Blue Smoke (album)
Blue Smoke is the forty-fourth solo studio album by American country entertainer Dolly Parton. The album was released in Australia and New Zealand on January 31, 2014, in North America on May 13, 2014, in Ireland on June 6, 2014, and in Europe on June 9, 2014.
Blue Smoke
Promotion[edit]
The Blue Smoke World Tour was officially announced on The Queen Latifah Show on October 21, 2013, where she performed a song from the album, "Miss You, Miss Me".[6] In December 2013, Parton discussed the album and tour on Access Hollywood.[7] The tour will serve as the main promotional vehicle behind the album.[8] On April 14, 2014, Parton appeared on AXS TV's The Big Interview to discuss the album, tour, and other aspects of her career with Dan Rather.[9] Parton also signed on to become one of the headlining acts of the Glastonbury Festival to promote the album in the United Kingdom in June 2014.[10] On April 27, 2014, Parton performed on QVC's Q Sessions Live, where she performed several songs from the album along with past hits.[11] Also on April 27, the entire album became available to stream for free on National Public Radio.[12] Yahoo! Music hosted a series of videos of Parton discussing her album, life, and career leading up to the album's release.[13] Parton appeared on Today on the album's release date where she performed in the show's Toyota Concert Series.[14] Parton also promoted the album by offering fans a free digital copy of Blue Smoke if they pre-ordered the album from Walmart.[15]
The title track was released as a single ahead of the album release in Australia and New Zealand in December 2013.[16] On March 18, 2014, the single was released elsewhere via iTunes. It was also available for immediate download with pre-order of the album. The second single is "Home" and Parton filmed a video in Tennessee for the song.[17] "Home" was written by Parton and Kent Wells, and was released as a single with a music video on May 28, 2014. Lyrically, the song tells the story of a girl who left her home at age 17 to follow her dreams and is now returning after many years, which she describes fondly. The song is considered to be autobiographical of Parton.
Commercial performance[edit]
In the US, Blue Smoke debuted at number 6 with first-week sales of 37,000 copies.[28] It was Parton's highest-charting, and first top 10, solo album ever. Its first week sales were her best sales week for a solo project. Blue Smoke also logged her best debut rank on Top Country Albums in 23 years, entering at No. 2.
In the UK, Blue Smoke proved to be Parton's most successful album ever, spending 12 weeks in the top 10 UK Albums Chart, with a peak position of number 2 in the seventh week. It was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on July 4, 2014, Gold on July 18, 2014, and Platinum on December 12, 2014.[29] The album has sold over 400,000 copies in the UK as of August 2016.[30]