Baptized (album)

Summary

Baptized is the fourth studio album by American rock band Daughtry, released on November 19, 2013, by RCA Records.[3] It was preceded in September by electropop-influenced lead single "Waiting for Superman".[4] It is the final album to feature drummer Robin Diaz and first album to include keyboardist/guitarist Elvio Fernandes. The album departs significantly from the group's hard rock sound present on their first three albums, instead introducing a more pop rock musical style with strong synthpop influences.

Baptized
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 19, 2013 (2013-11-19)
RecordedMarch–September 2013, Los Angeles, California
GenrePop rock[1]
Length44:54
Label
Producer
Daughtry chronology
Break the Spell
(2011)
Baptized
(2013)
It's Not Over...The Hits So Far
(2016)
Singles from Baptized
  1. "Waiting for Superman"
    Released: September 17, 2013
  2. "Battleships"
    Released: May 12, 2014[2]

Background edit

The band worked with many other songwriters and musicians on the album. Some that they worked with include Martin Johnson of Boys Like Girls,[5] Sam Hollander,[5] Blair Daly, Espionage, Rock Mafia, Ali Tamposi, The Monsters and the Strangerz, Scott Stevens,[6] Kara DioGuardi, Jake Sinclair,[7] Claude Kelly,[5] Johnny Black,[8] and Matthew Thiessen.[9] Daughtry stated that he worked without his bandmates and instead went with the new producers.[10] Daughtry has stated that the album features a new, poppier sound and would also include folk influences.[5]

Singles edit

The first single from the album is "Waiting for Superman", written by Chris Daughtry, Sam Hollander, and Martin Johnson. The song was released on iTunes on September 17, 2013.

"Battleships" impacted hot adult contemporary radio on May 12, 2014 as the second official single off the album.[2]

Other songs edit

"Long Live Rock & Roll" was released digitally on October 22, 2013 as the first and only promotional single off the album.[11] It was also released as the lead single in the UK market on February 24, 2014[12]

A new "stripped" version of "Witness" was released to digital retailers February 20, 2015.[13]

Reception edit

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic53/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [15]
NewsdayB−[16]
Rolling Stone     [17]
Ultimate Guitar     [18]
Slant Magazine     [19]

Critical edit

The album has been met with mixed reviews from most critics. Chuck Eddy of Rolling Stone gave the album a 2.5 out 5, saying "Seven years after he placed on American Idol, Chris Daughtry and his band are opening up their would-be grunge to more nuance: folk instruments and synths, smoother high notes tempering Daughtry's bellow, "boom-b'boom" vocal-bass hook lightening the gender war in "Battleships." The sound on Baptized somehow links U2 to Rascal Flatts, adding Springsteen stances in "Wild Heart." More unexpectedly, there's also a banjo shuffle where Daughtry chooses Van Halen over Van Hagar, catalogs some of his other heroes and wonders who wrote Hole's songs. "Long Live Rock & Roll," it's called – a defense, perhaps, against anybody claiming guys like him helped kill it."[17]

Glenn Gamboa of Newsday gave the album a grading of B−, saying "Daughtry takes some cool chances on his fourth album." He then commented positively on "Waiting for Superman," calling it "a sleek change of pace, rolling together bits of The Fray and Bon Jovi into the patented Daughtry sound;" and gave "Long Live Rock & Roll" a positive review, saying "he cleverly reminisces about Billy Joel and grunge in a country-style rave-up."[16] However, he commented negatively on "Battleships" "with the stunningly weird chorus of "We love like battleships ... And the cannon goes, 'Boom boo-boom boom boo-boom boom boom,'" which is, well, crazy, and you wonder if he's gone too far."[16] He then concluded by saying "Daughtry broadens his sound with mixed results."[16]

Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe also gave the album a mixed review, saying "Daughtry strips his sound to more acoustic textures and even ventures into electro-pop. At times, the change is refreshing, yet too often he seems to think the world needs more songs evoking Train or Lifehouse. Only the powder keg rocker “Traitor” diverges from the new approach. Luckily, Daughtry has one of the more expressive voices in rock, so he still breathes some life into the overload of corny lyrics."[20]

Jon Caramanica of The New York Times delivered a more negative review for the album, saying that he felt Daughtry felt limited with the stripped-down music. "But even though Daughtry’s music has softened, there’s not much Mr. Daughtry can do with his voice, which has an appealing, powerful growl with no sultriness to it. It wants badly to roar but is given almost no opportunity."[21]

Commercial edit

The album debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, No. 1 on Top Internet Albums,[22] and No. 3 on Top Rock Albums,[23] selling 55,000 copies in its first week.[24] It has sold 270,000 copies in the United States as of January 2016.[25] In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at No. 42, selling 4,978 copies in its first week.[26]

