Some Nights is the second studio album from American alternative rock/indie pop band 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.
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"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 three million digital downloads. The title track was commissioned as the second single and has also reached No. 1 on Alternative Songs. The album has received positive reviews according to Metacritic.[3]
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."[4] 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.[5]
Ruess recalls that he was listening to "so much hip-hop" during the production that it became a big influence for him.[4] 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.[6] After scanning the liner notes of his other hip-hop records, Ruess noticed that Jeff Bhasker was among the most common name. Bhasker was preoccupied at the time working with Beyoncé but Ruess was persistent in meeting with him.[7]
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 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.[8] 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."[6]
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."[4] 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.[9] Janelle Monáe collaborated with the trio on "We Are Young" through a friendship with Bhasker.[4] 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.[8][9]
The album creates a mix of indie pop, theatric rock, and hip-hop; a sound that is credited to Bhasker. [4] 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."[6] The band completed production on the album in October 2011.[8] 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.[4]
Promotion
The album's lead single, "We Are Young", was highly successful and bolstered the band into mainstream popularity in early 2012.[4] 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.[6] 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."[7] 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.[10] 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.[11]
Release
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (62/100) [3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk | 90%[12] |
| Allmusic |   [13] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B-[14] |
| Now | [15] |
| Pop Matters |   [16] |
| Rolling Stone |  [17] |
| Spin | (7/10)[18] |
| Sputnikmusic | [19] |
| Q | |
Some Nights has received generally positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has a normalized score of 62 out of 100, indicating "Generally favorable reviews."[3]
The Rolling Stone review was representative with reviewer Jody Rosen complementing its "classic bubble-pop tunefulness with rococo rock & roll".[17] Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly was less glowing, criticizing the album's second half as being inferior to the first.[14] 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."[19]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 70,000 copies in the United States.[20] It has not left the top 50 in its fourteen week run, and has sold 460,000 copies as of Aug. 04, 2012.[21]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost, Jack Antonoff and Jeff Bhasker except as indicated[22]
| 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.[23]) | 6:53 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Out on the Town" (Ruess/Dost/Antonoff/Haynie) | 4:21 |
| 12. | "Carry On" (acoustic; iTunes pre-order bonus track[24]) | 4:08 |
Personnel
All credits are listed in the album booklet and on AllMusic.
Primary Band Members
- Jack Antonoff - guitar, vocals, drums, percussion, composer, arrangement
- Andrew Dost - keyboards, piano, synthesizer, guitar, bass, accordion, drums, percussion, 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
- Emily 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
- Rosey Danvers - cello
- Mark Frost - trombone
- Nate Harold - bass
- Pat Hartley - trombone
- Emily Haynie - drums, keyboards, piano
- Sally Jackson - violin
- Jake One - drums, keyboard
- 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
- 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
- Emily 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
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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.
- ^ a b c Critic Reviews for Some Nights. Metacritic. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kaplan, Ilona. "All in Good Fun". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Shotwell, James (4 August 2010). "Fueled By Ramen sign Fun". Alternative Press. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(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.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(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.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Bonney, Mary (13 February 2012). "Interview with Andrew Dost of Fun". LA Music Blog. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
- ^ Martins, Todd (15 February 2012). "Adele, Whitney Houston, Fun make an impact on the charts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Coachman, Kirsten (14 February 2012). "Stream Fun.'s New Album, Some Nights". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(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.
- ^ a b Ray, Rahman (15 February 2012). "Review: Some Nights". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Boles, Benjamin. "Fun.- Some Nights".
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|2=(help); Text "NOW Magazine" ignored (help) - ^ Troper, Morgan. "Fun.- Some Nights".
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|2=(help); Text "Pop Matters" ignored (help) - ^ a b Rosen, Jody (1 March 2012). "fun. Some Nights > Album Review". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
- ^ Johnston, Maura. "fun., 'Some Nights' (Fueled by Ramen) | SPIN". Spin. Spin Media LLC. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|work=(help) - ^ a b Knott, Adam (15 February 2012). "fun. Some Nights > Staff Review". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Fun.: The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard.com. 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
- ^ http://fotpforums.com/archive/index.php/t-23583.html
- ^ BMI, Database. "BMI Title Search". BMI Database for Fun.
- ^ "Fun. Track Listing & Album Art". 5 December 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ "iTunes - Music - Some Nights by Fun". Itunes.apple.com. 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
- ^ "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 June 2, 2012.
- ^ "Dutch Charts - Fun. - Some Nights (album)" (in Dutch). Ditchcharts.nl. Retrieved August 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.
- ^ "Artisti - Classifica settimanale dal 02/07/2012 al 08/07/2012" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Norwegian Charts - Fun. - Some Nights (album)". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
- ^ "Portuguese Charts - Fun. - Some Nights (album)". Portuguesecharts.com. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
- ^ "Siwss Charts - Fun. - Some Nights (album)". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- ^ "Top 100 albumes" (PDF). media control GfK International. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
- ^ "Radio 1 - Chart - The Official UK Top 40 Singles Chart". BBC. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
- ^ id MUST BE PROVIDED for UK CERTIFICATION.