| The Thrill of It All | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 3 November 2017 | |||
| Studio | RAK (London) [1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 35:38 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Sam Smith chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Thrill of It All | ||||
| ||||
The Thrill of It All is the second studio album by English singer and songwriter Sam Smith. [7] It was released on 3 November 2017 through Capitol Records. [8]
On 6 October 2017, Smith announced via Twitter that their second album, titled "The Thrill of It All", was to be released on 3 November 2017. [9] It is Smith's second full album of material after their hugely successful debut album In the Lonely Hour (2014), which has sold 12 million copies worldwide.
Speaking to Billboard about the album, Smith said:
"I went through, like, this vortex, came out, I feel like I've rebuilt myself as a stronger thing and I'm just gonna go into the vortex again," they say in a preview that features a montage of studio sessions. "I wasn't trying to make a big pop record when I made this album. I was actually just trying to make something personal and like a diary." [10]
"Too Good at Goodbyes" was released as the album's lead single on 8 September 2017. It topped the UK Singles Chart and peaked No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100. [7]
"One Last Song" was sent to radio in the United Kingdom on 3 November 2017, on the day of album release as its second single. [11] [12]
On 27 March 2018, Smith announced that "Pray" would serve as the third single, and would feature newly recorded guest vocals from American rapper Logic. The song was released on 29 March 2018. [13]
"Baby, You Make Me Crazy" was released as the fourth single from the album on 29 June 2018. [6]
On 6 October 2017, Smith released "Pray", a gospel-tinged ballad in collaboration with Timbaland, prompted by time spent in Iraq with the charity War Child as a promotional single from the album. [7] [14] Another promotional single, "Burning", was released on 27 October 2017. [15]
Within releasing "Pray" as the promotional single on 6 October 2017, The Thrill of It All Tour was announced firstly revealing shows in Europe and North America. It began on 20 March 2018 in Sheffield, England, and concluded on 18 April 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. In December 2018, Billboard concluded that after 94 shows, Smith grossed $86.1 million and sold 1.07 million tickets on The Thrill of It All Tour. [16] It pushed their career total gross to $102.7 million from 1.4 million tickets sold. [16]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 5.9/10 [17] |
| Metacritic | 72/100 [18] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [19] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [20] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B [21] |
| The Guardian | [2] |
| The Independent | [22] |
| NME | [23] |
| The Observer | [24] |
| Pitchfork | 5.8/10 [25] |
| Rolling Stone | [26] |
| Slant Magazine | [27] |
The Thrill of It All received generally positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 72 based on 16 reviews. [18]
Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph gave the album four stars, and was highly positive about it and Smith's vocals, calling them "supernatural" and saying: "The Thrill of It All doesn't just wallow in love's misery, it practically drowns in the stuff. There's not much poetry in lines such as 'real love is never a waste of time' or 'there's no insurance to pay for the damage'. Yet it all hits home, because Smith makes every note sound like a matter of life and death. 'Him' is the album's centrepiece, a gospel drama addressed to a judgmental 'father', insisting on Smith's right to love whom he[ sic ] chooses. It is a kind of hymn to Him, and as the choir powers up it gains a righteous glory." [20] Andy Gill from The Independent also gave a four-star review, and shared in the positivity about the album, remarking: "Smith's voice remains a thing of wonder throughout". [22]
Will Hermes for Rolling Stone also gave a positive four-star review, and said: "Doubling down on his magnificent, gender-nonconforming voice while pushing his songcraft forward, Smith's second LP knights one of the mightiest, most expressive vocalists of his generation." [26] In another positive review Nick Levine from NME compared Smith to Adele in his review of the album, stating: "Both have become enormously successful by singing emotional ballads that connect with huge numbers of people, and both are understandably reluctant to raise the tempo as a result. But like Adele's 25 , this is an undeniably accomplished album that will, deservedly, shift a helluva lot of copies. [23] AllMusic's Andy Kellman was positive too in his three and a half-star review, and opined: "this album maintains a consistency and intensity that places it slightly above the debut." [19]
Some reviews were more negative. Though making it his album of the week and giving it three stars, Alexis Petridis from The Guardian was more mixed in his review, writing: "There's a certain power to "The Thrill of It All" but it could have been a much more potent album if they'd laid off the polish just a little." [2] Kitty Empire from The Observer was less enthusiastic in a more negative two-star review, claiming Smith was "moping by numbers" like Adele, and surmised: "There is little drama here, just plenty of shorthand (sad pianos), a total absence of risk". [24]
| Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rolling Stone | 50 Best Albums of 2017 | 10 | |
| Melty | Best Pop Albums of the Year | 10 |
