as "a little bit of a shift" rather than a radical change.[6] Expanding on this, Underwood explained that she wanted each song to have "its own space", to "look different, sound different, feel different", and characterized the album's tone as carrying a "rock twang".[8][9] She further remarked that many of the songs she gravitated toward were more "traditional" and "twangy" than much of her earlier work and reflected her attachment to the "storytelling aspect of country music".[6]
A 24-second sample of "Smoke Break". Described as an anthem for "every hard-working person", the song turns the idea of stepping away from stress into its central theme.[10]
Personal experience also informed the album's themes. Underwood acknowledged that motherhood influenced some of the material, though she stressed that she did not want to "force anything" or make the subject feel "cheesy".[6] Instead, she described the inspiration as something that "just kind of happened",[11] adding that it is "impossible to not let your life affect things", and that the presence of her son brought a sense of "life magic" into the creative process.[6]
On January 27, 2016, it was revealed that Underwood nominated for Best Country Solo Performance and Sam Hunt for Best Country Album and the all-genre Best New Artist would perform at the 2016 Grammy Awards together.[20] They performed Hunt's "Take Your Time" (2014), beginning with a verse and chorus of the song before seamlessly transitioning into Underwood's "Heartbeat", and then returning to the chorus of "Take Your Time".[21] On April 3, Underwood performed the song "Church Bell" at the 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards.[22] She also performed the song at CMT Awards on June 8.[23] On May 19, Sunday Night Football tweeted that Underwood would return at the fourth season of Sunday Night Football, singing "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night".[24]
In October 2017, Underwood announced the release of a live concert film documenting her 2016 Storyteller Tour. Titled Carrie Underwood: The Storyteller Tour — Stories in the Round, Live from Madison Square Garden, the film was scheduled for release in mid-November and was recorded during her October 2016 stop at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The concert film features 22 songs from Underwood's catalog, including 17 chart-topping singles, and highlights the tour's 360-degree stage design and large-scale production.[25]
Singles
"Smoke Break", the lead single off Storyteller, was first teased via her Facebook chat on August 20, 2015,[26] and was released a day later.[27] Produced by Jay Joyce, it was written by Underwood along with DeStefano and Lindsey.[10] The song set an all-time record for the largest first-week radio adds in the history of Country Aircheck, with 145 Mediabase adds, 159 total Billboard, and Country Aircheck reporting stations lined up for the song's official airplay impact date.[28][29] It debuted number 36 on the Hot Country Songs chart,[30][31] eventually peaking at number 4.[32] The song also debuted number 24 and reached number 2 on the Country Airplay chart,[31][33] as well as reached atop on the Country Digital Songs chart.[34] Underwood teased its music video through her social media on August 23, a day before its official release.[35] The second single, "Heartbeat", debuted at the 2015 American Music Awards on November 22.[36][37][38][39] Co-written and produced by Zach Crowell,[40] it was first released as a promotional single from the album on October 9,[41] making its official impact at country radio on November 30.[42] Country artist Sam Hunt featured background vocals of the song,[43][44] and the music video of the song was released on December 1.[45][46] It sold 23,000 copies,[47] debuting at number 26 on Hot Country Songs chart for the week ending October 31 and reaching number two on the chart.[48][32] As of October 26, the song has sold 31,000 copies,[49] peaking number one on the Country Airplay Chart.[33]
"Chaser" was released exclusively to UK radio stations on April 1, 2016, as the third single of the album.[50] "Church Bells" is the fourth single from the album in the US, being released to country radio on April 11.[51] It has reached number two on the Hot Country Songs chart and number one on the Country Airplay chart.[32][52] The song was nominated for Best Country Solo Performance at the 59th Grammy Awards.[53] On August 11, Underwood confirmed that "Dirty Laundry" would be sent to country radio.[54] The song was first released on August 12 as the promotional single,[55] and later sent to country radio on September 6.[56] The song was produced by Jay Joyce and written by Crowell, Ashley Gorley and Hillary Lindsey.[57] Directed by Shane C. Drake,[58] the music video for the song premiered at Entertainment Tonight on October 12.[57] It is presented in stark black-and-white and juxtaposes human performances with imagery of wild animals to symbolically explore themes of infidelity and instinctual behavior.[58] On November 2, she performed "Dirty Laundry" at the 50th CMA Awards.[59][60][61] Commercially, it peaked at number two on Country Airplay chart and number three on Hot Country Songs chart.[33][32]
Promotional singles
"Renegade Runaway" was released as a promotional single on October 16, 2015.[62][63][64] Co-written by Underwood, Chris DeStefano and Hillary Lindsey,[65] it peaked at number 34 on the Hot Country Songs chart.[32] "What I Never Knew I Always Wanted", which features Underwood singing about Mike Fisher,[66] was released on October 19 as the next promotional single.[67][68] It peaked number 32 on the Hot Country Songs chart.[32]
