At Night, Alone Explained

At Night, Alone.
Type:studio
Artist:Mike Posner
Cover:MikePosnerAtNightAlone.jpg
Border:yes
Recorded:2015
Length:58:17
Label:Island
Producer:
Prev Title:The Truth
Prev Year:2015
Next Title:A Real Good Kid
Next Year:2019

At Night, Alone. is the second studio album by American singer Mike Posner. It was released on May 6, 2016 by Island.[1] The album features guest appearances by Labrinth and Big Sean.[2]

The album received positive reviews from music critics, who celebrated the record's mature sound, and his autobiographic and introspective lyrical content. The album was considered a qualitative big step forward from his previous album 31 Minutes to Takeoff.

Background

Mike Posner released his first single in two years, "The Way It Used to Be" in June 2013, and announced the release of his second album Pages.[3] In October 2013, Posner said in an interview with Billboard: "I've made maybe over 100 songs since the last album, so I've got a good 12, 15 I'm proud of."[4] A second single featuring Big Sean, "Top of the World" was released in December 2013.[5] In March 2014, Billboard reported that Pages would be released later that year, but the release never materialized. Instead, Posner released the extended play, The Truth in June 2015 on Island Records, featuring four tracks later featured on At Night, Alone.[6]

"I Took a Pill in Ibiza" was released as a single on July 24, 2015, and found international success in a remix by Seeb. In August 2015, Posner said that he had recorded two albums (Pages and Sky High) since his debut album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff (2010), which were both shelved by his former label RCA Records because "they didn't have a hit".[7] [8]

Posner said country singer Jake Owen encouraged him to "tell the truth" in his songs" and showed him artists like Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, which made Posner realize that "you can just literally say the truth and it’s beautiful, and it’s heart-wrenching and it’s funny".[9] [10] The album is inspired by country music according to Posner: "So, like, the way I was inspired by hip-hop when I first started and would sort of sing hip-hop, this new (music) is kind of my take on country music. It doesn't sound country and no one uses the word country to describe it, but it's me trying to do country and it comes out weird and different."[9]

Singles

"I Took a Pill in Ibiza" was first released on Mike Posner's extended play, The Truth, on June 22, 2015.[11] The remix version by Seeb was released on July 24, 2015.[12]

Promotional singles

"Be as You Are" was released as promotional single in the United States on July 26, 2016.[13] On February 17, 2017 a remix of "In the Arms of a Stranger" by Grey was released as promotional single.[14]

Reception

David Jeffries of AllMusic noted an improvement for Posner in the album, writing, "This might not yet be the ultimate showcase for his talents, but At Night, Alone is both a welcome return and a significant step forward." Jordan Simon of Idolator wrote, "Posner on the album places his bets as pop's 'born-again' countryman," calling the album "not a pop jamboree. It is truth in advertising, an album exclusively optimized for solitude spent immersed in deep thought." Gwilym Mumford of The Guardian wrote, "Some curios apart—the a cappella revolutionary hymn 'Only God Knows' and rowdy folk-punk of 'Jade'—there is little here that lingers long in the memory, with only Posner's braggadocio and pinched vocals distinguishing him from the singer-songwriter crowd."

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

Adapted from the liner notes:

I Took a Pill in Ibiza

Not That Simple

Be as You Are

In the Arms of a Stranger

Silence

Iris

Only God Knows

Jade

One Hell of a Song

Buried in Detroit

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2016)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 60

Year-end charts

Chart (2016)! scope="col"
Position
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 96
US Billboard 200[17] 163

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Records . Island . Mike Posner Announces Sophomore LP 'At Night, Alone' . www.islandrecords.com . 11 April 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160422134204/http://www.islandrecords.com/news/mike-posner-announces-sophomore-lp-at-night-alone/ . 22 April 2016 .
  2. Web site: Christina. Mike Posner Announces 'At Night, Alone.' Tracklist and Pre-Order. MikePosnerHits.com. 11 April 2016. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20160420062617/http://mikeposnerhits.com/mike-posner-announces-at-night-alone-tracklist-pre-order/. 20 April 2016. dead.
  3. Web site: Mike Posner Returns To 'The Way It Used To Be': Hear New Single. Billboard.
  4. Web site: Mike Posner Gears Up to Finish 'Pages' Album, Hints at Big Guest Artists. Billboard.
  5. Web site: Top of the World (feat. Big Sean) – Single. iTunes.
  6. Web site: The Truth .
  7. Web site: Mike Posner on His Hit 'I Took a Pill in Ibiza'. Sullivan. Lindsey. Billboard. February 8, 2016. May 5, 2016.
  8. Web site: How Merle Haggard, Big Sean Influenced Mike Posner's New Album. 6 May 2016. Rolling Stone.
  9. Web site: Mike Posner Talks Writing for Maroon 5, Recording Sophomore Album. Billboard.
  10. Web site: Mike Posner: In His Own Words. Tidal.
  11. Web site: Mike Posner – 'The Truth' EP Available Now!. MikePosnerHits.com. 22 June 2015. 4 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170405170651/http://mikeposnerhits.com/mike-posner-the-truth-ep-available-now/. 5 April 2017. dead.
  12. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-took-pill-in-ibiza-seeb/id1019841353 I Took a Pill In Ibiza (SeeB Remix) – Single by Mike Posner on iTunes
  13. Web site: Future-releases . July 20, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160721012708/http://www.allaccess.com/top40-rhythmic/future-releases. July 21, 2016.
  14. Web site: In the Arms of a Stranger (Grey Remix) – Single by Mike Posner on Apple Music. iTunes.
  15. Web site: CHART WATCH #376. auspOp. July 9, 2016. July 9, 2016. August 22, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160822090454/https://www.auspop.com.au/2016/07/chart-watch-376/. dead.
  16. Web site: Årslista Album – År 2016. Sverigetopplistan. sv. January 14, 2021.
  17. Web site: Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2016. Billboard. December 9, 2016.

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