''Louder'' is the debut studio album by American

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band R5, which was released on September 24, 2013 by

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records l ...

. ''Louder'' was also released as a deluxe edition, with four extra tracks only available for digital download. As of October 2014, ''Louder'' has sold 150,000 physical copies in the US.

Background and composition

"We wanted to put out a fun album," says

Rydel Lynch Rydel Mary Lynch (born August 9, 1993) is an American singer and actress. She is one of the founding members of the pop rock band R5. Early life Lynch was born August 9, 1993, in Littleton, Colorado, the daughter of Stormie and Mark Lynch. ...

and Ratliff said "We wanted to make an upbeat and inspirational album you want to play 24/7." ''Louder'' is mainly a pop and

record. The album discusses themes such as love, youth and freedom.

Release

A deluxe version was exclusively sold at

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

including the song "Wishing I Was 23" produced by Rocky Lynch, a ZinePak exclusively sold at

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

included stickers and the bonus track as well. A deluxe edition of the album was released in Japan in November, which includes another bonus track, "Crazy Stupid Love".

Chart performance

The album debuted on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 24 selling 15,000 copies in first week.

Reception

''Louder'' received mixed reviews from critics.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Tim Sendra praised ''Louder'' as a "strong, uncluttered and fun modern pop confection." Also, he praised Rydel, who has a vocal feature in "Love Me Like That". Musichel called ''Louder'' R5's impressive "grand entrance into the world of pop music", also adding that "R5's future is set for the sky and beyond." Xinhua of Spin or Bin says the album's "lacks of charisma" but praised Ross', Riker's and Rocky's vocal abilities. Paul Lim, from

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

an newspaper ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'', called the album "immature, repetitive" and "even annoying". He also compared ''Louder'' with

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

and

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

. He concluded saying that the band was "a joke". Megan Phelan from ''

Mountain Weekly News A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

'' said, "there is not much to differentiate the band's sound from other trendy pop acts." However, she gave the band "extra credit" for playing their instruments.

Singles

*" Loud" was previously released as the lead single from double releases: the EP '' Loud'' EP and the album ''Louder''. It was released on February 19, 2013. *The second single was " Pass Me By", released on August 20, 2013. *On December 25, 2013, the band released "

(I Can't) Forget About You "(I Can't) Forget About You" (in the album version known simply as "Forget About You") is a song by American pop rock band R5, taken from their debut studio album, '' Louder''. The song was released as the third single on December 25, 2013 (Christ ...

" as the third single. *" One Last Dance" was released as the fourth and final single on May 30, 2014. All singles were accompanied by their respective music video.

Promotional Singles

Love Me Like That was released as the only promotional single on September 16, 2013.

Track listing

All tracks produced by

Emanuel Kiriakou Emanuel "Eman" Kiriakou (born August 16, 1966) is an American songwriter, producer, record executive, music publisher and multi-instrumentalist, based in Los Angeles. He recently co-wrote and produced " Take You Dancing" by Jason Derulo, and has ...

and

Andrew Goldstein Andrew Scott Goldstein (born March 25, 1983 in Milton, Massachusetts) is the first American male team-sport professional athlete to be openly gay during his playing career. He came out publicly in 2003 and was drafted by his hometown team, the ...

, except where noted. Notes: *All physical copies of the album list the second track as "Forget About You"; upon its release as a single, it was retitled "(I Can't) Forget About You".

Personnel

Credits for ''Louder'' adapted from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. *

Evan "Kidd" Bogart Evan Bogart (born January 23, 1978), better known as E. Kidd Bogart, is an American songwriter, music publisher, record executive and film & television producer. He is the son of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart and former music manager Joyc ...

- Composer, Executive Producer *Nathaniel Boone - Composer *Mike Daly - A&R *Chris Gehringer - Mastering *

- Composer, Editing, Engineer, Instrumentation, Producer *John Hanes - Mixing Assistant, Mixing Engineer *

- Composer, Executive Producer, Instrumentation, Producer *Jens Koerkeimer - Composer, Editing, Engineer *Denis Kosiak - Assistant Engineer *

Savan Kotecha Savan Harish Kotecha is an American songwriter and record producer from Austin, Texas. Kotecha is of Indian (Gujarati) descent. He was also the executive music producer of the 2020 film '' Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'', for ...

- Composer *Mark Lynch - Management *

Riker Lynch Riker Anthony Lynch (born November 8, 1991) is an American singer and actor. He was previously cast as Jeff, one of the members of the Dalton Academy Warblers singing group, on Fox's television series ''Glee''. He finished in second place on se ...

- Bass, Composer, Vocals *

Rocky Lynch ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess M ...

- Composer, Guitar, Vocals *

Ross Lynch Ross Shor Lynch (born December 29, 1995) is an American actor, singer, and musician. He was the lead vocalist of the pop rock band R5 and is one half of the band the Driver Era (with his brother Rocky Lynch). As an actor, he rose to recognit ...

- Composer, Guitar, Vocals *

- Keyboards, Vocals *Stormie Lynch - Stylist *

Tony Oller Anthony Michael Oller (born February 25, 1991) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He had roles as Walt Moore on the TeenNick TV show '' Gigantic'', and as Danny on Disney Channel's ''As the Bell Rings''. He appeared in the films ''Bene ...

- Composer * R5 - Composer, Primary Artist *

Ellington Ratliff Ellington Lee Ratliff (born April 14, 1993) is an American drummer and actor. He is best known as the drummer of pop rock band R5, which was active from 2009 until 2018, and as a contributor to The Driver Era. Early life Ellington Lee Ratli ...

- Drums, Vocals *Andre Recke - Management *Ed Reyes - Keyboards, Vocals *Lindy Robbins - Composer *Anabel Sinn - Art Direction, Design *Dave Snow - Creative Director *Pat Thrall - Editing, Engineer *Mio Vukovic - A&R *Sarah Yeo - A&R

Charts

References

{{Authority control R5 (band) albums 2013 debut albums Hollywood Records albums