Singular: Act I
Singular: Act I is the third studio album by American singer Sabrina Carpenter. It was released on November 9, 2018 through Hollywood Records. Carpenter began work on the album shortly after the release of her second studio album, Evolution (2016). The album is primarily a pop album with elements of dance-pop, themed around self-empowerment, and marked the first time where all songs on an album were co-written by Carpenter.[2] In support of the album, Carpenter embarked on the Singular Tour in March 2019.
Singular: Act I
November 9, 2018
2017–2018
25:01
Two singles were released for the album including "Almost Love" and "Sue Me" while "Paris" and "Bad Time" were released as promotional singles. Additionally, singles "Why" and "Alien" were not on the album's tracklist but were instead included on the Japanese edition of the album. The album received critical acclaim from music critics, and debuted at number 103 on the US Billboard 200. The album itself is the first half of a two-piece project, being supplemented by Singular: Act II (2019).
Background and release[edit]
Carpenter released her second studio album Evolution in 2016 to commercial success and began to work soon after on her follow up album, original titled Singular.[3] During The De-Tour in 2017, she began teasing material from the album including a now scrapped song titled "Alone Together" and "Why"; the latter was not included in the final tracklisting.[4] In March 2018, Carpenter also released "Alien" with British DJ Jonas Blue which reached number one on the US Dance Club Songs chart.[5]
In May 2018, Carpenter began teasing Singular with the release of the lead single, "Almost Love".[6] In June, Carpenter released a trailer for the album, which was scheduled for a winter 2018 release.[7] The trailer was directed by Lauren Dunn with snippets from songs including "Sue Me", "Mona Lisa" and "I Can't Stop Me".[8] She premiered "Almost Love" that same week alongside a live performance at Wango Tango.[9]
In October, during a performance of "Almost Love" on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Carpenter ripped off a piece of the set wall revealing a part of the album cover art and spray painted "11/9" on the wall indicating that the album was scheduled for release on November 9, 2018.[10][11] That same month she also announced that the album would be split into two parts with Act I officially released on November 9, 2018.[12] A compact disc was exclusively released for sale at Target stores.[13]
Commercial performance[edit]
Singular Act I debuted at number 103 on the US Billboard 200 and 38 on the US Top Album Sales chart.[39] The album also reached 48 in the UK,[40] and 20 in Australia.[41] The singles from the album fared well on the charts with "Almost Love" and "Sue Me" both reaching number one on the US Dance Club Songs chart and 21 and 31, respectively, on the US Pop Songs chart.[5]
Notes