Ungodly Hour
Ungodly Hour | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 12, 2020 | |||
Recorded | December 2018 - October 2019 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 37:17 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
| |||
Chloe x Halle chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Ungodly Hour | ||||
|
Ungodly Hour is the second studio album by American R&B duo Chloe x Halle, released through Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records on June 12, 2020. It serves as the follow up to The Kids Are Alright (2018). Originally scheduled for a June 5 release, the album was pushed back to June 12 as a way of showing respect and support to the Black Lives Matter movement.[2][3] Ahead of the album's release, two tracks were released, "Catch Up" (with Swae Lee featuring Mike Will Made-It) and "Do It", the lead single off the album, which became their most successful single to date. "Forgive Me" was announced as the second official single and released alongside a music video on June 12. The album was critically acclaimed, with critics praising their vocal delivery, artistic growth, maturity, and the album's cohesiveness.
The album debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200 chart with 24,000 units sold, marking the duo's highest-charting album.[4]
Background
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2020) |
On May 14, 2020, Chloe x Halle announced the title of the album. They also unveiled the artwork and made it available for pre-order with the first two singles "Catch Up" and "Do It", exclusively on iTunes.[5]
Promotion
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2020) |
On June 16, 2020, Chloe and Halle performed the album's lead single, "Do It", on the TODAY show.[6] On June 29, the duo performed "Forgive Me" at the BET awards.[7] On August 30, the duo performed the title track of the album at the pre-show for the 2020 MTV VMAs, wearing matching outfits.[8] On November 15, the duo performed the album's title track once again at the 46th E! People's Choice Awards.[9]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.5/10[11] |
Metacritic | 81/100[12] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Clash | 8/10[1] |
The Daily Telegraph | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[15] |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Line of Best Fit | 9/10[17] |
Our Culture Mag | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pitchfork | 7.7/10[19] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The album received critical acclaim, with critics praising their vocal delivery, artistic growth, maturity, and the album's cohesiveness. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 81 based on 9 sources, indicating "universal acclaim".[12]
Shahzaib Hussain of Clash stated that the album "lacks some of the DIY spirit of their earlier efforts, but benefits from navigating the trails of playability and experimentation". He praised the fact that the album "doesn't adhere to good-girl-gone-bad tropes, that age-old changeover from wide-eyed teen sensations to risqué provocateurs" and that the pair's vocals and harmonies elevated the more mundane tracks, concluding, "The Ungodly Hour is a soothing salve for a world on fire. It's an avowal of sisterhood and sorority, a projection of a generation of young black women galvanized by a collective willingness to enact efficacious change in the face of adversity."[1] Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian said the pair match "sumptuous harmonies with intricate beats" and that the listener's attention was drawn to the album's details and "the slow-burn appeal of the pair's vocal melodies, which are habitually inventive, ornate and hauntingly beautiful".[16]
Comparing the album to the act's previous release, Andy Kellman from AllMusic claimed "the Baileys' second album is really a refinement of and progression from The Kids Are Alright. Its pop-R&B foundation is a little slicker, still tricked out with the occasional trap-styled production techniques -- probing bass, rattling percussion -- twisted just enough to not sound overdone."[13]
Mid-year and year-end lists
Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
BBC | The Best Albums and Songs of 2020 | Placed
|
|
Complex | The Best Albums of 2020 | 15
|
|
HipHopDX | Best R&B Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year | Placed
|
|
The Guardian | The 50 best albums of 2020 | 12
|
|
The Line of Best Fit | The Best Albums of 2020 Ranked | 9
|
|
NPR | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 23
|
|
Rolling Stone | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 19
|
|
Time | The 10 Best Albums of 2020 | 2
|
|
Uproxx | The Best Albums Of 2020 | 9
|
Awards and nominations
At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, Ungodly Hour and its tracks received three nominations: The album is nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album. The lead single, "Do It", is nominated for Best R&B Song, while "Wonder What She Thinks of Me" is nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance.
