Some Nights (album)
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Some Nights is the second studio album from American indie pop band Fun. (stylized as "fun."). It was released on February 21, 2012 through Fueled by Ramen.[1] It was recorded in 2011 and produced by Jeff Bhasker.[2] After signing to a new label, the band began to work on Some Nights for over nine months throughout 2011. In some countries, the album received a Parental Advisory sticker due to the usage of the word "fuck" in the album's title track in "Some Nights Intro." In the United States, it was added after the album was released, and after title track has passed the height of its success. [3]
"We Are Young" was released as the lead single from the album and bolstered the band to mainstream success with the aid of television and advertising. It topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and Alternative Songs for two weeks, with over six million digital downloads. The title track was commissioned as the second single and has reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, selling five million digital downloads as well as becoming their second #1 on Alternative Songs. The album has received mixed reviews according to Metacritic.[4] The band later won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, and "We Are Young" won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. Fun received four other Grammy nominations: two for "We Are Young" and two for the album itself.
Origins
The band signed to Fueled by Ramen in late 2010. Lead vocalist Nate Ruess, who had apprehensions about joining a major label in the past, recalled the switch being "very, very easy" for the group, stating that both parties approached it as if they "knew what [they] were getting into with each other."[5] The transition was in the works with the label for almost nine months, when the head of the label reached out to the band. Ruess was flattered that employed workers for the label would buy their own tickets to Fun. shows and "talk about us with the passion you'd generally reserve for an artist you're working with." After lengthy discussions within the band, the band decided to give the label a try.[6]
Ruess recalls that he was listening to "so much hip-hop" during the production that it became a big influence for him.[5] The band felt inspired and gradually began working on new songs, each carrying an obvious hip-hop influence. Consciously, the band began working in the hip-hop factor and realized they wanted a hip-hop producer.[7] After scanning the liner notes of his other hip-hop records, Ruess noticed that Jeff Bhasker was one of the most common names. Bhasker was preoccupied at the time working with Beyoncé but Ruess was persistent in meeting with him.[8]
Recording and production
The most common creative process in the recording of Some Nights began with Ruess. Ruess would come in with lyrics and a melody, leading Andrew Dost and guitarist Jack Antonoff to build chord structure and instrumentation from there, or "support that melody." Dost noted that in recording, despite the composer's well-defined framework, the individuals' egos "pretty much disappear" and "everybody is happy to work towards the best possible song" cohesively together.[9] The dynamic between Bhasker and the band in the studio was mutually inspired, as Bhasker had never worked with a rock band before and Fun had never worked with a hip-hop producer. Bhasker particularly enjoyed recording guitars with guitarist Jack Antonoff as he wasn't used to it, and Dost felt hearing Bhasker compose beats was "mind-blowing."[7]
The emphasis for Ruess on Some Nights was to make the songs more cohesive, as he felt his writing was "all over the place." This meant creating songs that were concise instead of being "long and drawn out."[5] Bhasker was a proponent of using a single instrument to provide the biggest sounds, desiring not to "over-cram [the] songs with ideas," declaring that everything that makes the song must be well-chosen.[10] Janelle Monáe collaborated with the trio on "We Are Young" through a friendship with Bhasker.[5] Bhasker was credited with bringing the band a bigger sound and an entirely new sonic translation to the band not present on their debut, Aim and Ignite.[9][10]
