Better
Studio album by
Haley Reinhart
ReleasedApril 29, 2016 (2016-04-29)
Recorded2012–16
Genre
Length39:19
LabelRed Dot (independent)
Ole (publisher)
ADA (distributor)
Producer
Haley Reinhart chronology
Listen Up!
(2012)		 Better
(2016)		 What's That Sound?
(2017)
Singles from Better
  1. "Better"
    Released: April 8, 2016

Better is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Haley Reinhart. It was released on April 29, 2016 by music publishers Ole and Red Dot.[1] Reinhart's cover of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" was released as the album's first promotional single on October 9, 2015.[2][3] The lead single, "Better", was released on April 8, 2016, the same day that the album became available for pre-order.[4] The album was met with positive reviews from critics, who praised its production, its fusion of genres and eras, Reinhart's voice and personality, and the album's overall message of empowerment. Better debuted at number 22 on the Independent Albums chart and sold 7,500 units in its first two weeks of release.

Production

Better began as an initial six-track EP which was recorded at Westlake Recording Studios in February 2015 with financial support from ole publishing company.[5][6] After being delayed several times throughout 2015, Reinhart announced that the EP would instead be expanded into her full-length second LP with a release date in spring 2016.[7]

The album included tracks that were written as demos several years ago and newer tracks, including her cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love."[2][3][8] The first song Reinhart wrote for Better, "I Belong to You," is her favorite song from the album.[9] She utilized original productions and fused them with cuts from a live band[8] to produce a final product "with a powerful, meaty foundation" and material "that people will relate to".[2] Reinhart composed five songs with Swedish songwriter Anders Grahn, and her father provided guitar for the album.[8][10] Reinhart had a lot of production control over the album, specifying "I feel I've grown as an artist in terms of songwriting and I've really put my producing skills into practice. I was really meticulous about every nuance of the production, so I'm really proud of this record."[11]

The album includes themes of confidence and progress; Reinhart states "even in a lot of the artwork I'm doing, I have roses represented throughout all the photos. I wanted to tie in something that represents growth and evolution. A rose is constantly growing, blooming, flourishing.”[9] Additionally, she describes Better as a "sultry" mix of funk and rock with a soulful foundation that is crafted to inspire self-confidence and independence in young women, especially through the song "Better."[12]

Singles

Reinhart's cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love" was released as the album's first promotional single on October 9, 2015 after being used in a commercial for Extra Gum.[2][3] The video amassed 18,000,000 views on YouTube and 88,000,000 views on Facebook.[2][13] The single debuted at number 25 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart dated January 16, 2016.[14] The song peaked at number 31 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart.[15]

The title track was released as the album's lead single on April 8, 2016.[4]

Other songs

The album's second track, "Behave," premiered as a "teaser track" on Idolator on April 25, 2016, four days before the album release.[16]

Critical reception

Jason Scott of Popdust praised the album, which, "packed to the brim with 11 soul-inspired, Motown-fused tracks, is a kind of greatness which forges career-defining moments in time." He also lauded Reinhart for the "placement of her growl and finesse (mostly) above the production, licensing her the freedom to color outside the lines in breathtaking ways." He noted the songs "My Cake," "Can’t Help Falling in Love," "Check Please," "Better," and "Love Is Worth Fighting For" as highlights from the album, rating it overall at four out of five stars.[17] Gabi Bruckner of Tongue Tied Mag provided a positive review, praising Reinhart for her infusion of retro styles into the album. Of the beginning tracks "My Cake" and "Behave," Bruckner noted, "these two tracks side by side allow the album to build in the retro and pop glamour vibe it's destined to unfold towards the latter," adding that "'Bad Light' follows this direction of rebellious, rock influenced vocals with sweet harmonies and jagged attitude." Overall, Bruckner lauded the album for the "empowerment flavor that continues to be one of the album's underlying themes."[18] Emily Tan of MySpace included the album in her list of the "Top 5 Album Releases of the Week" for April 29. She praised the album as a showcase of Reinhart's personality, stating "she's not only bringing the sass but also the funk." She also noted, "throwing in jazzy scats and strong belts, the 25-year-old pop singer walks the fine line of a vintage sound and something a bit more modern."[19] Jacob Elyachar of Jake's Take praised Reinhart's "innate ability to blend multiple musical genres together" and gave the album an A+ rating overall.[20]

Commercial performance

Better debuted at number 22 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart dated May 21, 2016.[21] The album sold 7,500 units within its first two weeks of release.[22]