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best R&B | "Do It" | Nominated | |
Best Quarantine Performance | Nominated | ||||
WOWIE Awards | Outstanding Album or EP | Ungodly Hour | Pending | ||
Soul Train Music Awards | Album of the Year | Nominated | |||
Song of the Year | "Do It" | Nominated | |||
The Ashford And Simpson Songwriter's Award | Nominated | ||||
Best Dance Performance | Nominated | ||||
Video of the Year | Nominated | ||||
2021 | Grammy Awards | Best Progressive R&B Album | Ungodly Hour | Pending | |
Best Traditional R&B Performance | "Wonder What She Thinks of Me" | Pending | |||
Best R&B Song | "Do It" | Pending |
Track listing
Adapted from Amazon Music and Tidal.[34][35]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" | C. Bailey | 0:28 | |
2. | "Forgive Me" |
| 2:38 | |
3. | "Baby Girl" |
| C. Bailey | 3:32 |
4. | "Do It" |
| 2:56 | |
5. | "Tipsy" |
| C. Bailey | 2:33 |
6. | "Ungodly Hour" |
| Disclosure | 4:16 |
7. | "Busy Boy" |
| 3:10 | |
8. | "Catch Up" (with Swae Lee featuring Mike Will Made-It) |
|
| 3:04 |
9. | "Overwhelmed" |
| C. Bailey | 0:52 |
10. | "Lonely" |
|
| 3:15 |
11. | "Don't Make It Harder on Me" |
| Gitty | 3:35 |
12. | "Wonder What She Thinks of Me" |
| Chloe x Halle | 3:32 |
13. | "ROYL" |
| 3:25 | |
Total length: | 37:10 |
Notes
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.[35]
Instrumentation
- Adrienne Woods – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
- Bianca McClure – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
- Chelsea Stevens – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
- Derek Dixie – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
- Marta Honer – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
- Rhea Hosanny – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
- Stephanie Matthews – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
- Stephanie Yu – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
Production
- Beyoncé Knowles-Carter – executive production
- Chloe x Halle – executive production, production (tracks 12 and 13)
- Chloe Bailey – production (tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, and 9), co-production (track 8)
- Jake One – production (track 2)
- Sounwave – production (track 2)
- Scott Storch – production (tracks 4 and 10)
- Disclosure – production (track 6)
- Gitty – production (tracks 7 and 11)
- Nasri – production (tracks 7 and 11)
- Mike Will Made It – production (track 8)
- Pluss – production (track 8)
- Royal Z – production (track 8)
- Boi-1da – production (track 13)
- Jahaan Sweet – production (track 13)
- Vinylz – production (track 13)
- Asoteric – co-production (track 4)
- Avedon – co-production (tracks 4 and 10)
- Wallis Lane – co-production track 10
Technical
- Dale Becker – mastering (all tracks)
- Tony Maserati – mixing (tracks 1-7, 10, 11, and 13)
- Jaycen Joshua – mixing (track 8)
- Tyler Scott – mixing (tracks 9 and 12)
- Daniel Pampuri – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 12, and 13)
- Alex Meskvdi – recording (tracks 1 and 2)
- Chloe Bailey – recording (tracks 1-7, 9, and 11-13)
- Todd Robinson – recording (track 4)
- Gitty – recording (track 7)
- Guy Lawrence – recording (track 6)
- Mike Homer – recording (track 8)
- Nathaniel Alford – recording (track 8)
- Randy Lanphear – recording (track 8)
- Nasri – recording (track 11)
- Andrea Roberts – engineering assistance (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
- Halle Bailey – engineering assistance (all tracks)
- Miles Comaskey – engineering assistance (tracks 1-3, and 6, 7, and 9)
- Najeeb Jones – engineering assistance (tracks 4, 5, and 10-13)
- Thomas Cooper – engineering assistance (track 4)
- DJ Riggins – engineering assistance (track 8)
- Jacob Richards – engineering assistance (track 8)
- Mike Seaberg – engineering assistance (track 8)
- Matt McCobben – engineering assistance (track 13)
Charts
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[36] | 160 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[37] | 71 |
French Albums (SNEP)[38] | 200 |
UK Albums (OCC)[39] | 80 |
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[40] | 11 |
US Billboard 200[41] | 16 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[42] | 11 |
References
- ^ a b c Hussain, Shahzaib (June 12, 2020). "Chloe x Halle – The Ungodly Hour". Clash. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- ^ "Chloe x Halle Are Ready To 'Do It' & Prep New Album 'Ungodly Hour'". SoulBounce.com. May 14, 2020.
