''Worth the Wait'' is the debut

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.

by Canadian

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

artist

Lindsay Ell Lindsay Elizabeth Ell (born 20 March 1989) is a Canadian-American country pop singer, songwriter, guitarist and television personality from Calgary, Alberta. Her music incorporates elements of rock and blues. She was signed to the US record labe ...

. It was released on March 24, 2017 through Stoney Creek Records. The collection was recorded in eight months between 2016 and 2017 following a string of one-off singles.

Kristian Bush Kristian Merrill Bush (born March 14, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bush is one half of the country music duo Sugarland with Jennifer Nettles, and was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim with Andrew Hyra ...

Sugarland Sugarland is an American country music duo founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (vocals, guitar, mandolin). They were founded in 2002, at which point Kristen Hall (vo ...

produced the EP. ''Worth the Wait'' includes a cover of

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

's "Stop This Train".

Background

Ell independently released an album titled ''Consider This'' through Maple Worldwide in December 2008. After moving to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, she signed with record label Stoney Creek Records (a sister label to

Broken Bow Records BBR Music Group (formerly Broken Bow Records) is an American record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in July 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music. The label's executive vice president is Jon Loba. Craig Morgan ...

) in 2013. Five one-off singles were released between 2013 and 2016, with three charting on the American

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

chart and the latest, "All Alright" (2016), reaching the top 10 on the

Canada Country The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart. Ell met musician

in August 2016 and the two began recording the songs that would comprise ''Worth the Wait''. The collection was inspired by

's 2006 album, ''

Continuum Continuum may refer to: * Continuum (measurement), theories or models that explain gradual transitions from one condition to another without abrupt changes Mathematics * Continuum (set theory), the real line or the corresponding cardinal number ...

'', which Ell covered in full before working in earnest on her own EP. A

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of "Stop This Train" from that album was included on ''Worth the Wait''.

Singles

Waiting on You Waiting on You may refer to: * "Waiting on You" (Ultra Naté and Michelle Williams song), 2012 * "Waiting on You" (Charlie Major song), 1996 * "Waiting on You" (Lindsay Ell song), 2017 * '' ...Waiting on You'', a 1974 album by Jonathan Kelly ...

" was released to American country radio on May 29, 2017 as the record's lead single.

Critical reception

Laura Hostelley of ''Sounds Like Nashville'' wrote that the EP "shows off Ell's talent in all capacities, as a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter." ''Variety Beat'' commended the songs as being "deeply personal" and "relatable," and also wrote that the EP "is stacked with vulnerability and is deliberate in its sequence."

Commercial performance

''Worth the Wait'' debuted at number 8 on the

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

Country Albums chart and at number 28 on the ''Billboard'' Country Albums chart, which combines sales and streaming. The EP reached as high as number seven on the all-genre

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

sales chart in the United States. It debuted at number 139 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart dated April 15, 2017 and at number 36 on the

Top Album Sales Top Album Sales is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine starting in December 2014. It is a weekly chart documenting the best-selling albums on a weekly basis in the United States. Up until December 2014, this had been documented by th ...

Background

Singles

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Track listing

Chart performance

References