''The Secret'' is the second
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. (EP) by American singer
Austin Mahone
Austin Harris Mahone (; born April 4, 1996) is an American singer, songwriter and professional wrestler. Mahone gained popularity performing covers of pop songs on YouTube. He released three albums to date. Famous releases include " Say Somethi ...
. It was released on May 27, 2014
through
Cash Money Records
Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Birdman" Williams. Distributed by Republic, formerly known as Universal Republic, the label has been home to a roster of mostly hip h ...
. The lead single, "
What About Love
"What About Love" is a song originally recorded by Canadian rock group Toronto, re-released in 1985 by the American rock group Heart. The song was Heart's "comeback" single. It was the first Heart track to reach the top 40 in three years, and ...
", peaked at number 66 on the
Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
. To promote the project, Mahone appeared in several televised performances and embarked on a world tour.
The Secret debuted at number 5 on the US
''Billboard'' 200 selling 46,000 copies in its opening week.
Background
In an interview with ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' on November 4, 2013, Mahone informed the magazine that the album would see an additional collaboration with
Flo Rida
Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single " Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital dow ...
and maybe one or two other to-be-determined guests. He added: "It's coming along amazing – I'm just trying to have every little detail and just make it absolutely perfect for my fans." The direction of the EP reminisces a sound and themes of '90s pop music and has clear influences of
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
,
Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida.
The gr ...
and
*NSYNC. It was later announced that ''The Secret'' would be released on May 27, 2014.
Composition
''The Secret'' contains a total of eleven songs, eight of which are in the standard edition, one song in the international edition and two songs in the Japanese edition. It is described by music critics as a
pop and
EDM
EDM or E-DM may refer to:
Music
* Electronic dance music
* Early Day Miners, American band
Science and technology
* Electric dipole moment
* Electrical discharge machining
* Electronic distance measurement
*Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...
project.
According to Mahone, the sound is a mixture of pop,
R&B, electronic dance and 1990s
Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida.
The gr ...
.
When asked about the EP in an interview with
MTV News
MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...
, he said that the songs in his upcoming album would "sound like "
What About Love
"What About Love" is a song originally recorded by Canadian rock group Toronto, re-released in 1985 by the American rock group Heart. The song was Heart's "comeback" single. It was the first Heart track to reach the top 40 in three years, and ...
" kind of like that EDM, like I said, old school/new school." Writing for ''So So Gay'', David Lim noted the EP's sound to be influenced by Swedish pop producer
, who created songs for late-1990s
teen pop
Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop" About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Teen pop incorporates different subgenres of pop music, as well as elements o ...
stars such as
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
, Backstreet Boys and
*NSYNC. Lim later went on to call the EP a "shout of neon-bright tunes" and said: "The catchy melodies and electronic beats suit Austin’s own clean-cut, all singing-and-dancing persona, but at times it puts a wall between him and the listener."
"Mmm Yeah" is a
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
song which contains a "swirling" production,
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
-influenced
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s, a
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
-heavy
four on the floor
''Four on the Floor'' is a 1999 compilation album consisting of songs by bands on Panic Button Records. It features four tracks by four of the labels bands, Screeching Weasel, Moral Crux
A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is c ...
electropop
Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...
beat, and influences of
Chicago house
Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the first ever house music productions, which were by Chicago-based artists in the 1980s.
History and origins Disco ...
,
hip hop, and
Latin music
Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Music of Spain, Spain and Portuguese music, Portugal) ...
.
The track heavily samples Lidell Townsell's 1992 single "
Nu Nu
"Nu Nu" is the second single of Chicago house-musc artist Lidell Townsell,which featured duo M.T.F. The song was released from his 1992 Mercury/PolyGram Records album release ''Harmony''.
Chart performance
"Nu Nu" reached #1 on the US Hot Danc ...
". Lyrically, the song speaks of being rejected by an attractive woman walking down a street: "We can do whatever/ Do whatever we want/ When she walked past me I said 'hey, hey, hey' So tell me where you from where you want to go/ She walked past me like I ain't say a word".
"All I Ever Need" is a "breezy" downtempo
R&B and
pop slow jam
A slow jam is music with rhythm and blues and soul influences. Slow jams are commonly R&B ballads
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', whi ...
.
Singles
"
What About Love
"What About Love" is a song originally recorded by Canadian rock group Toronto, re-released in 1985 by the American rock group Heart. The song was Heart's "comeback" single. It was the first Heart track to reach the top 40 in three years, and ...
" was released as the lead single on June 10, 2013 though included only in the international version of the project. The song peaked at number 66 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 but peaked at number 18 on the
US Mainstream Top 40 charts.
"
Mmm Yeah
"Mmm Yeah" is a song by American pop singer Austin Mahone from his second extended play, EP ''The Secret (Austin Mahone EP), The Secret''. The song was released as the second and final single from the EP on January 26, 2014. The song features voc ...
" was released as the second and final single on January 26, 2014 and features rapper
Pitbull
Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...
. The song went on to become Mahone's highest charting song to date, peaking at number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaking within the top 40 of various other countries including Australia, Canada, Spain, and the UK.
Promotional singles
"Till I Find You" was released as the first promotional single on April 18, 2014.
"All I Ever Need" was released as the second promotional single on May 13, 2014. The music video was released on May 22, 2014.
"Shadow" was released as the third promotional single on May 26, 2014 during a performance on the ''
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 ...
''. Mahone released the official video through Vevo on May 29, 2014.
"Secret" was released as the fourth and final promotional single on September 24, 2014 along with the music video.
Critical reception
In her review of the EP, Elysa Gardner of ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' gave a mixed response, saying: "To call him "baby Bieber" wouldn't be fair; the generically catchy tunes hark back to N' Sync, Backstreet Boys and even New Kids. His creamy yearning should set young hearts aflutter."
Billboard gave the EP a three and a half out of five star rating, while Rolling Stone gave it a negative review of two out of five stars.
Commercial performance
''The Secret'' debuted at number 5 on the
''Billboard'' 200 with sales of 46,000 copies in its opening week. As of November 2014, ''The Secret'' has sold 100,000 copies in the United States.
Track listing
;Standard edition
[
;Notes
* signifies a vocal producer
* signifies ]remixer
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
Charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret
2014 EPs
Albums produced by DJ Frank E
Albums produced by RedOne
Albums produced by Sean Garrett
Universal Republic Records albums
Cash Money Records EPs
Republic Records EPs
Austin Mahone albums