The album creates a mix of indie pop, theatric rock, and hip-hop; a sound that is credited to Bhasker. [5] Some Nights as a title floated around before any songs for the album were even created and was envisioned by Ruess. It was inspired by how personalities can change on any given night. Although the album isn't a concept album, the title changed the band's ideas for the album considerably, with Dost stating, "It's really nice once you have a title to know what the parameters are of what you're working on as a whole."[7] The band completed production on the album in October 2011.[9] Ruess called the seven months spent recording the record the most rewarding of any in his ten years of professional music work, calling it his career highlight.[5]
Composition
The album and the band's music has received several comparisons to Queen.[11][12][13][14] Rolling Stones's Jody Rosen, called the album a mix of "close harmony chorales, showy key changes, a dash of Queen here, a dollop of Les Miz there".[13] In an interview with Fuse, producer Jeff Bhasker also stated that the album's lead single "We Are Young" "had a Queen/Freddie Mercury vibe to it".[15] Marcus Glimer of The A.V. Club wrote that the album featured more "more synthetic elements [keyboards and drum machines]" than their debut album Aim and Ignite and compared the beat to "All Alone" to a hip-hop track.[14] NPR columnist Daoud Tyler-Ameen commented that the album might be the start of a new phase of music, in which musicians would infuse the "sounds and rhythms once associated with hip-hop" with their pop music.[16]
The album's lyrics have been called "plaintive", for dealing with themes of loneliness, self-worth, introspection, paranoia and existentialism, contrasting with the album's "anthemic" music.[13][16] Tyler-Ameen considered the album "remarkable for its sheer optimism", despite the sad and mournful lyrics,[16] Rosen wrote that "Ruess' knack for the anthemic is matched by Gen-Y humor – emo self-deprecation that leavens the bombast".[13] while Marcus Gilmer praised Ruess' "prose-style lyrics", similar to his work in his previous band, The Format.[14] Ruess later commented on the importance of lyrics to him, saying that he took "great pride", after he finished writing them.[17] He also considered most lyrics written by current musicians to be "dumbed down", partially causing "rock music's current woes".[17]
Promotion
The album's lead single, "We Are Young", was highly successful, and bolstered the band into mainstream popularity in early 2012.[5] The song caught attention through the Fox television series Glee covering it. The band was in shock at the news, with Dost saying that "that's just one of the coolest things that could possibly have happened." Glee's cover of "We Are Young" was the show's highest selling debut single of their season and connected their listening audience to the band.[7] Even after being benefited by the high-profile cover, "We Are Young" became the soundtrack to a Chevrolet spot that aired during Super Bowl XLVI, which brought Fun. to a type of exposure that Billboard noted "few current bands receive."[8] The Chevrolet advertisement was credited by the Los Angeles Times for the song's chart success on iTunes: it skyrocketed to number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart a week before the album's release.[18] The song was performed on the MTV Movie Awards on June 4, 2012 alongside Janelle Monáe.
As a thank-you to their fans for their support of the band, Fun. streamed Some Nights in advance on their official website a week before the album's release.[19] November 3, 2012, the band performed "Some Nights" and "Carry On" on Saturday Night Live, to promote the release of both singles.[20]
All Alone was performed on Alan Carr: Chatty Man on April 19th.
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 60/100[4] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AbsolutePunk | 90%[21] |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B−[11] |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Melodic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
PopMatters | (4/10)[25] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | 7/10[26] |
Sputnikmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Some Nights received mixed to positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 60, based on 21 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".[4] Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen complimented the album's "classic bubble-pop tunefulness with rococo rock & roll".[13] Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly was less glowing, criticizing the album's second half as being inferior to the first.[11] Sputnikmusic staff reviewer Adam Knott gave the album a 4/5 and wrote, "The energy and personality which flood out of every melody give this album its own stamp of authority. It tips over into excess at rare moments, but even as you can hear those moments happening, they provoke grins inside and out."[27] TheImproper music critic Winchester notes that their music is a synthesis of rock and pop with a New York City street vibe, writing, "They bring a certain city-swagger to every track. Ruess’ singing is part Anthony Newley, part Freddie Mercury and just a dash of David Bowie."[28] Morgan Troper of PopMatters wrote, "Fun.’s latest record, Some Nights, like Aim and Ignite before it, is not really a rock record, or even a pop/rock or powerpop record—there is not a single glint of rebellious, refractory energy on this record that could be considered ‘rock’ (unless you’re counting the appropriated Queen harmonies, which weren’t ‘rock’ then and certainly aren’t ‘rock’ now)."[25]