Promotion

Live performances

Throughout 2014, Reinhart performed several small-scale gigs, debuting many of the album tracks in her performances at Room 5 Lounge in Los Angeles.[23] In July 2015, she opened for The Rigs at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, California, performing covers and original material from Better.[24][25] On March 18, 2016, Reinhart performed in Austin, Texas for Mix 94.7 during SXSW as part of the "West of the Fest" venue.[26] On April 30, 2016, Reinhart held an album release and benefit concert at Durty Nellie's Pub in Palatine, Illinois for the development of multimedia sexual abuse prevention curriculum for the PAVE and Erin's Law organizations.[11][27] Of the show, Reinhart stated:

"the new album is going to be released the day before, so it's going to be a big homecoming on lots of levels. I'm also going to have my parents' band backing me up for that show, which is going to be great. And the cause itself is something I've really wanted to put energy and time into since I was a young girl. Plus, April happens to be Sexual Assault awareness month. I'm just happy to be a part of it."[11]

Radio promotion tour

In mid-February 2016, Reinhart launched a nationwide radio promotion tour to support the success of "Can't Help Falling in Love." Several 2016 dates were released for preliminary venues located throughout the United States.[28] Reinhart performed at The Hard Rock Cafe in Denver on February 17 for Mix 100.[29] She performed at Mix 96.9's Broken Hearts Ball concert event in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 19[30] and at the Acoustic Cafe for 96.5 Tic FM in Hartford, Connecticut on March 14.[31]

2016 Better summer solo tour

On March 28, 2016, Reinhart officially confirmed a US summer solo tour in support of the album, with an initial 17 dates announced throughout the month of June.[32] On May 25, 2016, Reinhart announced a European leg for her tour, which consists of an additional 16 dates throughout the months of September and October.[33] The European leg was subsequently postponed until spring of 2017, with some dates rescheduled to May and June 2016 and many others cancelled due to rescheduling conflicts.[34]

Date City Country Venue
North America
June 3, 2016 Petaluma United States Mystic Theatre
June 4, 2016 San Francisco Great American Music Hall
June 6, 2016 Los Angeles El Rey Theatre
June 7, 2016 Solana Beach Belly Up
June 9, 2016 Phoenix Crescent Ballroom
June 11, 2016 Denver Bluebird Theater
June 13, 2016 Minneapolis Varsity Theater
June 14, 2016 Chicago Lincoln Hall
June 15, 2016 Columbus A&R Music Bar
June 17, 2016 Detroit Saint Andrew's Hall
June 18, 2016 Pittsburgh Stage AE
June 19, 2016 Philadelphia World Café Live
June 21, 2016 Washington, D.C. The Hamilton
June 22, 2016 New York City Gramercy Theatre
June 23, 2016 Boston Brighton Music Hall
June 25, 2016 Bay Shore Boulton Center for the Performing Arts
June 26, 2016 Asbury Park House of Independents
Europe
May 24, 2017 Warsaw Poland Stodola (Open Stage)
May 25, 2017 Berlin Germany Musik & Frieden
May 26, 2017 Amsterdam Netherlands Bitterzoet
May 27, 2017 Zürich Switzerland Moods
May 29, 2017 Paris France Le Divan du Monde
May 30, 2017 London United Kingdom O2 Academy Islington
May 31, 2017 Birmingham The Glee Club
June 2, 2017 Manchester Gorilla
June 3, 2017 Glasgow Oran Mor
June 5, 2017 Dublin Ireland Whelan's

Track listing

Initial writing credits sourced from:[35] and writing and production sourced from:[17]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."My Cake"
  • Lopez
  • Ordorica
2:58
2."Behave"
  • Reinhart
  • Bhavik "Kingstarr" Pattani
Pattani3:11
3."Better"
Grahn3:38
4."Can't Help Falling in Love"
2:53
5."Check Please"
Kleiner3:29
6."Bad Light"
  • Flannigan
  • Grahn
3:41
7."Talkin' About"
  • Reinhart
  • Grahn
  • Justin Gray
Gray3:19
8."Good or Bad"
  • Reinhart
  • Grahn
Grahn3:49
9."Love Is Worth Fighting For"
  • Reinhart
  • Reynolds
Sir Charles Prince4:00
10."I Belong To You"
Geringas4:18
11."Listen"
  • Reinhart
  • Grahn
  • Maria Marcus
Marcus4:03

Personnel

  • Zooby Media - art direction and album design
  • Casey Curry - photography
  • Rob Cohen - recording engineer
  • Sean Gould - mixing engineer
  • Joao Carvalho - mastering engineer
  • Sir Charles Prince - live session producer
  • Haley Reinhart - executive producer
  • Simon Renshaw - management