The Thrill of It All topped the UK Albums Chart in its first week of release with 97,328 combined units (consisting of 83,637 sales and 13,691 sales-equivalent streams), giving Smith their second number-one album in the nation after In the Lonely Hour (2014). It also had the fifth-largest opening there at the time for a 2017 album. [30] [31] The record fell to number two the next week with a combined total of 52,781 units. [32] [33] before returning to the top spot three weeks later [34] and being displaced by Ed Sheeran's ÷ the following week. [35] In Australia, the album opened at number two on the ARIA Albums Chart, becoming the singer's second album to enter at that position after In the Lonely Hour. [36] It additionally debuted at number one on the Irish [37] and Scottish charts. [38]
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 237,000 album-equivalent units, including 185,000 pure sales, giving Smith their first chart-topper and highest opening sales in the United States. It also had the country's seventh-largest album opening of the year at the time. [39] The Thrill of It All dropped to number two the following week, earning 66,000 album-equivalent units. [40] It also became their first number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, debuting with 16,000 units, including 9,500 copies.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Too Good at Goodbyes" | 3:21 | ||
| 2. | "Say It First" |
|
| 4:07 |
| 3. | "One Last Song" |
|
| 3:12 |
| 4. | "Midnight Train" |
|
| 3:27 |
| 5. | "Burning" |
| 3:23 | |
| 6. | "Him" |
|
| 3:10 |
| 7. | "Baby, You Make Me Crazy" |
|
| 3:27 |
| 8. | "No Peace" (featuring Yebba) |
|
| 4:43 |
| 9. | "Palace" |
|
| 3:07 |
| 10. | "Pray" |
|
| 3:41 |
| Total length: | 35:38 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Nothing Left for You" |
|
| 3:46 |
| 12. | "The Thrill of It All" |
|
| 3:28 |
| 13. | "Scars" |
|
| 3:03 |
| 14. | "One Day at a Time" |
|
| 3:29 |
| Total length: | 49:24 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Leader of the Pack" |
| 2:38 |
| 16. | "Blind Eye" |
| 1:48 |
| Total length: | 53:50 | ||
Notes
Credits adapted from album's liner notes. [43]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) [101] | Platinum | 70,000‡ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria) [102] | Gold | 7,500‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada) [103] | Platinum | 80,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [104] | 2× Platinum | 40,000‡ |
| France (SNEP) [105] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI) [106] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| Mexico (AMPROFON) [107] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| Netherlands (NVPI) [108] | Platinum | 40,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) [109] | 2× Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| Norway (IFPI Norway) [110] | 2× Platinum | 40,000* |
| Poland (ZPAV) [111] | Platinum | 20,000‡ |
| Singapore (RIAS) [112] | Platinum | 10,000* |
| Sweden (GLF) [113] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) [114] | 2× Platinum | 780,259 [115] |
| United States (RIAA) [116] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | 3 November 2017 | Capitol | [117] |
Wildflowers is the second solo studio album by American musician Tom Petty, released on November 1, 1994. The album was the first released by Petty after signing a contract with Warner Bros. Records and the first of three albums produced by Rick Rubin. The album was certified 3× platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Peachtree Road is the twenty-seventh studio album by English musician Elton John, released on 9 November 2004. The album was named after Peachtree Road, the northern part of Peachtree Street in Atlanta, where one of John's four homes is located. This is the only album during his long career on which John has sole credit as producer, although on some previous projects he was listed as a co-producer, with Clive Franks, or Greg Penny. It was recorded in January 2004.
Never Gone is the fifth studio album released by American vocal group Backstreet Boys as the follow-up to their fourth studio album Black & Blue (2000), after a short hiatus. Never Gone was originally due for release in 2004, but the release date for the album was pushed to June 14, 2005, for unknown reasons.
The Id is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Macy Gray. It was released on September 17, 2001, by Epic Records. The album was not as commercially successful as its predecessor, On How Life Is, in the United States, where it debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 with 93,000 copies sold in its first week. As of January 2004, it had sold 593,000 copies in the US. Elsewhere, The Id topped the charts in the United Kingdom and Denmark, while reaching the top five in Australia, Italy, and Switzerland.
Once Again is the second studio album by American singer John Legend, released by GOOD Music, Sony Urban Music and Columbia Records on October 24, 2006. Legend co-wrote and co-produced the bulk of the album, working with collaborators such as Kanye West, will.i.am, Raphael Saadiq, Craig Street, Sa-Ra, Eric Hudson, Devo Springsteen, Dave Tozer and Avenue.
Call Me Irresponsible is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer Michael Bublé. Released on May 1, 2007 via 143 and Reprise Records, it was produced by David Foster, Humberto Gatica, and Bob Rock. The album features renditions of classic traditional pop songs, including the title track "Call Me Irresponsible", "'Always on My Mind", and "Comin' Home Baby" featuring Boyz II Men. Two original tracks were written for the album, "Everything" and "Lost", both of which were co-written by Bublé.
Flicker is the debut studio album by Irish singer Niall Horan. It was released on 20 October 2017 by Capitol Records. "This Town" was released on 29 September 2016 as the album's lead single, followed by "Slow Hands", "Too Much to Ask", "On the Loose", and "Seeing Blind".