The album was listed at #43 on Rolling Stone's list of the top 50 albums of 2012, saying "Ruess' emo sweetness and self-doubting humor make Some Nights a castle you could feel at home in."[29]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 70,000 copies in the United States.[30] The album has been certified Platinum[31] and has sold over 1,145,000 copies as of March 2013.[32]
In the UK it sold 310,000 copies in 2012.[33]
The album's lead single "We Are Young", became the first multi-member band debut to top the Billboard Hot 100 since Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" in December 2001. It also earned a footnote in chart history by becoming the first, and only, tune that has ever gained more than 300,000 downloads a week for seven weeks straight, topping three million downloads in all.[34]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost, Jack Antonoff and Jeff Bhasker except as indicated[35]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Some Nights (Intro)" | 2:18 |
2. | "Some Nights" | 4:37 |
3. | "We Are Young" (featuring Janelle Monáe) | 4:10 |
4. | "Carry On" | 4:38 |
5. | "It Gets Better" | 3:36 |
6. | "Why Am I the One" | 4:47 |
7. | "All Alone" | 3:04 |
8. | "All Alright" (Ruess/Dost/Antonoff/Bhasker/Jake One/Emile Haynie) | 3:57 |
9. | "One Foot" (Ruess/Dost/Antonoff/Haynie) | 3:32 |
10. | "Stars" (co-produced by N.C.[36]) | 6:53 |
Total length: | 40:32 |
No. | Title | Length |
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11. | "Out on the Town" (Ruess/Dost/Antonoff/Haynie) | 4:21 |
12. | "Carry On" (acoustic; iTunes pre-order bonus track) | 4:08 |
Deluxe edition:
- "Out on the Town" (4:21)
- "We Are Young" (featuring Janelle Monáe) (acoustic) (4:32)
- "Carry On" (acoustic) (4:08)
- "Why Am I the One" (acoustic) (4:22)
- "We Are Young" (featuring Janelle Monáe) (Alvin Risk Remix) (4:09)
Personnel
Fun
- Jack Antonoff – guitars, vocals, drums, percussion, programming, composer, arrangement
- Andrew Dost – keyboards, piano, celeste, synthesizer, glockenspiel, guitar, bass guitar, accordion, drums, percussion, programming, trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals, design, songwriting, arrangement
- Nate Ruess – lead vocals, composer, arrangement
Additional Composers
- Jeff Bhasker – arrangement, composer, orchestration
- Rosie Danvers – orchestration
- Jake Dutton – composer
- Larry Gold – string arrangements, string conductor
- Emile Haynie – composer
Additional Instrumentalists
- Richard Ashton – French horn
- Corrine Bailey – French horn
- Davis Bartnett – viola
- Jeff Bhasker – keyboards, background vocals, bass guitar, piano, synthesizer
- Michelle Bishop – violin
- Richard Bissell – French horn
- Natalia Bonner – violin
- Natalie Cavey – viola
- Stephanie Cavey – violin
- Eliza Cho – violin
- James Cooper – cello
- Rosie Danvers – cello
- Mark Frost – trombone
- Nate Harold – bass
- Pat Hartley – trombone
- Emily Haynie – drums, keyboards, piano
- Sally Jackson – violin
- Jake One – drums, keyboard
- Kieran Kiely – Accordion, Bodhran, Whistles
- Jonathan Kin – viola
- Olga Konoplesky – violin
- Tom Kraines – cello
- Emma Kummrow – violin
- Luigi Mazzocchi – violin
- Trevor Mires – trombone
- Will Noon – drums
- Jane Oliver – cello
- Emma Owens – viola
- Charles Parker – violin
- Lucy Shaw – double bass
- Chloe Vincent – flute
- The Wired Strings – strings
Additional Vocalists
- Sofia Bagdade – choir
- Jeff Bhasker – background vocals
- Samantha Buten – choir
- Aude Cardona – vocals
- Anabela Chaiola – choir
- Nara Cowing – choir
- Denise Di Pasca – choir
- Claire DiLorenzo – choir
- Friends After Three – background vocals
- Sofia Garcia-Penâ – choir
- Antonia Gialamas – choir
- Sydney Goldstein – choir
- Elise Lichtman – choir
- Alexandra Lilly – choir
- Janelle Monáe – featured artist
- Vanessa Pasquarelli – choir
- Lola Rockwell – choir
- Joi Starr – background vocals
- Kathleen Stepan-Jackson – choir
- Olivia Vreelan – choir
