Is There Anybody Out There? (album)

Is There Anybody Out There?
Studio album by A Great Big World
Released 21 January 2014
Recorded 2011–13
Genre Pop, pop rock
Length 44:30
Label Black Magnetic, Epic
Producer Dan Romer, Chris Kuffner, John Alagía
Singles from Is There Anybody Out There?
  1. "This Is the New Year"
    Released: May 21, 2013
  2. "Say Something"
    Released: September 3, 2013
  3. "I Really Want It"
    Released: May 2, 2014

Is There Anybody Out There? is the debut album from American pop duo A Great Big World. Its single "Say Something" achieved considerable success after Christina Aguilera heard the song, decided to collaborate on the song and a re-recorded version was released.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
New York Daily News [3]
Newsday (B+)[4]
USA Today [5]

The reception to the album has been generally positive.[6] Timothy Monger of Allmusic thought that the duo Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino tackled "some classic pop territory with a wide-eyed sincerity that is ultimately appealing if occasionally trite", that the production is "concise and full of punch" but there are moments that could "benefit from some subtlety".[2] Jason Lipschutz of Billboard said that the album is "as uniformly earnest as the sombre lead" single "Say Something", but also has songs that offered "quirky optimism and snappy tempo".[7] Glenn Gamboa of Newsday found the album filled with surprises and thought it musically and lyrically "eclectic". He judged the duo to have approached the album "with such passion and joyfulness on "Is There Anyone Out There?" that you end up going along for the wild ride and enjoying it."[4] Elysa Gardner of USA Today was equally positive and thought the tunes in the album "smartly crafted", the singing of the duo blended "seamlessly", and that their more driving tracks "establish this pair as pop contenders".[5]

Among the more negative reviews, Jim Farber of New York Daily News castigated the album, calling it the "latest, and clumsiest, example" of "the geekiest elements of modern show tunes into the musical mainstream", one that "pivots on the kind of reedy, sexually unsure, and over-articulated vocals that scream "bad Broadway"".[3] Jon Caramanica of the New York Times considered that the album to be "gentle and plain-spoken and free of any artifice", but also "dull" and "painfully executed". He also found Axel's voice to be "grating", has "no color" and "almost digital in its simplicity".[8]

Commercial performance

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 3 with sales of 48,000.[9] It dropped to No. 33 the following week with sale of 11,000.[10]

Singles

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino, except "Say Something" written by Axel, Vaccarino, and Mike Campbell. 

No. TitleProducer(s) Length
1. "Rockstar"  Dan Romer 3:56
2. "Land of Opportunity"  Romer 3:25
3. "Already Home"  Romer 3:50
4. "I Really Want It"  Romer 3:22
5. "Say Something"  Romer 3:53
6. "You'll Be Okay"  Romer 3:58
7. "Everyone Is Gay"  Chris Kuffner 2:10
8. "There Is an Answer"  Romer 3:42
9. "I Don't Wanna Love Somebody Else"  Romer 2:44
10. "This Is the New Year"  Romer, John Alagía 3:15
11. "Shorty Don't Wait"  Romer 4:11
12. "Cheer Up!"  Romer 2:11
13. "Say Something" (with Christina Aguilera)Romer 3:49

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 36
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 33
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[13] 3
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[14] 55
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[15] 25
UK Albums (OCC)[16] 16
US Billboard 200[17] 3

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, label, format and edition(s)
Region Date Format(s) Label Edition(s)
United States January 21, 2014 CD, digital download Epic Standard
Canada March 3, 2014 RCA

References

  1. ↑ Jodi Walker (January 16, 2014). "A Great Big World talks Christina Aguilera, their new album, and the spectrum of sexuality". Entertainment Weekly.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Timothy Monger. "review". Allmusic.com.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jim Farber (January 14, 2014). "A Great Big World, 'Is There Anybody Out There?': Album review". New York Daily News.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Glenn Gamboa (January 20, 2014). "A Great Big World's debut album review: Pop surprises". Newsday.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Elysa Gardner (January 20, 2014). "Review: Great Big World's 'Is There Anybody Out There?'". USA Today.
  6. ↑ Kyle Jaeger (January 21, 2014). "A Great Big World's 'Is There Anybody Out There?': What the Critics Are Saying". The Hollywood Reporter.
  7. ↑ Jason Lipschutz (January 21, 2014). "Album Reviews: A Great Big World, Young the Giant, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, The Crystal Method, Von Grey". Billboard.
  8. ↑ Jon Caramanica (January 20, 2014). "A Great Big World and Linnea Olsson Release Albums". The New York Times.
  9. ↑ Grein, Paul (January 29, 2014). "Chart Watch: And The Grammy Sales Bump Goes To…". Chart Watch. Yahoo.
  10. ↑ Keith Caulfield (February 7, 2014). "Chart Moves: Michael Jackson's 'Number Ones' Hits 5 Million in Sales, OneRepublic Moves a Half-Million of 'Native'". Billboard.
  11. ↑ "A Great Big World – Is There Anybody Out There?" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien.
  12. ↑ "A Great Big World – Is There Anybody Out There?". Australiancharts.com. Hung Medien.
  13. ↑ "Illegal name entered A Great Big World/A+Great+Big+World/chart?f=309 A Great Big World Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for A Great Big World.
  14. ↑ "A Great Big World – Is There Anybody Out There?" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien.
  15. ↑ "A Great Big World – Is There Anybody Out There?". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien.
  16. ↑ "A Great Big World | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart
  17. ↑ Illegal name entered A Great Big World/A+Great+Big+World/chart?f=305 "A Great Big World Album & Song Chart History" Billboard 200 for A Great Big World. Retrieved 2014-02-08.