''Own the Night'' is the third studio album by American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
trio
Lady Antebellum
Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar) ...
. It was released on September 13, 2011 through
Capitol Nashville
Capitol Records Nashville is a major United States-based record label located in Nashville, Tennessee operating as part of the Universal Music Group Nashville. From 1991 to 1995, Capitol Nashville was known as Liberty Records, before returning ...
. This is the follow up album to their previous Grammy Award winning album
Need You Now. The production on the album was handled by
Paul Worley
Paul Worley (born February 16, 1950 in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American record producer and session guitarist, known primarily for his work in country music. Formerly a vice president at Sony BMG, he later joined the staff of Warner Bros. Re ...
and Lady Antebellum. The album was supported by four
singles: "
Just a Kiss", "
We Owned the Night
"We Owned the Night" is a song recorded by American country music trio Lady Antebellum. It was released in August 2011 as the second single from their album '' Own the Night''. The song was co-written by Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood along wi ...
", "
Dancin' Away with My Heart", and "
Wanted You More".
''Own The Night'' received mixed to positive reviews, with some critics praising its production and
Hillary Scott
Hillary Dawn Scott-Tyrrell (born April 1, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. She is the co-lead singer of Lady A, previously known as Lady Antebellum, a country music group that was formed in 2006, and is signed to Big Machine Records ...
's and
Charles Kelley
Charles Burgess Kelley (born September 11, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and lead singer and founding member of the country music trio Lady A, which was formed in 2006 and are signed to Big Machine Records.
Early life and career
Kelle ...
's vocals, calling it an improvement over their previous two albums, while others criticized its lyrical content and lack of personality, calling it a step downward from their previous albums. The album was also a commercial success, debuting at number one on the US
''Billboard'' 200, selling 347,000 copies in its first week.
This became their second number-one album in the US and one of the most successful country albums of 2011. It also topped the ''Billboard''
Top Country Albums
Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales ...
.
At the
54th Grammy Awards, the album won the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
for
Best Country Album
The Grammy Award for Best Country Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the country music genre. Honors ...
.
Singles
The album spawned four
singles: "
Just a Kiss", "
We Owned the Night
"We Owned the Night" is a song recorded by American country music trio Lady Antebellum. It was released in August 2011 as the second single from their album '' Own the Night''. The song was co-written by Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood along wi ...
", "
Dancin' Away with My Heart", and "
Wanted You More". "Just a Kiss" is the lead single from the album and was released for
digital download on May 2, 2011. The single was a commercial and critical success, debuting and peaking at number seven on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it their highest debut on the chart. It also topped the ''Billboard''
Hot Country Songs, making it their fifth number-one single on the chart.
Follow up singles were "
We Owned the Night
"We Owned the Night" is a song recorded by American country music trio Lady Antebellum. It was released in August 2011 as the second single from their album '' Own the Night''. The song was co-written by Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood along wi ...
", "
Dancin' Away with My Heart" and "
Wanted You More", which charted moderately in the US Hot Country Songs. Both it and "We Owned the Night" peaked at number one on the US
Hot Country Songs charts, with "Dancin' Away with My Heart" peaking at number two and "Wanted You More" peaking at number 20.
Eric Paslay
Eric Thomas Paslay (born January 29, 1983) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has released one album for EMI Nashville, which contains the hit singles "Friday Night", "Song About a Girl", and " She Don't Love You". In additio ...
, who co-wrote the track "
Friday Night", released his own version of the song in March 2013.
Critical reception
Upon its release, ''Own the Night'' received mixed-to-favourable reviews.
At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which assigns a
weighted mean
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an
average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
score of 63, based on eight reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' was very positive about ''Own the Night'' and wrote this third album "elevates this group's fecklessness to high art. It makes no apologies for its blunt-force tactics. It owns its shamelessness. That cocksure stance helps to make it one of the most convincing albums of the year, a huge leap forward for a group that threatened to become famous without leaving a true mark." Giving it a four stars rating out of five, ''
Country Weekly
''Nash Country Weekly'' was an American lifestyle weekly magazine about country artists and their music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site ''Nash Country Daily''.
Overview ...
'' Jessica Phillips appreciated that "For the most part, Lady Antebellum strikes a nice balance between the two -creating something different while replicating some elements of the previous album, keeping the penchant for bighearted ballads and the vocal chemistry between Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott intact".
Billy Dukes of ''Taste of Country'' gave the album a 3.5 stars out of 5 commenting "In an effort to break new ground on their just released album, ''Own the Night'', Lady Antebellum occasionally forget their strengths and weaknesses. Not every courageous step they take lands on solid ground, but it’s difficult to criticize a band for taking artistic chances." ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' gave the album a "B" grade commenting "With their easy pop-country tempos and ingratiating white-soul harmonies, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Dave Haywood are masters of the soft sell, an approach they employ here with characteristically genteel results."