- Miranda Wollen – choir
Production
- Jeff Bhasker – primary producer, drum programming, engineer
- Pete Bischoff – engineer
- Jeff Chestek – engineer
- Richard Costey – mixing
- Andrew Dawson – engineer
- Chris Galland – assistant, mixing assistant
- Chris Gehringer – mastering
- Noah Goldstein – engineer
- Emile Haynie – drum programming, engineer, producer
- Jake One – producer
- John Janick – executive producer
- Tyler Johnson – sampling
- Erik Madrid – assistant, mixing assistant
- Jeneen Mangel – choir coordinator
- Manny Marroquin – mixing
- Joanna Pickett – choir director
- Sonny Pinnar – engineer
- Montez Roberts – assistant engineer
- Pawel Sek – engineer
- TommyD – orchestra production
- Stuart White – engineer, mixing assistant
Additional Design
- Nacho Alegre – cover photo
- Lindsey Byrnes – photography
- David J. Harrigan III – art direction, design
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
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Certifications
Year-end charts
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References
- ^ "Fun. Album Title and Release Date". 8 November 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
- ^ "New Fun. Album in 2012; Video Update". 7 September 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
- ^ https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/some-nights/id524244305
- ^ a b c Critic Reviews for Some Nights. Metacritic. Retrieved February 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kaplan, Ilona. "All in Good Fun". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
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(help) - ^ Shotwell, James (4 August 2010). "Fueled By Ramen sign Fun". Alternative Press. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
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(help) - ^ a b c d [citation needed]
- ^ a b c d e f Hampp, Andrew (5 February 2012). "How Fun.'s 'We Are Young' Scored Chevy's 'Stunt Anthem' Super Bowl Spot". Billboard. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
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(help) - ^ a b c Rogogna, Mike (26 October 2011). ""We Are Young" and Odd Souls: Chatting With Mutemath's Darren King and Fun.'s Andrew Dost". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
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(help) - ^ a b Bonney, Mary (13 February 2012). "Interview with Andrew Dost of Fun". LA Music Blog. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
- ^ a b c Ray, Rahman (15 February 2012). "Review: Some Nights". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
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(help) - ^ Simpson, Dave (May 24, 2012). "Fun: Some Nights – review | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f Rosen, Jody (1 March 2012). "fun. Some Nights > Album Review". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
- ^ a b c Gilmer, Marcus (February 23, 2012). "Fun. | Music | Playlisted". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
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(help) - ^ "Producer Deconstructs Fun.'s "We Are Young"". YouTube. February 14, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
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(help) - ^ a b c "Music's 25 Favorite Albums Of 2012 (So Far)". NPR. June 12, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
- ^ a b "Fun's Nate Ruess: 'Lyrics are so dumbed down these days' | News". NME. May 28, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
- ^ Martins, Todd (15 February 2012). "Adele, Whitney Houston, Fun make an impact on the charts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
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(help) - ^ Coachman, Kirsten (14 February 2012). "Stream Fun.'s New Album, Some Nights". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
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(help) - ^ "Fun. On 'SNL': 'Some Nights' And 'Carry On' (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
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(help) - ^ Beringer, Drew (22 February 2012). "Fun. - Some Nights". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
- ^ Sendra, Tim (22 February 2012). "Fun. – Some Nights". Allmusic. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
- ^ Simpson, Dave (May 24, 2012). "Fun: Some Nights – review". The Guardian. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
- ^ Wippsson, Johan. "Fun. – Some Nights". Melodic. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
- ^ a b Troper, Morgan. "Fun.- Some Nights: Pop Matters".