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
US Independent Albums 22

References

  1. ↑ Ella Ceron (April 7, 2016). "Listen to American Idol Alum Haley Reinhart's New Single "Better"". TeenVogue. TeenVogue. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Haley Reinhart's 'Can't Help Falling in Love' Gets Intimate New Video: Exclusive Premiere". Billboard. 2015-11-23. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  3. 1 2 3 "The 58th GRAMMYs: Haley Reinhart". Soundcloud. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  4. 1 2 "Better Days Ahead For Haley Reinhart". Pollstar. Pollstar. April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Haley Reinhart on Twitter: "Today's a special week folks! I'm takin my fav tunes I've written the past few yrs. & recording them live over at @WestlakeStudios #HaleyEP"". Twitter.com. 2015-02-23. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  6. ↑ "Singer/Songwriter Haley Reinhart in Worldwide Co-Publishing Deal With ole". ole. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  7. ↑ "Haley Reinhart Talks Full Circle Moments, Elvis with Gina J". CBSLocal. 2016-02-12. Archived from the original on 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  8. 1 2 3 "Behind The Jukebox: Haley Reinart". YouTube. 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  9. 1 2 Jason Scott (2016-03-02). "Haley Reinhart Talks New Album 'Better,' Return To 'Idol' & JLo's History Lesson". Popdust. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  10. ↑ Rebecca Dalzell (November 25, 2015). "Haley Reinhart Wants to See You Shake and Roll (and Maybe Your Dog, Too)". JP Morgan Chase and Co. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 Bruce Ingram (April 20, 2016). "American Idol' alum Haley Rienhart headlines benefit, celebrates new album at Durty Nellie's". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  12. ↑ "EP 22 - Interview with Haley Reinhart". TheUnwritableRant. Jan 23, 2016. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Extra Gum: The Story of Sarah & Juan". YouTube. 2015-10-07. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  14. ↑ Gary Trust (2016-01-06). "Haley Reinhart 'Can't Help' Bringing a Classic Back to Adult Contemporary Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  15. ↑ "Haley Reinhart - Chart history (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  16. ↑ Mike Waas (2016-04-25). "Haley Reinhart Teases Sophomore LP With Sexy Buzz Track "Behave": Idolator Premiere". Idolator. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  17. 1 2 Jason Scott (2016-04-26). "Haley Reinhart Is 'Better' Than Ever On New Album⎯⎯Review". Popdust. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  18. ↑ Gabi Bruckner (April 26, 2016). "we heard haley reinhart's new album "better" and this is what we thought". Tongue Tied Mag. Tongue Tied Mag. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  19. ↑ Emily Tan (April 29, 2016). "Top 5 Album Releases of the Week". MySpace. MySpace. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  20. ↑ Jacob Elyachar (April 29, 2016). "Jake's Take's Music Reviews: Week of April 29, 2016". Jake's Take. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Haley Reinhart - Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  22. ↑ "ole Label Services Soars with Anthem". ole Majorly Indie. 2016-05-20. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  23. ↑ Michele Amabile Angermiller (2014-06-27). "'American Idol' Haley Reinhart and Casey Abrams Show Off Their Moves (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  24. ↑ "The Rigs". Troubadour. 2015-07-23. Archived from the original on 2019-07-26. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  25. ↑ Haley Reinhart News (2015-07-27). "Haley Reinhart Plays the Troubadour". Haley Reinhart News. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  26. ↑ "West Of The Fest ft. Blue October, DNCE, Daya, Haley Reinhart, Borns, Tor Miller (Free)". DO512. Archived from the original on 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  27. ↑ "Coming Saturday, April 30th, 2016: 2 Huge Events: "The Empowerment Summit" & Haley Reinhart's "Better" benefits concert". HealthyLivingCounselingCenter. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  28. ↑ "Haley Reinhart's 2016 Radio Tour". HaleyReinhartNews. 2016-02-12. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  29. ↑ "Haley Reinhart Live". Hard Rock Cafe. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  30. ↑ "Broken Hearts Ball". iHeartMedia, Inc. 2016-01-22. Archived from the original on 2016-01-28. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  31. ↑ Haley Reinhart News (2016-03-16). "Haley Reinhart visits the Northeast". Haley Reinhart News. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  32. ↑ Mike Waas (2016-03-28). "Haley Reinhart Announces Sophomore LP 'Better' & Summer Tour". Idolator. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  33. ↑ Jason Scott (2016-05-25). "Haley Reinhart Maps Out 2016 European Tour Dates". PopDust. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  34. ↑ Sarah Marie Pittman (2016-09-09). "Haley Reinhart Reschedules Euro Trip". Pollstar. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
  35. ↑ "Sophomore Album Tracker". Haley Times at Wordpress.com. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
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