''8 Letters'' is the debut full-length

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American boy band

Why Don't We Why Don't We, shortened to WDW, are an American boy band consisting of Jonah Marais, Corbyn Besson, Daniel Seavey, Jack Avery, and Zach Herron. They were formed in 2016 and have released two studio albums and six extended plays. History 2016–2 ...

. The album was released on August 31, 2018, by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

in the United States and by

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

elsewhere. The album was supported by three singles: " Hooked", "

Talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

" and the title-track "

8 Letters ''8 Letters'' is the debut full-length studio album by American boy band Why Don't We. The album was released on August 31, 2018, by Atlantic Records in the United States and by Warner Music Group elsewhere. The album was supported by three sin ...

Critical reception

Chris DeVille of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' described the songs as "sometimes painfully adolescent in terms of subject matter", but praised the album's variety, songwriting, and production "that keeps them from feeling like a relic". Elias Leight of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' gave the album a negative review, scoring it 1.5 out of 5 stars, criticizing the short length while stating the band "throws out eight new songs with little to show for it."

Singles

" Hooked" was released as the lead single from the album on June 7, 2018. The song peaked at number twenty-two on the US

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart. "

" was released as the second single from the album on July 6, 2018. The song peaked at number eighteen on the US

chart. "

" was released as the third single from the album on August 19, 2018. The song peaked at number fourteen on the US

chart.

Chart performance

''8 Letters'' was released on August 31, 2018, in the United States and debuted at number nine on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with first-week sales of 44,000 album equivalent units of which 37,000 were pure album sales, dated September 15, 2018. The album entered the

Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocea ...

at number fifteen. The album debuted at number ten in Australia. On September 7, 2018, the album entered the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

at number twenty-five, before dropping out the chart the following week.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2018 debut albums Atlantic Records albums Warner Music Group albums Albums produced by Cutfather Albums produced by Steve Mac Why Don't We albums