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(help) - ^ Johnston, Maura. "fun., 'Some Nights' (Fueled by Ramen)". Spin. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
- ^ a b Knott, Adam (15 February 2012). "fun. Some Nights > Staff Review". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
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(help) - ^ "Nate Ruess Band Fun". The Improper.
- ^ "50 Best Albums of 2012". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "Fun.: The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard.com. 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
- ^ "American certifications – Fun". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
- ^ Paul Grein (February 13, 2013). "Week Ending Feb. 10, 2003. Albums: Josh Groban-No Hits, No Problem". Chart Watch. Yahoo Music. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
- ^ a b Dan Lane (January 2, 2013). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Albums Of 2012 revealed!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
- ^ http://www.theimproper.com/music/8045/nate-ruess-band-fun-explodes-giving-indie-rock-major-lift/
- ^ BMI, Database. "BMI Title Search". BMI Database for Fun.
- ^ "Fun. Track Listing & Album Art". 5 December 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ "Australian Charts - Fun. - Some Nights (album)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
- ^ "Austria Top-40 - Fun. - Some Nights (album)" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
- ^ "Charts Vlaanderen - Fun. - Some Nights (album)" (in Dutch). Ultratop.be. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
- ^ "Charts Belgique Francophone - Fun. - Some Nights (album)" (in French). Ultratop.be. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
- ^ "Canadian Albums - Week of March 10, 2012". Billboard. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
- ^ "Danish Charts - Fun. - Some Nights (album)". Danishcharts.com. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- ^ "Dutch Charts - Fun. - Some Nights (album)" (in Dutch). Ditchcharts.nl. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
- ^ "Finnish Charts - Fun. - Some Nights (album)". Finnishcharts.com. Retrieved January 24, 20143.
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(help) - ^ "Classements - Fun. - Some Nights (album)" (in French). Lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
- ^ "Fun., Some Nights" (in German). Charts.de. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- ^ "IRMA - Irish Charts - Singles, Albums and Compilations". Irma.ie. 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
- ^ "Album - Classifica settimanale WK 36 (dal 03/09/2012 al 09/09/2012)" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
- ^ "サム・ナイツ~蒼い夜~<最強版>/FUN.". Oricon. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- ^ "Top 100 Mexico - Los Mas Vendidos - Semana Del 18 al 24 de Junio del 2012" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 2, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
- ^ "New Zealand Charts - Fun. - Some Nights (album)". Charts.org.nz. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
- ^ "VG-lista - Fun. - Some Nights (album)". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
- ^ "Portuguese Charts - Fun. - Some Nights (album)". Portuguesecharts.com. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
- ^ "Swedish Charts - Fun. - Some Nights (album)". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 24, 203.
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(help) - ^ "Swiss Charts - Fun. - Some Nights (album)". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- ^ "Top 100 albumes" (PDF). PROMUSICAE. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
- ^ "Radio 1 - Chart - The Official UK Top 40 Singles Chart". BBC. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
- ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums Chart - 14/01/2013". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
- ^ "The Irish Charts - 2012 Certification Awards - Platinum". Irish Recorded Music Association.
- ^ "Japanese album certifications – Fun – Some Nights" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 2013年5月 on the drop-down menu
- ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Fun – Some Nights". Recorded Music NZ.
- ^ "Veckolista Album - Vecka 37, 14 september 2012" (in Swedish). Hitlistan.se. Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
- ^ "British album certifications – Fun – Some Nights". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Some Nights in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ "American album certifications – Fun. – Some Nights". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ http://www.dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=2012&cat=a
- ^ "Top 100 Album Combined - Classifica annuale (dal 2 Gennaio 2012 al 30 Dicembre 2012)" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry / TV Sorrisi e Canzoni. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2013.
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(help) - ^ Dan Lane (2 January 2013). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Albums Of 2012 revealed!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2012/the-billboard-200
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2012/the-billboard-200