Track listing edit

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Baptized"
  • Johnson
  • Johnny Blk
3:11
2."Waiting for Superman"
Johnson4:26
3."Battleships"
  • Daughtry
  • Johnson
  • Hollander
Johnson3:52
4."I'll Fight"
  • busbee
  • DreZa
3:00
5."Wild Heart"
  • Daughtry
  • Johnson
  • Hollander
Johnson3:50
6."Long Live Rock & Roll"
  • Daughtry
  • Johnson
  • Hollander
Johnson3:36
7."The World We Knew"
  • Daughtry
  • Antonina Armato
  • Tim James
Rock Mafia3:35
8."High Above the Ground"
  • Daughtry
  • busbee
  • busbee
  • Mason "MdL" Levy
3:11
9."Broken Arrows"
  • Daughtry
  • Lardieri
  • Kelly
  • Johnny BLK
  • Kelly
4:08
10."Witness"
  • Daughtry
  • Elvio Fernandes
  • Kelly
  • Lardieri
Fernandes4:11
11."Traitor"Sinclair3:03
12."18 Years"
  • Daughtry
  • Johnson
  • Hollander
Johnson4:51
Total length:44:54
Deluxe edition bonus tracks[27]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Undefeated"
  • Daughtry
  • Scott "The Ninja" Stevens
Stevens3:40
14."Cinderella"
Gad3:13
15."Battleships" (Acoustic)
  • Daughtry
  • Hollander
  • Johnson
  • Daughtry
  • Onree Gill
3:41
Total length:53:29
Japan bonus tracks[28]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Undefeated"
  • Daughtry
  • Scott "The Ninja" Stevens
Stevens3:40
14."Cinderella"
Gad3:13
15."Battleships" (Acoustic)
  • Daughtry
  • Hollander
  • Johnson
  • Daughtry
  • Onree Gill
3:41
16."Long Live Rock & Roll" (Acoustic)
  • Daughtry
  • Johnson
  • Hollander
 3:37
Total length:57:06

Personnel edit

[29]

Performance credits
  • Background vocals – John August, Johnny Blk, Martin Johnson, Rock Mafia, Jake Sinclair
  • Primary artist – Daughtry (Brian Craddock, Chris Daughtry, Robin Diaz, Elvio Fernandes, Josh Paul, Josh Steely)
Instruments
  • Bass – Martin Johnson, Brian Paddock, Tim Pierce, Jake Sinclair
  • Cello – Glenn Fischbach, Jennie Lardieri
  • Drums – Robin Diaz, Victor Indrizzo, John Keefe, Jack Sinclair
  • Guitars – Chris Daughtry, Martin Johnson, Brian Paddock, Tim Pierce, Jake Sinclair
    • Lead guitar – Josh Steely
    • Rhythm guitar – Brian Craddock
  • Keyboard – Elvio Fernandes, Jake Sinclair
  • Mandolin – Tim James, Martin Johnson
  • Musician – Johnny Blk
  • Percussion – Victor Indrizzo, Martin Johnson
  • Piano – Elvio Fernandes, Chuck Harmony, Martin Johnson
  • Ukulele – Martin Johnson
  • Viola – Davis Barnett. Jonathan Kim
  • Violin – Dayna Anderson, Eliza Cho, Emma Kummrow, Olga Konopelsky, Luigi Mazzocchi, Charles Parker
Production
  • A&R – Rani Hancock
  • Arrangement:
    • String arrangements – Larry Gold
  • Assistant – Karl Peterson
  • Coordination:
    • Production coordination – Christopher Hunte, Kayla Lee
  • Editing:
  • Drum technician – Chris Bernard, Gersh
  • Engineer – busbee, Adam Comstock, Elivo Fernandes, Steve Hammons, Martin Johnson, Kyle Moorman, Brian Paddock, Mike Piazza, Steve Shebby, SmH, Speed Ninja
    • Assistant engineer – Marcus Johnson
    • Mixing engineer – John Hanes
    • String engineer – Jeff Chestak
  • Instrumentation – Martin Johnson
  • Mastering – Chris Gehringer
  • Mixing – Serban Ghenea
  • Producer – Chris Daughtry, Martin Johnson, Johnny Blk, busbee, DreZa, Elivo Fernandes, Toby Gad, Onree Gill, Martin Johnson, Claude Kelly, MDL, Rock Mafia, Jake Sinclair
  • Programming – Martin Johnson, Kyle Moorman, Brian Paddock, Steve Shebby, Jake Sinclair
    • Additional production – Johnny Blk, Aaron Dudley, Kyle Moorman, Brian Paddock, David Schuler
    • String conduction – Larry Gold
Imagery
  • Art direction – Chris Feldmann, Michelle Holme
  • Band photo – Michael Muller
  • Creative director – Erwin Gorostiza
  • Design – Alice Butts
  • Photography – José Enrique Montes Hernandez, Jasper James

