Cry Pretty (album)

Cry Pretty
Studio album by Carrie Underwood
Released	September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)
Genre	Country pop R&B
Length	50:26
Label	Capitol Nashville
Producer	David Garcia Jim Jonsin Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood chronology
Storyteller (2015) Cry Pretty (2018)
Singles from Cry Pretty
"Cry Pretty" Released: April 11, 2018 "Love Wins" Released: August 31, 2018

Cry Pretty is the sixth studio album by American singer and songwriter Carrie Underwood. The album was released on September 14, 2018, as Underwood's first album with her new record label, Capitol Records Nashville after signing a global deal with Universal Music Group at the start of 2017. The album also marks the first co-producing effort by Underwood, who partnered with David Garcia for the record.^[1]

The album was met with mostly positive reviews from music critics, and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, making Underwood the first woman to hit the top of the Billboard 200 chart with four country albums. It also achieved the biggest sales week for a country album in more than three years, as well as the biggest sales week for a female artist in 2018. It also debuted at number one in Canada, number four in Australia and charted in several other markets.

The album has so far been supported by two singles: "Cry Pretty" and "Love Wins". To further promote it, Underwood will embark on the Cry Pretty Tour 360, which will launch in May, 2019.

Background

On April 18, 2018, Underwood released a statement on the album, saying, "At this point in my career, I feel stronger and more creative than ever. I think you can hear that in this new album. It's emotional, it's soulful, it's real, and we also have some fun on there too. I hope everyone loves it as much as I have loved making it."^[2] Songwriter and producer David Garcia was selected to co-produce the album with Underwood. Additionally, Cry Pretty marks Underwood's first effort as producer.^[3]

Promotion

Underwood performed the title track for the first time at the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards on April 15, which was well-received by critics.^[4] She also performed "Spinning Bottles" at the American Music Awards of 2018.^[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	69/100[12]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
Consequence of Sound	B[14]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[15]
Exclaim!	6/10[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]

Cry Pretty received mostly positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album has an average score of 69, based on eleven reviews.^[12] Giving a rating of three and a half stars out of five, Rolling Stone called Cry Pretty a "modern country album pivoting into pop and R&B without going full Taylor, while also showing the kind of character more mega-stars should aspire to". The songwriting was referred to as "grade-A" and Underwood's voice was deemed "mighty" and "selling even the lesser [songs]". The review also praised Underwood for raising the topic of gun violence in "The Bullet" and "Love Wins", noting that "if Underwood isn't going there, she's at least got the balls to engage the subject in the mainstream, where the conversation needs to happen — while her male peers, no doubt worried about their market share, seem scared to make a peep". Additionally, the review draws favourable similarities to the music of Adele, Kate Bush, Beyoncé, Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss but highlights Sam Hunt, explaining that the "architecture [of the album] is R&B at its core".^[17] Markos Papadatos of the Digital Journal praised the album stating "the control Underwood maintains over her voice throughout the album is impeccable. Overall, Carrie Underwood excels on this album as a singer, songwriter, and producer. Cry Pretty is a superb studio effort, and it garners an A rating."^[18] The Diamondback reviewed the album favorably, writing "poised and mature, her sixth studio album effortlessly differentiates itself through the masterful lyricism and savvy falsettos that trademark Underwood's undeniable talent, even over a decade after her American Idol win. The organic sense of vulnerability conveyed throughout the entire album leaves the listener with the impression of having just sat down and talked for hours with Underwood herself." The review concluded with the statement "Underwood proves on Cry Pretty that she has strategically maintained her stronghold of country regality, as this album portrays her dynamic evolution not only as a musician, but as a person as well."^[19]

Commercial performance

In the United States, Cry Pretty was projected to open at number one on the albums chart with 210,000 units.^[20] On September 23, 2018, the album debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 266,000 album-equivalent units, including 251,000 pure album sales, giving Underwood her fourth number-one album, and making her the first woman to have four number-one country albums on the chart.^[21] It is also the largest sales week for a country album since Luke Bryan's Kill the Lights in 2015, and the biggest sales week for a female artist in 2018.^[21] It also debuted atop the Top Country Albums chart, becoming her seventh consecutive number one album on that chart. The debut of Cry Pretty at number one on the Billboard 200 prompted Underwood to rise from number sixty-one to the top of Billboard Artist 100, which measures artist activity across the publication's most influential charts. It made her the first female country artist to top that chart.^[22] In its second week, the album shifted 36,000 units and fell to number 7 on the Billboard 200 chart, while spending a second week atop the Top Country Albums chart.^[23]

The album also debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart with 28,000 album-equivalent units, giving Underwood her third number-one album in the country.^[24] Cry Pretty opened at number four on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart,^[25] becoming her third top five album there, while also debuting at number one on the country component chart.^[26] It also debuted at number 12 in Scotland and number sixteen on the UK Albums Chart—becoming her third top twenty album in the region.

Track listing

Track listing and credits adapted from Rolling Stone and the iTunes Store. All songs produced by Carrie Underwood and David Garcia, except "The Champion", produced by Jim Jonsin.^[27][28]

Charts

References