In the Lonely Hour is the debut studio album by English singer and songwriter Sam Smith. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2014 via Capitol UK and Method Records. In the United States, it was released on 17 June 2014 through Capitol Records America. The album includes the hit singles "Money on My Mind" and "Stay with Me", both of which were number one in the UK; the latter becoming a hit worldwide, peaking in the top ten in over 20 countries, including reaching number two in the US. The album's third hit single, "I'm Not the Only One", reached number three in the UK and number five in the US. A deluxe edition of the album contains five bonus tracks, including a solo acoustic version of Disclosure's single "Latch" and Naughty Boy's number-one single "La La La", on both of which Smith provided guest vocals.
Starboy is the third studio album by Canadian singer the Weeknd, released on November 25, 2016, through XO and Republic Records. It features guest appearances from Daft Punk, Lana Del Rey, Kendrick Lamar, and Future. As the album's executive producers, the Weeknd and Doc McKinney enlisted a variety of producers such as Diplo, Cashmere Cat, Metro Boomin, Frank Dukes, and Labrinth, among others.
Gunslinger is the tenth studio album by American country music artist Garth Brooks, released on November 25, 2016 by Pearl Records. The album's lead single, "Baby, Let's Lay Down and Dance", was released on October 13, 2016.
Heartworms is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Shins, released by Columbia Records on March 10, 2017—the band's first studio album in five years. It was produced by James Mercer, with the exception of "So Now What", which was produced by former band member Richard Swift. The album art is based on the Japanese Ukiyo-e triptych Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre.
Mania is the seventh studio album by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on January 19, 2018, on Island Records and DCD2 as the follow-up to their sixth studio album, American Beauty/American Psycho (2015). The album was produced by Jonny Coffer, D. Sardy, Jesse Shatkin, and longtime collaborator Butch Walker, as well as self-production from the band. The album was preceded by five singles; "Young and Menace", "Champion", "The Last of the Real Ones", "Hold Me Tight or Don't", and "Wilson ".
Roll with the Punches is the 37th studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released on 22 September 2017 by Caroline Records. It features Jeff Beck on guitar, and charted in the Top 10 in five countries, and the Top 40 in a further six, including the US.
The Time Is Now is the seventh studio album by British singer Craig David, released on 26 January 2018. The album features guest appearances from JP Cooper, Bastille, AJ Tracey, Ella Mai, Kaytranada and GoldLink. The first single from the album, titled "Heartline", was released on 14 September 2017, through David's official YouTube account.
Red Pill Blues is the sixth studio album by American band Maroon 5. It was released on November 3, 2017, through 222 and Interscope Records. This is the band's first release to feature multi-instrumentalist Sam Farrar, as an official member after he became a touring member in 2012, and also the last album to feature bassist Mickey Madden as a member, before his departure from the band in 2020, which means this is their only album featuring a 7-piece band to date. The title of the album refers to the science fiction term of taking the red pill or the blue pill, which originated from the 1999 sci-fi film The Matrix. The album is the follow-up to their fifth studio album V and features guest appearances from Kendrick Lamar, Julia Michaels, SZA, ASAP Rocky, LunchMoney Lewis and Future.
What Is Love? is the second studio album by British electronic music group Clean Bandit. It was released on 30 November 2018 by Atlantic Records. It includes the singles "Tears", "Rockabye", "Symphony", "I Miss You", "Solo", "Baby" and "Mama". In addition, the album also features collaborations with Rita Ora, Charli XCX, Bhad Bhabie and Tove Styrke. It is the band's first album as a trio, following the departure of multi-instrumentalist Neil Amin-Smith in 2016.
Tim is the third and final studio album by Swedish DJ and producer Avicii, released on 6 June 2019, following his death on 20 April 2018. It is his sole posthumous album release. It includes the single "SOS", which was released on 10 April 2019. All profits from sales of the album go towards the Tim Bergling Foundation, set up following Avicii's suicide, for mental health awareness.
Love Goes is the third studio album by English singer and songwriter Sam Smith. It was released on 30 October 2020 through Capitol Records. The album serves as a follow-up to Smith's second studio album The Thrill of It All (2017). The album was originally planned to be titled To Die For and was due for release on 1 May 2020 but was delayed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith also felt it was insensitive to use the word "die" due to what many people were going through. The album won a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Music Artist category in April 2021.
Jordi is the seventh studio album by American band Maroon 5. It was released on June 11, 2021, through 222, Interscope and Polydor Records. The album features guest appearances from Megan Thee Stallion, Blackbear, Stevie Nicks, Bantu, H.E.R., YG, and late rappers Juice Wrld and Nipsey Hussle. The deluxe edition of the album features additional guest appearances from Anuel AA, Tainy, and Jason Derulo. It is the band's first album in four years since Red Pill Blues (2017), and also their first album without the longtime bassist Mickey Madden following his arrest in 2020, due to domestic violence.
Gloria is the fourth studio album by English singer and songwriter Sam Smith, released on 27 January 2023 through Capitol Records. The album serves as a follow-up to Love Goes (2020). Smith took creative control on the album, resulting in gaining an increasingly provocative image in the public eye. Musically, Gloria is a pop album, with lyrical themes of sex, lies, passion, self-expression, and imperfection.