Randy Lewis of ''The
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' found that "everything sounds bigger, brighter and shinier than on Lady A's first two albums. That'll probably go over well with fans of grandiose country pop" but he noted that "the all-stops-out production gradually loses impact."
However, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of
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 databa ...
was less enthusiastic about the album. He gave it a three stars rating and described it as "mood music but the aim isn't amorous; it's nothing more than a spot of relaxation, which doesn't quite amount to compelling listening no matter how immaculate the execution."
''
American Songwriter
''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
History
The ''American Songwri ...
'' found ''Own the Night'' not "high art" and despised the "clichéd country images" but did appreciate the singing "with the band stacking its harmonies three voices deep at every twist and turn" and that's why the album received a three stars rating.
Nevertheless, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' Will Hermes was not convinced by the new album and gave it a two stars rating out of five.
Jonathan Keefe of ''
Slant Magazine'' negatively reviewed ''Own the Night'': "In the past, the trio has been able to elevate their unremarkable songwriting with spirited performances, but that isn't the case on Own the Night". He found the band "across-the-board amateurish and anonymous".
Commercial performance
''Own the Night'' debuted at number one on the US
''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 347,000 in its first week, according to
Nielsen SoundScan.
This became Lady Antebellum's second US number one debut.
The album is the largest start for any country release since
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
's "
Speak Now
''Speak Now'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on October 25, 2010, through Big Machine Records. Swift wrote the album entirely herself within two years, while she was promoting her second studio alb ...
" (2010). The album also debuted at number one on the US
Top Country Albums
Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales ...
chart, becoming the group third number-one debut on that chart.
In its second week, the album dropped to number two on the chart, selling an additional 125,000 copies. In its third week, the album dropped to number six on the chart, selling 75,000 more copies. In its fourth week, the album climbed to number four on the chart, selling 58,000 copies. Since its release, the album has topped the US Top Country Albums chart for 13 weeks. On October 17, 2011, the album was certified
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Pla ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over one million copies.
As of June 2013, the album has sold 1,837,525 copies in the United States.
In Canada, the album debuted at number one on the
Canadian Albums Chart, selling 21,000 copies in its first week. On September 27, 2011, the album was certified platinum by
Music Canada (MC) for sales of over 80,000 copies.
Own the Night Tour
The Own the Night Tour began on November 11, 2011, in
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...
, and ended on October 3, 2012, in
Sydney,
Australia. The group played 104 shows on three continents.
Track listing
Personnel
Lady Antebellum
*Dave Haywood – acoustic guitar, electric guitar,
mandolin, piano, background vocals
*Charles Kelley – lead vocals, background vocals
*Hillary Scott – lead vocals, background vocals
Additional musicians
*
Bruce Bouton –
dobro,
steel guitar
*
Chad Cromwell
Chad Cromwell (born June 14, 1957) is an American rock drummer whose music career has spanned more than 30 years. He is the founding member of a band called Fortunate Sons, which released a self-titled album in 2004.
Cromwell has worked with m ...
– drums
*Jason "Slim" Gambill – electric guitar, soloist
*David Huff – drum loops, percussion
*Rob McNelley – electric guitar, soloist
*
The Nashville String Machine
Nashville String Machine is a musical collective comprising session musicians, based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Members of the group have been credited on records dating from 1972 to the present, although the group was formally formed ...
–
strings
*Mike Rojas – accordion,
Hammond B-3 organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...
, piano, synthesizer
*Kris Wilkinson – string arrangements
*Karen Winklemann –
penny whistle
*
Paul Worley
Paul Worley (born February 16, 1950 in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American record producer and session guitarist, known primarily for his work in country music. Formerly a vice president at Sony BMG, he later joined the staff of Warner Bros. Re ...
– acoustic guitar, electric guitar, soloist
*Craig Young – bass guitar
*
Jonathan Yudkin
Jonathan Yudkin is an American multi-instrumentalist who is a proficient player of banjo, violin, mandolin, and other stringed instruments. He is a Nashville-based session musician, record producer, arranger, and band leader.
Biography
Growin ...
–
bouzouki
The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...
, cello, fiddle, acoustic guitar, harp, mandolin
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Singles
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
2011 albums
Albums produced by Paul Worley
Capitol Records albums
Lady A albums
Grammy Award for Best Country Album
Canadian Country Music Association Top Selling Album albums