The Wanted (EP)

The Wanted
EP / compilation album by The Wanted
Released 24 April 2012
Recorded London, England
(Rokstone Studios, Metrophonic Studios)
Denver, United States
(Patriot Studios)
Los Angeles, United States
(Westlake Recording Studios)
Stockholm, Sweden
(Kinglet Studios, A-Side Studios)
Genre Dance-pop
Length 24:07
Label Mercury
Producer
The Wanted chronology

Battleground
(2011)
The Wanted & Third Strike: The EP
(2012)
Word of Mouth (The Wanted album)
Singles from The Wanted
  1. "All Time Low"
    Released: 1 July 2011
  2. "Glad You Came"
    Released: 13 September 2011
  3. "Chasing the Sun"
    Released: 17 April 2012

The Wanted is a compilation extended play by British-Irish boy band The Wanted. It was released on 24 April 2012 as the band's debut release in Canada and United States via Mercury Records.[1] The EP comprises material from The Wanted's two studio albums: The Wanted (2010) and Battleground (2011), as well as two new songs: "Chasing the Sun" and "Satellite".

Background

During recording sessions for The Wanted's second British studio album, Battleground, it was announced that a record deal with American label Def Jam Records was in the pipeline. It was reported that the three-album deal would see the group release material in the United States as early as February 2012.[2] It was later confirmed by Def Jam that the band's first stateside release would be a ten-track EP, that would consist of a mixture of previously available material, alongside two all-new tracks, exclusive to the American market.[3] Soon after the report, the band teased that they had been in the studio with a "big American star", recording a duet entitled "Jealousy". The "star" was later revealed to be Rihanna. It was later reported by Digital Spy that after the song had been mixed, tuned and finalised, the final mix "didn't cut it", and as such, the song had been completely scrapped, and was not going to be released.[4]

Band member Jay McGuiness later revealed that the group had been in the studio with songwriter and performer Ryan Tedder, working a number of different songs, including one track which was tentatively titled "Satellite". British rapper Example later confirmed that he had written a song for the EP, entitled "Chasing the Sun", which he claimed, if released as a single, could be the track that would officially make the band a staple of the American music industry.[5] Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun later backed the group for American success, claiming "they could be as big as the Backstreet Boys or 'N Sync with a little bit of guidance."[6] In March 2012, the EP's track listing was confirmed to contain eight previously released tracks, including all seven of the band's British singles – "All Time Low", "Glad You Came", "Gold Forever", "Lose My Mind", "Heart Vacancy", "Lightning" and "Warzone", the album track "Rocket", and two all new tracks - "Chasing The Sun" and "Satellite".[7]

Singles

"All Time Low" was released as the EP's lead single on 1 July 2011. The single was available in three formats - a standard download, a nine-track remix EP and as part of a five-track live performance EP recorded at the iTunes festival, London, in March 2011. Aside from charting at number 19 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart, the single failed to achieve any sort of commercial success, as its release did not receive any promotion.[8]

"Glad You Came" was released as the EP's second single on 18 October 2011. This time, a much heavier promotional schedule was given to the single, and as such, following heavy radio play and television coverage, the single entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 64. The success of the single soon skyrocketed in January 2012 after the band gave a live performance of the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which became their first ever TV performance in the United States.[9] The band went on tour throughout America in January 2012 to promote the single, and a number of shows became sell-outs.[10] The band soon began to receive nationwide acclaim, and in February 2012, the single's success continued to grow after the song was covered in an episode of the American television drama series Glee. The song began to climb up the Billboard Hot 100, and at the end of February, it peaked at #3, breaking an all time record, becoming the highest chart position for a British boyband ever on the chart, beating the existing record of #7 set by Take That's "Back for Good". The band reportedly sold over 180,000 copies of the single over the course of a week.[11]

"Chasing the Sun" was released as the third and final single on 17 April 2012.[12] It was sent to US mainstream radio on 15 May 2012.[13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 62/100[14]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [15]
Billboard 68/100[16]
Entertainment Weekly B+[17]
HitFix mixed[18]
Los Angeles Times [19]
Rolling Stone [20]

The Wanted received generally positive reviews from music critics upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 62 based on 5 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[14]

