Bringing Back the Sunshine

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Bringing Back the Sunshine
Studio album by
Blake Shelton
ReleasedSeptember 30, 2014
Recorded2014
GenreCountry
Length42:48
LabelWarner Bros. Nashville
ProducerScott Hendricks
Blake Shelton chronology
Based on a True Story...
(2013) 		Bringing Back the Sunshine
(2014) 		Reloaded: 20#1 Hits
(2015)
Singles from Bringing Back the Sunshine
  1. "Neon Light"
    Released: August 18, 2014
  2. "Lonely Tonight"
    Released: November 17, 2014
  3. "Sangria"
    Released: April 6, 2015
  4. "Gonna"
    Released: August 3, 2015

Bringing Back the Sunshine is the ninth studio album by American country music singer Blake Shelton. The album was released on September 30, 2014, by Warner Bros. Nashville.[1][2] The album was produced by Shelton's longtime producer Scott Hendricks.[3] "Neon Light," the album's lead-off single, was released on August 18, 2014.[4] The album's second single, "Lonely Tonight", received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(62/100)[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Billboard[7]
Calgary Herald(mixed)[8]
Country WeeklyB[9]
PopMatters[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
Roughstock(favorable)[12]
Taste of Country(favorable)[13]
Country Universe[14]

Background[edit]

The title and September 30, 2014 release date for Bringing Back the Sunshine were both announced on August 1, 2014, one day after Shelton performed a free concert on the beach in Atlantic City to an audience of over 60,000 and the same day that he performed a concert at Madison Square Garden.[15] The album's release date was timed for one week after the premiere of The Voice's seventh season.[16]

Content[edit]

Shelton described Bringing Back the Sunshine as "a throwback" to his first few albums, saying, "I want to sing all kinds of songs" but also "I got very far away from what I used to sound like".[17] Reflecting on how country artists had shifted the genre away from its roots over the years, Shelton called himself "guilty of it as anybody" and explained that the album title was chosen to evoke "bringing back" a more traditional style of country music, saying, "The whole album is searching for parts of me that I think have… not gotten lost along the way, but stuff that I haven't addressed in my music as much as I used to, whether it's drinking songs, heartbreak songs or songs about how people treat you. Things like that."[18] He further explained that the tone of Bringing Back the Sunshine deviates from that of Red River Blue and Based on a True Story..., saying, "My last couple of albums have been so positive, because when I made them I was just getting married...But after a while, as a country singer, I gotta get back to singing about getting drunk because there's people out there — and I've been one of them — that have had their heart broken, or they've had a tough day at work, or they get stabbed in the back."[18]

Lead single, "Neon Light", was described by USA Today as "the kind of barroom song that Shelton hasn't released as a single since 2007's "The More I Drink."[19]

The album's second single, "Lonely Tonight", features Ashley Monroe,[20] and the track "Buzzin'" features RaeLynn.[19] Both artists had been featured on the single "Boys 'Round Here" from Shelton's previous album, Based on a True Story...[13][21] Monroe is a member of the Pistol Annies, a musical group that includes Shelton's then-wife Miranda Lambert.[20] RaeLynn was mentored by Shelton on the second season of The Voice.[19]

"A Girl" features backing vocals from one of its co-writers, Sarah Buxton.[12]

The album's third single, "Sangria", was described by Shelton as "one of the sexiest songs" he had ever recorded. Shelton likened the song to the work of Chris Isaak, saying that the song "sounds like something that came from a different time".[22]

"Good Country Song" was written specifically for Shelton and references his favorite music artist, Earl Thomas Conley.[13]

"Anyone Else" was described by USA Today as a song about jealousy within the music industry,[19] although Billboard wrote that the song could also be interpreted as being about "the breakdown of a romantic relationship".[7] Shelton has said, "Nobody will ever know who I'm singing about whenever I'm singing that song."[19] Originally Lambert was going to record the song for her album Platinum. Shelton says that there were two or three songs intended for Platinum that he wanted for himself, including Smokin' and Drinkin', and that he "guilted" Lambert into letting him record "Anyone Else", noting that he had earlier given her a song that he was originally going to record, "The House That Built Me".[19]

The album cover for Bringing Back the Sunshine depicts the water tower in Shelton's hometown of Ada, Oklahoma.[17]

Commercial performance[edit]

