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Untitled

what. (also Bo Burnham: what.) is a stand-up comedy routine and album by American comedian, Bo Burnham. It is Burnham's first show following his 2010 comedy special "Words Words Words". The humour in the show is reliant on music, prop comedy, observational jokes, and miming.

The live performance debuted at the Regency Ball Room in San Francisco on December 17, 2013,[citation needed] and the album is derived from a special live performance of the same set. In addition to the live performance, the album has 5 studio singles, "Repeat Stuff", "Eff", "Nerds", "Channel 5 News", and "Hell of a Ride". The show was released on YouTube and Netflix on December 17, 2013, and the album was released via iTunes the next day. what. has received positive reviews.

Background

Bo Burnham rose to fame after posting songs on his YouTube page with satirical, funny slants. He signed to Comedy Central Records and released his debut EP, "Bo Fo Sho", in 2008. In 2009 he released his debut album, Bo Burnham, a collection of his most popular songs on YouTube. Burnham toured extensively during this time, gathering material for his first official Comedy Central hour. "Words Words Words" was released in 2010 at the House of Blues in Boston, to critical acclaim. Following this, Burnham wrote a book of poetry Egghead (or You Can't Survive On Ideas Alone), which became a New York Times Bestseller, and wrote and starred in his own mockumentary, Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous on MTV. He also spent three years writing what., which was released on YouTube and Netflix for free on December 17, 2013,[1] with money Burnham made from touring used to finance the special.[2] The YouTube video has garnered 18 million views.[3]

Burnham experienced 12 panic attacks while touring for what., though he had never had panic attacks prior to this. This influenced the writing of his next stand-up performance, Make Happy.[4][5]

Album

what. was released by Comedy Central Records as a music download on both Amazon and the ITunes Store on December 17, 2013. The album features 5 new studio songs, 4 of which were not included in the special.

Track listing

  • 1. Intro
  • 2. Sad
  • 3. I Fuck Sluts
  • 4. WDIDLN?
  • 5. Left Brain, Right Brain
  • 6. #Deep
  • 7. Beating Off In A Minor
  • 8. Poems
  • 9. From God's Perspective
  • 10. Andy The Frog
  • 11. Out of the Abyss
  • 12. Repeat Stuff
  • 13. We Think We Know You
  • 14. Repeat Stuff (Studio)
  • 15. Eff (Studio)
  • 16. Nerds (Studio)
  • 17. Channel 5 News: The Musical (Studio)
  • 18. Hell of a Ride (Studio)

Reception

Reception to "what." has been positive. Mark Monahan of The Telegraph writes, "If his Edinburgh debut was more impressive than it was laugh-out-loud funny, this lightning-fast, constantly wrong-footing, even more ambitious follow-up is supremely both", and gave the show 5 out of 5 stars.[6] Brian Logan of The Guardian also gives the show 5 out of 5 stars, describing it as a "full-frontal assault of music and meta-comedy that leaves you gasping for air", with "not a line out of place, nor one that isn't in there for destabilising comic effect", though Logan noted that "Burnham's comedy has a depressive streak, and his material is often base".[7] Another writer in The Guardian summarised the show by writing, "Burnham mixes the utterly base with the sophisticated, meshing hip-hop-influenced songs that reference Shakespeare, and feature plenty of dick jokes."[8] Jason Zinoman of the New York Times writes that the show has a "manic satirical style", which is "ambitious, and sometimes inspired" but contains "a tension at the core of this show that remains unresolved".[9]

Chart positions

what. debuted on the Billboard Comedy Albums chart at position #2, on January 4, 2014,[10] peaking at #1 on January 18, 2014,[11] and remaining on the chart for 77 weeks.[12] It was on the Independent Albums chart for 4 weeks, peaking at position #31.[13] what. had first week sales of 10,000 copies.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Kroeger, Jake (December 17, 2013). "BO BURNHAM'S WHAT. RELEASED TODAY ON NETFLIX AND YOUTUBE". Nerdist. Nerdist Industries. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  2. ^ Soren, Emma (December 18, 2013). "Talking to Bo Burnham About His New Special, the Pursuit of Fame, and Future Plans". Splitsider. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  3. ^ Burnham, Bo (December 17, 2013). what. (Bo Burnham FULL SHOW HD). YouTube. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  4. ^ Fox, Jesse David (2 July 2018). "Headgum // Good One: A Podcast About Jokes: Bo Burnham's Can't Handle This". HeadGum. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  5. ^ Zinman, Jason (June 3, 2016). "Bo Burnham, Discovered on the Internet, Now Challenges It". Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  6. ^ Monahan, Mark (August 12, 2013). "Bo Burnham: What, Pleasance, review". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  7. ^ Logan, Brian (August 12, 2013). "Bo Burnham – Edinburgh festival 2013 review". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  8. ^ Kettle, James (November 2, 2013). "This week's new live comed". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  9. ^ Zinoman, Jason (December 25, 2013). "Evolving Young Satirist Stands Up to Convention". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  10. ^ "Comedy Albums". Billboard. January 4, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  11. ^ "Comedy Albums". Billboard. January 18, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  12. ^ "Bo Burnham - Chart History - Comedy Albums". Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  13. ^ "Bo Burnham - Chart History - Independent Albums". Retrieved May 7, 2017.
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