Ungodly Hour

Ungodly Hour
Studio album by Chloe x Halle
Released	June 12, 2020 (2020-06-12)
Recorded	December 2018 - October 2019
Genre	R&B
Length	37:17
Label	Parkwood Columbia
Producer	Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (also exec.) Avedon Asoteric Chloe x Halle Chloe Bailey Halle Bailey Boi-1da Disclosure Felicia Ferraro Gitty Wallis Lane Mike Will Made-It Nasri Jake One Pluss Royal Z Sounwave Scott Storch Jahaan Sweet Vinylz
Chloe x Halle chronology
The Kids Are Alright (2018) Ungodly Hour (2020)
Singles from Ungodly Hour
"Do It" Released: May 14, 2020 "Forgive Me" Released: June 12, 2020

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. 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 of the album, which has now become 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.

Background

On May 14, 2020, Chloe x Halle announced their second studio album Ungodly Hour. 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.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	8/10
Entertainment Weekly	B+
The Guardian
Our Culture Mag
Rolling Stone
Pitchfork	7.7/10

The album received critical acclaim, with critics praising their vocal delivery, artistic growth, maturity, and the album's cohesiveness. 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." 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".

Accolades

Rankings

Accolades for Ungodly Hour

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
Rolling Stone	Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year	44
Uproxx	The Best Albums Of 2020 So Far	22

Awards

"Do It" has been nominated for 2 categories at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, Best R&B and Best Quarantine Performance.

Track listing

Adapted from Amazon Music and Tidal.

Ungodly Hour track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Chloe Bailey Halle Bailey Nija Charles Mark Spears	C. Bailey	0:28
2.	"Forgive Me"	C. Bailey H. Bailey Charles Spears	Sounwave Jake One C. Bailey[b]	2:38
3.	"Baby Girl"	C. Bailey H. Bailey	C. Bailey	3:32
4.	"Do It"	C. Bailey H. Bailey Victoria Monét Scott Storch Vincent van den Ende Anton Kuehl-Joergensen	Storch Avedon[a] Asoteric[a]	2:56
5.	"Tipsy"	C. Bailey H. Bailey	C. Bailey	2:33
6.	"Ungodly Hour"	C. Bailey H. Bailey Guy Lawrence Howard Lawrence	Disclosure	4:16
7.	"Busy Boy"	C. Bailey H. Bailey Jeff Gitelman Nasri Atweh	Gitty Nasri	3:10
8.	"Catch Up" (with Swae Lee featuring Mike Will Made-It)	C. Bailey H. Bailey Khalif Brown Michael Williams II Asheton Hogan Adam Waldman	Mike Will Made-It Pluss Royal Z	3:04
9.	"Overwhelmed"	C. Bailey H. Bailey	C. Bailey	0:52
10.	"Lonely"	C. Bailey H. Bailey Storch van den Ende Paimon Jahanbin Nima Jahanbin Felicia Ferraro	Chloe x Halle Storch Avedon Wallis Lane Ferraro	3:15
11.	"Don't Make It Harder on Me"	C. Bailey H. Bailey Atweh Gitelman	Gitty	3:35
12.	"Wonder What She Thinks of Me"	C. Bailey H. Bailey	Chloe x Halle	3:32
13.	"ROYL"	C. Bailey H. Bailey Matthew Samuels Anderson Hernandez Jahaan Sweet	Chloe x Halle Boi-1da Vinylz Sweet	3:25
Total length:				37:10

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies an additional producer

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

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, 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 performance for Ungodly Hour

Chart (2020)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	160
Canadian Albums (Billboard)	71
French Albums (SNEP)	186
UK Albums (OCC)	80
UK R&B Albums (OCC)	11
US Billboard 200	16