Cry Pretty
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 Capitol Records Nashville after signing a global deal with Universal Music Group at the start of 2017. The album marked the first co-producing effort by Underwood, who partnered with David Garcia for the record.[2]
Cry Pretty
September 14, 2018
- Dark Horse Recording (Nashville, Tennessee)
- Library (Nashville, Tennessee)
- Oak Hollow (Brentwood, Tennessee)
- Southern Ground & Rock The Soul Entertainment (Nashville, Tennessee)
- Velvet Basement (Miami, Florida)
- The Ludaplex (Atlanta, Georgia)
50:26
- David Garcia
- Jim Jonsin
- Carrie Underwood
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 was supported by four singles: "Cry Pretty", "Love Wins", “Southbound”, and "Drinking Alone". To further promote it, Underwood embarked on The Cry Pretty Tour 360, which started on May 1 and ended on October 31, 2019.
Background[edit]
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."[3] Songwriter and producer David Garcia was selected to co-produce the album with Underwood. Additionally, Cry Pretty marks Underwood's first effort as producer.[4] Although the making of the album had been going on for nearly a year before Underwood's fall and subsequent injuries in 2017, she wasn't able to record vocals for the songs until 2018, due to the damage to her mouth.[5]
Underwood had reserved the track "The Bullet" for several album cycles, finally deciding to release it on the Cry Pretty album.[5] She addressed the intent behind the song, calling it "timely but not political. It doesn’t matter what the opinions or feelings are, it just matters that something happened, and it’s about the people that are affected by it at the end of the day. I’m just glad I heard this song before anyone else did because I feel like it found its home with us.”[6]
Underwood co-wrote the album's title track after having three miscarriages in two years, explaining that, "I would literally have these horrible things going on in my life and then have to go smile and do some interviews or photoshoots."[7] She also addressed the more personal songs on the album, saying, “I feel like I’ve always been good about writing stories about other people and not so great writing about myself. I felt like through all the ups and downs of last year and the beginning of this year, it was...I had to. That’s just what was on my mind and on my heart.”[8]
Underwood considers the album her most personal to date, saying, "I feel like this is the most me I've ever had in a project. This is the project that I've had my hands all over the most. It's just something I'm really proud of. I want people to find something that makes them feel something."[9]
Accolades[edit]
At the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, the album received a nomination for Top Country Album.[34] At the 53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards, the album received a nomination for Country Music Association Award for Album of the Year.[35] At the 47th Annual American Music Awards the album won the award for Favorite Country Album, making Underwood the only artist to receive that award for every album they have released.[36]
Commercial performance[edit]
In the United States, Cry Pretty debuted on top of 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.[37] It is 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.[37] 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. It made her the first female country artist to top that chart.[38] It was the seventh best-selling album of 2018 in the United States, with 401,000 copies sold that year.[39] It has sold 534,000 physical copies and a total of 870,000 copies including streaming in the United States as of January 2020.[40] Cry Pretty was certified Gold by the RIAA on October 23, 2018, and Platinum on February 12, 2020.[41]
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.[42] Cry Pretty opened at number four on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart,[43] becoming her third top five album there, while also debuting at number one on the country component chart.[44] 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.
The album's four singles, "Cry Pretty," "Love Wins," "Southbound," and "Drinking Alone" have all been certified gold or platinum by the RIAA as of August 2021, with streaming included.[45]