Storyline
Studio album by
Hunter Hayes
ReleasedMay 6, 2014 (2014-05-06)
GenreCountry
Length50:07
LabelAtlantic
Producer
Hunter Hayes chronology
Hunter Hayes
(2011)		 Storyline
(2014)		 I Want Crazy
(2015)
Singles from Storyline
  1. "Invisible"
    Released: January 26, 2014
  2. "Tattoo"
    Released: June 16, 2014

Storyline is the second studio album by American country music artist Hunter Hayes, released on May 6, 2014 through Atlantic Records.[1] As with his previous album, every song is co-written and co-produced by Hayes. However, instead of performing all the instrumentals himself as he did on Hunter Hayes, on this release Hayes opted to feature guest musicians, including his touring band and Paul Franklin, the steel guitar player behind Vince Gill's Bakersfield.[2][3]

The album was preceded on January 26 by lead single "Invisible", which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs after being premiered at the 2014 Grammy Awards.

Background

Hayes revealed in an interview with Billboard that he was "very conscious about" constructing his second album after the success of his debut effort, and that he planned to take his time recording. By November 2013, he had written more than 60 songs for the album, by which point he "finally" felt ready to narrow it down the songs that best represented what he wanted to say.[4] Ultimately, the track listing ended up consisting of 14 tracks.

While Hayes intended to work with Dann Huff again and play "almost as much" as he did on his previous album, he also wanted to branch out and collaborate with other musicians. "There's a couple of songs I may even do by myself," he told Billboard in November, "But I'll bring in some collaborators, too, musician-wise. I'll bring in some guys I haven't worked with but wanted to work with."[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Country WeeklyA[7]
Digital Journal[8]
Los Angeles Times[9]
NewsdayB+[10]
The Oakland Press[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
USA Today[13]

Storyline garnered generally positive reception from eight music critics. The review aggregator website Metacritic assigns a "weighted average" rating to an album, utilizing selected independent mainstream reviews, and the album has a Metascore of an 80 out of 100 based on four reviews.[5] Tammy Ragusa of Country Weekly graded the album an A, observing how "Hunter Hayes has once again produced a collection of music that belies his tender age, not only in content, but in vocal confidence."[7] At AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album four stars out of five, stating that "Hunter doesn't bother sounding older than his years nor does he care to put on airs: he's a modern-day Southern boy, raised on radio pop played in big box stores and playing the back porch on a Sunday afternoon, and those two strands come together beguilingly on this second album."[6] Jerry Shriver of USA Today rated the album two-and-a-half stars out of four, writing that "Wide-eyed exuberance, hand-wringing and licking of surface wounds dominate his lyrics, most of them lightweight."[13] At The Oakland Press, Gary Graff rated the album two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying that "Fortunately, he knows better than to try to solve the world’s problems and instead confines himself to matters of the heart."[11] Glenn Gamboa of Newsday graded the album a B+, remarking how Hayes "plays that up, hanging his sophomore album on emotional, inspirational anthems and tender love songs delivered in a sweeter, higher register that makes all his songs sound distinctive", which "It's a risk, but the best new artist Grammy nominee seems poised to make it pay off."[10] At Los Angeles Times, Mikael Wood rated the album three out of four stars, stating that "the album's slickly assured arrangements, those jitters provide a juicy tension" on a release that shows "What's important is that this insider convinces you he's coming from outside."[9] Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal rated the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, writing that "it is a great CD of relationship storytelling, and his message is inspirational and positive throughout."[8] At Rolling Stone, Nick Murray rated the album three stars out of five, observing how the release comes "with clean arrangements and twangless vocals that could carry the singer-songwriter beyond country radio altogether."[12]

Commercial performance

The album debuted on its release at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart with 69,000 copies sold in the US.[14] The album has sold 190,000 copies in the US as of September 2015.[15]

