''Amidst the Chaos'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, released on April 5, 2019, through Epic Records. The lead single from the album, "Armor", was released digitally on October 26, 2018. The album debuted at number six on the US ''Billboard'' 200 selling 35,000 copies in its first week (29,000 of which were traditional album sales), making it Bareilles' sixth top 10 album. "Saint Honesty" earned Bareilles a
Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance
The Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance is an award category at the annual Grammy Awards. It was first presented in 2015.
The award was first approved by the board of trustees of the Grammy Awards in June 2014. According to NARAS, th ...
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'', Bareilles stated that the
2016 American Presidential Election
The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
was the catalyst for her beginning to write the album, with the title being a reference to the presidency of
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
. The song "No Such Thing" was written as an ode to president
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
, while "Armor" was written in response to the #MeToo Movement and released early in light of the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice
Brett Kavanaugh
Brett Michael Kavanaugh ( ; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since ...
. The duet with
John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...
The lead single, "Armor", was released on October 28, 2018, with Bareilles performing the song on ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second ...
'' on November 28, backed by an all-female band. She announced the album on February 13, and said it would become available to pre-order on February 15. She also posted the cover art, a black-and-white shot of herself with "windblown hair".
Prior to the album's release, Bareilles embarked upon the four-date A Little Chaos Tour, stopping in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
between March 17 and 22, 2019. Bareilles performed several unreleased songs from the album, as well as its promotional singles. On April 6, 2019, Bareilles appeared as a musical guest on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'' and performed "Fire" and "Saint Honesty".
Reception
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Musicians
* Sara Bareilles – vocals; piano on tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12; programming on tracks 1, 2, 3, 9; electric guitar on track 5
*
John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...
– vocals on track 12
* Emily King – vocal harmonies on track 4
*
Jim Keltner
James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...
– drums on tracks 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12; percussion on tracks 5, 9
*
Jay Bellerose
Jay Bellerose is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session and live performance work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists.
Biography
Bellerose was born in Maine. A jazz enthusiast, he attended ...
– drums on tracks 2, 3, 8, 9, 11, 12; percussion on track 12
*
Mike Piersante
Mike Piersante is a recording engineer and mixer.
2009 Grammy Awards
Mike Piersante won two Grammy Awards in 2009 for his work as Engineer/Mixer. The first Grammy was for "Please Read the Letter" a duet track by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. ...
– percussion on tracks 1, 4, 7, 11
*
Dennis Crouch
Dennis David Crouch (born April 30, 1975 in Columbia, South Carolina) is an American patent attorney who worked for McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP (MBHB) in Chicago, Illinois, until 2007.Dennis Crouch''Thank you MBHB, Hello Missouri! ...
– acoustic bass on all tracks; electric bass on track 8
*
Zachary Dawes
Zachary Edwin Dawes (born July 2, 1985) is an American musician, producer, engineer, and technician, best known as the bassist for the bands Mini Mansions and The Last Shadow Puppets. He has also made contributions to music by Brian Wilson, La ...
– electric bass on track 5; 6-string bass on track 7
*
Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot (;
born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer.
His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Wai ...
– guitar on tracks 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12; ukulele on track 10
*
Blake Mills
Blake Mills (born September 21, 1986) is an American songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer based in California.
Biography
Blake Mills was born in Santa Monica, California, United States, and grew up in Malibu, where he attended Malibu ...
– guitar on tracks 1, 2, 8, 11; mandolin on track 1, 6-string bass on track 2
* Joseph Ryan – guitar on track 10; vocal harmonies on track 10
*
T Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in fil ...
– guitar on track 8
*
Patrick Warren
Patrick Warren (born March 26, 1957) is an American musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Magnolia'', ''Fifty Shades of Grey'', '' Boogie Nights'' and ''Red State'', as well as the television series ' ...
– keyboards on all tracks except 1, 10, 11
*
Keefus Ciancia
Keith Ciancia, better known as Keefus Green or Keefus Ciancia is an American musician, composer and music producer. He has won an Ivor Novello Award and been nominated for an Emmy. Along with his long time creative collaborator, T Bone Burnett, ...
– keyboards on tracks 3, 9
* Philip Krohnengold (misspelled "Khronengold" in booklet) – piano on track 4
* Gabriel Johnson – trumpet on track 3
Production
* Produced by T Bone Burnett
* Executive Producer: Pete Giberga
* 2nd Engineers: Billy Centenaro, Karl Wingate, Joseph Lorge
* Edited by Jason Wormer
* Recorded at The Village,
West Los Angeles
West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by di ...
Sound City Studios
Sound City Studios is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, known as one of the most successful in popular music. The complex opened in 1969 in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles. The facility had previously been a production facto ...
, Van Nuys, CA
* Mixed at The Village, West Los Angeles, CA
* String Arrangements by Patrick Warren
* Copying by Danita Ng-Poss; Jason Poss
* Equipment Manager & Production: Zach Dawes
* Guitar Technicians: Patrick Benson, Joseph Lorge
* Piano Technician: Carl Lieberman, RPT
* Mastered by
Gavin Lurssen
Gavin Lurssen is an American mastering engineer. He owns Lurssen Mastering in Hollywood, California.Burbank, CA
* Production Coordinator & Contractor: Ivy Skoff