- ^ "Chloe x Halle Announce Sophomore Album 'Ungodly Hour'". ThatGrapeJuice.com. May 14, 2020.
- ^ "Chloe x Halle Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- ^ "Chloe x Halle Announce The Release Of New Album, Ungodly Hour". SoulBounce. May 14, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
- ^ "Chloe x Halle perform 'Do It' on TODAY". TODAY.com. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- ^ "Chloe x Halle Debut 'Forgive Me' at the 2020 BET Awards". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- ^ Curto, Justin (August 30, 2020). "Chloe x Halle Perform 'Ungodly Hour' at the Ungodly Hour of the VMAs Preshow". Vulture. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- ^ "Chloe x Halle Deliver Jawdropping 2020 People's Choice Awards Performance of "Ungodly Hour"". E! Online. November 16, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- ^ "Chloe x Halle - Ungodly Hour - Reviews". Album of the Year. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- ^ "Ungodly Hour by Chloe x Halle reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ^ a b "Ungodly Hour by Chloe x Halle Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Ungodly Hour – Chloe x Halle". AllMusic. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ McCormick, Neil (June 13, 2020). "This week's best – and worst – new albums, from Jehnny Beth to Liam Gallagher". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ^ Greenblatt, Leah (June 12, 2020). "Beyoncé proteges Chloe x Halle step up on the soul-sweetened Ungodly Hour: Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- ^ a b Aroesti, Rachel (June 12, 2020). "Chloe x Halle: Ungodly Hour review – classy R&B from precocious all-rounders". The Guardian. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- ^ Mahalingam, Udit (June 17, 2020). "With Ungodly Hour R&B's freshest talent Chloe x Halle cement their place in the upper echelons". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ^ Pappis, Konstantinos (June 18, 2020). "Album Review: Chloe x Halle, 'Ungodly Hour'". Our Culture Mag. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- ^ Pierre, Alphonse (July 2, 2020). "Chloe x Halle: Ungodly Hour". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ^ Dolan, Jon (June 12, 2020). "Chloe x Halle Shine Together on Ungodly Hour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- ^ Levine, Nick (November 19, 2020). "The best albums and songs of 2020". BBC. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ McKinney, Jessica; Gee, Andre; Skelton, Eric; Ortiz, Edwin; Khal; Diaz, Angel (December 2, 2020). "The Best Albums of 2020". Complex. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- ^ DX Staff (May 30, 2020). "The Best R&B Albums Of 2020 ...so far". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ Snapes, Laura (December 4, 2020). "The 50 best albums of 2020: 50-11". The Guardian.
- ^ The Line of Best Fit Staff (December 3, 2020). "The Best Albums of 2020 Ranked". Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ "The Best Albums of 2020". NPR. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- ^ Sheffield, Rob (December 4, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Chloe x Halle, 'Ungodly Hour'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ Bruner, Raisa; R. Chow, Andrew (November 27, 2020). "The 10 Best Albums Of 2020". Time. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ "The Best Albums Of 2020". Uproxx. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- ^ Mahadevan, Tara C. (July 30, 2020). "Here Are the 2020 MTV VMA Nominees". Complex. ISSN 1538-6848. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ Niemetz, Spencer (November 9, 2020). "World of Wonder's 2020 WOWIE Awards: Cast Your Votes Now!". Worldofwonder.net. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
{{cite web}}
:|archive-date=
/|archive-url=
timestamp mismatch; November 10, 2020 suggested (help) - ^ Seemayer, Zach (November 29, 2020). "2020 Soul Train Awards: The Complete Winners List". ET Online. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ "Chloe x Halle". GRAMMY.com. November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
- ^ "Ungodly Hour [Explicit] by Chloe x Halle". Amazon Music. Amazon.com. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- ^ a b "Try the TIDAL Web Player". listen.tidal.com. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Chloe x Halle – Ungodly Hour" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- ^ "Chloe x Halle Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Chloe x Halle – Ungodly Hour". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- ^ 19, 2020/115/ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- ^ "Chloe x Halle Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- ^ "Chloe x Halle Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2020.