Commercial reception

In the United States, The Wanted debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 34,000 copies.[21] To date, it has sold 207,000 copies in the U.S.[22] On 3 July 2012, the group officially announced they would be visiting Australia and New Zealand, for the promotion off their extended play. They visited the countries in August 2012.[23]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Glad You Came"  Mac 3:18
2. "Chasing the Sun" (EP version)
  • Alex Smith
  • Elliot Gleave
Smith 3:18
3. "All Time Low" (EP re-master)
  • Mac
  • Hector
  • Drewett
Steve Mac 3:25
4. "Satellite"  
  • Tedder
  • Zancanella
3:02
5. "Lightning"  
  • Mac
  • Hector
  • Drewett
Mac 3:23
6. "Heart Vacancy"  
3:43
7. "Gold Forever"  
Mac 3:58

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Canadian Albums Chart[27] 8
Japanese Albums Chart[28] 271
US Billboard 200[29] 7

Year-end charts

Chart (2012) Position
US Billboard 200[30] 194

Release history

Region Date Format Edition Label
Canada[31][32] 24 April 2012 Standard edition Universal Music Group
United States[33][34] Mercury Records
Australia[35] 27 April 2012 Digital download Special edition Universal Music Group
New Zealand[36]
Japan[26] 8 May 2013
  • CD
  • CD+DVD
Australia[37] 6 July 2012 CD

References

  1. The Wanted - News - 'The Wanted' EP Tracklisting Revealed!
  2. Published Wednesday 14 December 2011, 09:47 GMT (2011-12-14). "The Wanted to sign "big" US management deal". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  3. Published Wednesday 29 February 2012, 10:50 GMT (2012-02-29). "The Wanted working on new songs for US album release with Ryan Tedder". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
  4. Published Thursday 12 January 2012, 15:23 GMT (2012-01-12). "The Wanted turn down collaboration with big US artist". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  5. Published Tuesday 3 January 2012, 10:45 GMT (2012-01-03). "Example to help The Wanted crack America with new single". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  6. Published Saturday 21 January 2012, 14:45 GMT (2012-01-21). "Justin Bieber manager 'backs The Wanted in US'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  7. The Wanted Blog, ‘The Wanted’ Tracklisting Revealed!
  8. "iTunes - Music - iTunes Festival: London 2011 – EP by The Wanted". Itunes.apple.com. 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  9. Published Saturday 7 January 2012, 10:11 GMT (2012-01-07). "The Wanted to perform on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  10. Published Wednesday 25 January 2012, 11:45 GMT (2012-01-25). "The Wanted "speechless" after US show sells out - Music News". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  11. The Wanted claim first US Top 5 hit with 'Glad You Came' - Music News - Digital Spy
  12. Connecting to the iTunes Store
  13. Top 40/M Future Releases | Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates
  14. 14.0 14.1 "The Wanted [EP] Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  15. The Wanted [EP] - The Wanted : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic
  16. The Wanted EP: Track-By-Track Review | Billboard
  17. "Music Review: The Wanted, by The Wanted". Entertainment Weekly. 2012-04-27.
  18. Review: The Wanteds self-titled album debut
  19. "Album review: The Wanted's 'The Wanted'". Los Angeles Times.
  20. The Wanted | Album Reviews | Rolling Stone
  21. Jack White Scores First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart | Billboard
  22. The Wanted Taking a Break Following Tour | Billboard
  23. The Wanted coming to New Zealand - Story - Entertainment - 3 News
  24. "iTunes - Music - The Wanted (Special Edition) by The Wanted". iTunes Store. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  25. "Amazon.co.jp: ザ・ウォンテッド最強盤: 音楽". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  26. 26.0 26.1 "Amazon.co.jp: ザ・ウォンテッド最強盤-デラックス・エディション(DVD付): 音楽". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  27. Daniell, Mark. "White soars, Wanted flop on charts". Canadian Albums Chart. Jam!. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  28. ザ・ウォンテッドのCDアルバムランキング │オリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE
  29. Caulfield, Keith (2 May 2012). "Jack White Scores First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  30. "Billboard 200 Year-End 2012". Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  31. iTunes - Music - The Wanted by The Wanted
  32. The Wanted: Amazon.ca: Music
  33. iTunes - Music - The Wanted by The Wanted
  34. Amazon.com: The EP: The Wanted: Music
  35. iTunes - Music - The Wanted (Special Edition) by The Wanted
  36. iTunes - Music - The Wanted (Special Edition) by The Wanted
  37. Buy Wanted: The EP Wanted, Pop, CD | Sanity