Bringing Back the Sunshine debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's all genre Top 200 and Top Country Albums charts with a first week sales total of 101,000 copies in the United States.[23] The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on January 7, 2015, and Platinum on October 7, 2016.[24]

In Canada, the album debuted at No. 4 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 7,700 copies in its first week.[25]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bringing Back the Sunshine"
4:01
2."Neon Light"
3:41
3."Lonely Tonight" (featuring Ashley Monroe)
3:38
4."Gonna"
3:03
5."A Girl"
3:36
6."Sangria"
3:54
7."Buzzin'" (featuring RaeLynn)
3:47
8."Just South of Heaven"
4:10
9."I Need My Girl"
3:33
10."Good Country Song"
3:38
11."Anyone Else"
4:21
12."Just Gettin' Started"
  • Buddy Owens
  • Jenee Fleenor
  • Phil O'Donnell
3:26
Total length:42:48
Walmart Deluxe Edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Messed Up"
3:13
14."I Really Shouldn't Drink Around You"
3:54
15."Pain"
3:11

Personnel[edit]

Charts and certifications[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Blake Shelton (1 August 2014). "Pre-order Blake's new album". Twitter. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  2. ^ "Blake Shelton Announces New Album 'Bringing Back the Sunshine'". Billboard. Mitchell Peters. August 3, 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  3. ^ "Blake Shelton Announces New Album, Plays Epic Beach Gig @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook". 1 August 2014. The Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  4. ^ "You know what calls for a drink?". Twitter. Blake Shelton. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  5. ^ Metacritic (September 30, 2014). "Critic Reviews for Bringing Back the Sunshine".
  6. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (September 30, 2014). "Bringing Back the Sunshine - Blake Shelton". AllMusic. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Dauphin, Chuck (2014-09-30). "Blake Shelton, 'Bringing Back The Sunshine': Track-by-Track Review". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  8. ^ McCall, Michael. "Music Review: Grown-up Blake Shelton shines on new album 'Bringing Back the Sunshine'". Calgary Herald. The Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  9. ^ Jon Freeman (October 7, 2014). "Bringing Back the Sunshine by Blake Shelton". Country Weekly. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014.
  10. ^ Kevin Catchpole (October 1, 2014). "Blake Shelton: Bringing Back the Sunshine". PopMatters. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  11. ^ Jon Dolan (October 21, 2014). "Bringing Back the Sunshine". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015.
  12. ^ a b Matt Bjorke (September 27, 2014). "Blake Shelton - Brining Back The Sunshine". Roughstock. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c Taste of Country staff (October 1, 2014). "Album Spotlight: Blake Shelton, 'Bringing Back the Sunshine'". Taste of Country. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  14. ^ Jonathan Keefe (January 13, 2015). "Album Review: Blake Shelton, Bringing Back the Sunshine". Country Universe. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  15. ^ Hudak, Joseph (2014-08-01). "Blake Shelton Readies 'Sunshine'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  16. ^ Quan, Denise (2014-08-22). "Blake Shelton to New Single Haters: 'Kiss My Ass'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  17. ^ a b Blake Shelton (September 24, 2014). "Cody Alan Interviews Blake Shelton". CMT (video). Interviewed by Cody Alan. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Quan, Denise (2014-08-27). "Blake Shelton Promises More Songs 'About Getting Drunk'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  19. ^ a b c d e f Mansfield, Brian. "Blake Shelton brings back the country 'Sunshine'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  20. ^ a b "Watch Blake Shelton and Ashley Monroe's 'Lonely' New Video". Rolling Stone. 2014-11-11. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  21. ^ Bjorke, Matt. "Blake Shelton "Based On A True Story..." Song-By-Song - RoughStock". RoughStock. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  22. ^ "Blake Shelton debuts "Sangria" music video". Taste of Country. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  23. ^ Gary Trust (October 9, 2014). "Blake Shelton Blasts to No. 1 on Billboard Artist 100". Billboard.
  24. ^ a b "American album certifications – Blake Shelton – Bringing Back the Sunshine". Recording Industry Association of America.
  25. ^ "Weekly Music Sales Report and Analysis: 08 October 2014". A Journal of Musical Things. October 10, 2014.
  26. ^ "Blake Shelton Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  27. ^ "Blake Shelton Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  28. ^ "Blake Shelton Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
  29. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard.
  30. ^ "Top Country Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  31. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  32. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
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