Track listing

Titles and writing credits derived from Hunter Hayes' official site.[2]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Wild Card"
3:14
2."Storyline"
3:27
3."Still Fallin"
3:43
4."Tattoo"
  • Hayes
  • Verges
  • Dean
3:17
5."Invisible"
4:32
6."...interlude"
0:53
7."You Think You Know Somebody"
4:27
8."Flashlight"
  • Hayes
  • Verges
  • Dean
4:47
9."When Did You Stop Loving Me"
  • Hayes
  • Ellis
4:28
10."...like I was saying (jam)"
  • Hayes
  • Ellis
1:42
11."Secret Love"
  • Hayes
  • Ellis
3:38
12."Nothing Like Starting Over"
3:53
13."If It's Just Me"
  • Hayes
  • Baker
  • Elam
3:42
14."Love Too Much"
  • Hayes
  • Ellis
4:19
Total length:50:07
Japan Bonus Tracks[16] (Live at Bridgestone)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Invisible (Rehearsal Session)"
  • Hayes
  • Baker
  • Elam
4:36
16."Wild Card (Rehearsal Session)"
  • Hayes
  • Laird
  • Dean
3:15
Google Play Bonus Track[17]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Tattoo (Live at Bridgestone)"
  • Hayes
  • Verges
  • Dean
3:16
Total length:53:23

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[18] 2
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[19] 38
US Billboard 200[20] 3
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[21] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
US Billboard 200[22] 126
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[23] 23

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions
US Country
[24]		 US Country Airplay
[25]		 US
[26]		 CAN Country
[27]		 CAN
[28]
2014 "Invisible" 4 19 44 30 26
"Tattoo" 31 24 125 49 —

References

  1. ↑ "Storyline by Hunter Hayes". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 Hunter Hayes Web Crew. "Hunter Hayes Set To Release New Album Storyling On May 6". hunterhayes.com. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Vinson, Christina. "Hunter Hayes Announces Sophomore Album, 'Storyline'". Taste of Country. Townsquare Media. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  4. 1 2 Graff, Gary. "Hunter Hayes Talks New Music: "I Didn't Sit and Write Another 'Wanted'"". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  5. 1 2 Metacritic. "Critic Reviews for Storyline". CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  6. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (May 5, 2014). "Storyline - Hunter Hayes | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  7. 1 2 Ragusa, Tammy (May 19, 2014). "Storyline by Hunter Hayes". Country Weekly. American Media, Inc. p. 67. ISSN 1074-3235. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
  8. 1 2 Papadatos, Markos (May 9, 2014). "Review: Hunter Hayes delivers on new studio album 'Storyline'". Digital Journal. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Wood, Mikael (May 6, 2014). "Hunter Hayes' 'Storyline' full of a jumpy intensity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  10. 1 2 Gamboa, Glenn (May 2, 2014). "Hunter Hayes' 'Storyline' review: Next level country-pop". Newsday. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  11. 1 2 Graff, Gary (May 1, 2014). "The Listening Room: Hunter Hayes, Santana and more". The Oakland Press. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  12. 1 2 Murray, Nick (May 6, 2014). "Hunter Hayes 'Storyline' Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  13. 1 2 Shriver, Jerry (May 5, 2014). "His 'Storyline' needs a little character development". USA Today. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  14. ↑ Keith Caulfield (May 14, 2014). "'Now 50' Bumps 'Frozen' From No. 1 On Billboard 200". Billboard.
  15. ↑ "Upcoming Releases: Hits Daily Double". Hits Daily Double. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Amazon.co.jp: ストーリーライン:音楽". Amazon. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Hunter Hayes: Storyline - Music on Google Play". Google Play. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Hunter Hayes Dupe 1 Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  19. ↑ "ハンター・ヘイズのアルバム売り上げランキング". Oricon. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Hunter Hayes Dupe 1 Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  21. ↑ "Hunter Hayes Dupe 1 Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
  22. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard.
  23. ↑ "Top Country Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Hunter Hayes Album & Song Chart History – Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  25. ↑ "Hunter Hayes Album & Song Chart History – Country Airplay". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  26. ↑ References for singles' Hot 100 peaks:
  27. ↑ "Hunter Hayes Album & Song Chart History – Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Hunter Hayes Album & Song Chart History – Canada Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
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