Charts and sales edit

Release history edit

Region Date Label Format Edition(s) Catalog
Germany November 15, 2013 (2013-11-15) Sony Music Entertainment Deluxe 88883-79665-2
United States November 19, 2013 (2013-11-19) Standard
South Korea[44] Sony Music Entertainment Deluxe S20126C
Japan[45] December 25, 2013 (2013-12-25) SICP-3941
United Kingdom[46] February 17, 2014 (2014-02-17) Deluxe re-release 88883-79665-2-RE1

Notes edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Baptized - Daughtry | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  2. ^ a b "R&R :: Going for Adds :: Hot AC". Radio & Records. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  3. ^ Chris Daughtry [@CHRIS_Daughtry] (September 17, 2013). "New album "Baptized" Nov 19th!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "SINGLE PREMIERE: Daughtry - "Waiting for Superman" (+ Lyrics)". POP! Goes The Charts. WordPress.com. 17 September 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d Parker, Lyndsey (30 September 2013). "Chris Daughtry Talks Beatles vs. Stones and Daughtry vs. the Haters". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  6. ^ Chris Daughtry [@CHRIS_Daughtry] (May 9, 2013). "Thanks! Had a blast! RT @_THEMONSTERS: Great session with @alitamposi and @chris_daughtry . Dudes voice is the truth!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ Chris Daughtry [@CHRIS_Daughtry] (June 21, 2013). "In the studio with @kara_dioguardi and @jakessinclair makin some awesomeness!!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Chris Daughtry [@CHRIS_Daughtry] (June 13, 2013). "What an incredible day in my studio with @ClaudeKelly and @JOHNNY_BLK....AND we're still goin" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ Chris Daughtry [@CHRIS_Daughtry] (January 28, 2013). "Working with @matthewthiessen today. Totally rad dude" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Chris Daughtry Talks Halen vs. Hagar, Beatles vs. Stones, and Daughtry vs. the Haters". yahoo.com.
  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2017-08-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ January 2014, Daniel Falconer | 31. "Daughtry upgrade tour dates; release lyric video". www.femalefirst.co.uk.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Witness (Stripped) - Single by Daughtry". iTunes Store (CA). Apple Inc. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Baptized Reviews". Metacritic. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  15. ^ "Baptized - Daughtry | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  16. ^ a b c d Gamboa, Glenn (18 November 2013). "Daughtry's 'Baptized' review: Broader sound". Newsday. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  17. ^ a b Eddy, Chuck (19 November 2013). "Daughtry 'Baptized' Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  18. ^ "Daughtry: Baptized | Reviews @ Ultimate-Guitar.com". www.ultimate-guitar.com.
  19. ^ Sullivan, Blue (17 November 2013). "Review: Daughtry, Baptized". Slant Magazine.
  20. ^ Capobianco, Ken (18 November 2013). "Daughtry, 'Baptized'". Boston Globe. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  21. ^ Caramanica, Jon (18 November 2013). "Crossing the Ocean to Discover the Personal". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  22. ^ Fred Bronson (December 2, 2013). "'American Idol' on the Charts: Daughtry's 'Baptized' Is Top Internet Album". The Hollywood Reporter.
  23. ^ "Rock Albums: December 7, 2013". Billboard.
  24. ^ Gil Kaufman (November 27, 2013). "Lady Gaga's ARTPOP Suffers Second-Week Chart Drop, Eminem Back On Top". MTV.
  25. ^ a b "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on January 14, 2016.
  26. ^ a b "Official Charts Analysis: Robbie LP sells 108k to claim UK's 1,000th Official No.1". Local UK News. November 25, 2013. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  27. ^ "Daughtry - Baptized (Deluxe Version) - Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH". Sonymusic.de. Archived from the original on 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
  28. ^ "Daughtry - Baptized (Deluxe Version) - Sony Music Entertainment Germany GMBH". Archived from the original on 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
  29. ^ "Baptized - Daughtry | Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  30. ^ "ARIA Report: Issue #1240" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-16. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
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  34. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 47, 2013". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  35. ^ "バプタイズド | ドートリー | ORICON STYLE". Oricon. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  36. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Daughtry – Baptized". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  37. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  38. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Daughtry – Baptized". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  39. ^ "Daughtry | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  40. ^ "Daughtry Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  41. ^ "Daughtry Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  42. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  43. ^ "Top Rock Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard.
  44. ^ "Daughtry - Baptized (Deluxe Edition)". Hanteo. Hanteo Information System Company. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  45. ^ "Baptized : DAUGHTRY". HMV. Lawson HMV Entertainment KK. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  46. ^ "DAUGHTRY ANNOUNCES 'BAPTIZED' TO BE RELEASED 17TH FEBRUARY 2014 PLUS UK TOUR DATES". 15 January 2014.