Tour
Underwood performing at the Wells Fargo Center during the Storyteller Tour
Underwood began the Storyteller Tour: Stories in the Round on January 30, 2016, in Jacksonville, Florida to support the album.[69] She first teased the tour on October 27, 2015.[70][71] The first leg of the tour was completed by May 31, 2016, concluding in London, Ontario. As with her previous tours, Underwood scheduled the run during her husband Mike Fisher's NHL season, a pattern that had often been followed by taking time off during the summer.[72]
In April 2016, additional dates were announced for a fall leg of the tour, which resumed on September 4 in Spokane, Washington, with Easton Corbin, the Swon Brothers and Keith Urban serving as opening acts.[73][74] The fall schedule included major arena stops such as Los Angeles' Staples Center, Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, and New York City's Madison Square Garden.[73] The tour ultimately concluded on November 28, with a final performance in Salt Lake City, Utah.[75]
Reception
Over the course of the run, Underwood and her band performed 92 shows, drawing a total audience of approximately one million attendees, with sold-out dates at major venues including Madison Square Garden in New York City, Staples Center in Los Angeles, Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, and Air Canada Centre in Toronto.[75] In Billboard Hot Tours recap published in November, the tour was reported to have grossed $54.6 million since its launch in January, with overall attendance exceeding 800,000, based on data from its fall North American leg and with only a small number of performances remaining before its conclusion.[76]
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Storyteller received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 from 9 critic scores.[77]
Several critics focused on the album's command, narrative strength, and refinement of Underwood's established persona. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the record "demands attention and it deserves it, too",[78] while The Boston Globe's Sarah Rodman called it Underwood's best album yet.[87]Billboard's Jewly Hight emphasized Underwood's authority, arguing that she "commands the spotlight" rather than merely coexisting with contemporary production trends, and observed that the album reconciles the familiar poles of her image—the "Midwestern girl-next-door" and the "imperious diva"—within what she described as "freshened-up aesthetic frames".[79]Robert Christgau, writing for Vice, also highlighted the songwriting, suggesting that the album contains more "good tales" than Underwood's greatest hits album, while noting that although she "still oversings sometimes", she ultimately allows the songs to "narrate for themselves".[86]
Other reviewers were more critical, particularly of the songwriting's cohesion and the album's reliance on bombast. Jon Caramanica of New York Times questioned the record's expressive sharpness, finding much of the material lacking "bite or pulp" and arguing that the songs function primarily as launch pads for Underwood's "ballistic-missile voice" rather than forming a coherent artistic identity.[88] A similar sense of distance was identified by Stuart Henderson of Exclaim!, who described the album as "more than halfway boring" and contending that its heavy use of "booming bass", "pounding drums", "huge vocals", and "wailing guitars" ultimately dulled its impact, leaving the listener emotionally "anaesthetize[d]".[81]
In the United States, Storyteller debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 177,000 album-equivalent units including 164,000 pure sales with the remainder of its unit total which reflects the album's streaming and track equivalent album units.[97] It made Underwood the only country artist to have his or her first five studio albums debut at number one or number two on the Billboard 200 chart.[98] In addition, the album debuted at number one on the Top Country Albums chart, earning Underwood another record as the only artist to score six consecutive number one albums on that chart.[98] It held the number two position on the Billboard 200 in its second week, moving another 81,000 units including over 73,000 album copies sold.[99] On the chart dated December 19, it rose back to number one on the Top Country Albums for a second week.[100] It was certified Gold by the RIAA on December 4, 2015, for shipments of over 500,000 copies in the US.[101] In October 2016, the album was certified Platinum, one year after its release, becoming the sixth album by Underwood to receive a Platinum certification.[102] As of April 2017, the album has sold 752,100 copies in the US.[101][103]
Outside of the United States, the album debuted at number three in Canada,[104] number four in Australia,[105] number six in Scotland,[106] and number thirteen on the UK Albums Chart, marking her second top twenty album in the country.[107]
Other charted songs
Following the release of Storyteller, four of its songs except five overall singles also charted on the Hot Country Songs, "The Girl You Think I Am" at number 38 and "Like I'll Never Love You Again" at number 39.[32] Additionally, "Relapse" peaked at number 48 with 4,000 copies and "Choctaw County Affair" at number 68 with 3,000 copies.[32][108]
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