| Know-It-All | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Alessia Cara |
| Cover: | Alessia Cara - Know It All.png |
| Recorded: | 2014–2015 |
| Genre: |
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| Label: | |
| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | Four Pink Walls |
| Prev Year: | 2015 |
| Next Title: | The Pains of Growing |
| Next Year: | 2018 |
Know-It-All is the debut studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter Alessia Cara. It was released on November 13, 2015 through Def Jam Recordings. The album followed the release of her debut extended play (EP) Four Pink Walls (2015), which Cara regarded as a preview of the album. Know-It-All contains the five original songs from Four Pink Walls as well as five new songs recording for the album.Cara co-wrote all the tracks and worked closely with Pop & Oak and Sebastian Kole amongst others. The album led Cara to receive the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2018.
Preliminary work on the album began in 2013,[1] with recording taking place in 2014 in New York into 2015.[2] [3] Cara worked with several producers including Kuya, Malay, Alan Nglish, Fredro, Pop & Oak and Sebastian Kole. The latter helped in the conception of the opening track "Seventeen". The song was written when Cara was about eighteen: "It was a whole bunch of feelings. We got to talking in the studio with my dad and Sebastian — we all came up with this thing, like, let’s write about how life goes by really fast. My dad brought up that idea, and that’s why the first line is, ’My daddy says that life comes at you fast’.".[4]
"Here" was released on April 30, 2015, as the lead single[5] from Cara's extended play (EP) Four Pink Walls. The song became Cara's first top-5 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, upon reaching the peak position of five for the week of January 27, 2016[6] and Cara performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon with their house band The Roots.[7] [8] The song received an official video, which was directed by Aaron A.[9]
"Wild Things" was initially released on October 27, 2015 as a promotional single[10] but the song was later sent to US contemporary hit radio on February 2, 2016, as the album's second single, and has since achieved moderate success peaking at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100.[11]
Cara announced that "Scars to Your Beautiful" would be released as the third single. It was sent to contemporary hit radio on July 26, 2016. It peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.[12]
Know-It-All received generally positive reviews from music critics, receiving a 70 out of 100 on the review aggregate website Metacritic based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[13] AllMusic reacted positively towards the album, writing "Going by the level of potential shown here, it's evident that Cara will eventually need a lot less creative assistance." Billboard was also positive in its review of the album: "As first impressions go, Know-It-All is a charismatic balance between dreams and reality that makes its author stick out in the most impressive way." Exclaim!s, Ryan B. Patrick wrote that "while [''Know-It-All''] is a tad formulaic, it's terrifically executed and solidly produced...Cara's debut is a striking standout pop record that portends career longevity." Pitchfork Media was more mixed: "Writing from the heart does not automatically imbue lyrics with depth. Never is it more apparent that the factory approach is not allowing Cara to fulfill her potential than on 'Scars to Your Beautiful.'"
Know-It-All debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200[14] with first week sales of 36,000 equivalent album units (22,000 pure album sales).[15] On May 22, 2017, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over a million units in the United States.
To promote the album, Cara embarked on her first headlining concert tour, the Know-It-All Tour. Tickets went on sale and quickly sold-out, with the first leg running from January 15 through April 1, 2016. A second leg was scheduled for September 29 through November 2, 2016.[16]
| Tour dates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| North America (Leg 1) | |||
| January 15, 2016 | Montreal | Canada | Corona Theatre |
| January 16, 2016 | Toronto | Danforth Music Hall | |
| January 22, 2016 | Boston | United States | Brighton Music Hall |
| January 24, 2016 | Washington, DC | 9:30 Club | |
| January 25, 2016 | Philadelphia | Theatre of Living Arts | |
| January 26, 2016 | New York City | Webster Hall | |
| January 28, 2016 | Cleveland | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame | |
| January 29, 2016 | Chicago | Metro | |
| January 30, 2016 | Detroit | St. Andrew's Hall | |
| February 1, 2016 | Atlanta | Terminal West | |
| February 2, 2016 | Nashville | Mercy Lounge | |
| February 4, 2016 | Dallas | Granada Theater | |
| February 5, 2016 | Houston | The Studio at Warehouse Live | |
| February 6, 2016 | Austin | Emo's | |
| February 9, 2016 | Phoenix | Crescent Ballroom | |
| February 11, 2016 | San Francisco | The Fillmore | |
| February 12, 2016 | Los Angeles | El Rey Theatre | |
| March 29, 2016 | Vancouver | Canada | Vogue Theatre |
| March 31, 2016 | Calgary | Macewan Ballroom | |
| April 1, 2016 | Edmonton | Union Hall | |
| North America (Leg 2) | |||
| September 29, 2016 | Silver Spring, MD | United States | The Fillmore |
| September 30, 2016 | Philadelphia | The Fillmore | |
| October 1, 2016 | Boston | Orpheum Theatre | |
| October 4, 2016 | New York City | Radio City Music Hall | |
| October 6, 2016 | Detroit | The Fillmore | |
| October 7, 2016 | Chicago | Chicago Theatre | |
| October 8, 2016 | Minneapolis | Orpheum Theatre | |
| October 10, 2016 | Denver | Paramount Theatre | |
| October 11, 2016 | Salt Lake City | The Depot | |
| October 13, 2016 | Los Angeles | The Wiltern | |
| October 15, 2016 | Las Vegas | The Foundry SLS | |
| October 17, 2016 | San Francisco | The Masonic | |
| October 18, 2016 | San Diego | Copley Symphony Hall | |
| October 19, 2016 | Phoenix | Comerica Theatre | |
| October 21, 2016 | Grand Prairie, TX | Verizon Theatre | |
| October 22, 2016 | Houston | White Oak Music Hall | |
| October 24, 2016 | Nashville | Ryman Auditorium | |
| October 25, 2016 | Atlanta | The Tabernacle | |
| October 27, 2016 | Clearwater, FL | Ruth Eckerd Hall | |
| October 28, 2016 | Miami | The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater | |
| October 29, 2016 | Orlando | Hard Rock Live | |
| November 1, 2016 | Montreal | Canada | Metropolis |
| November 2, 2016 | Toronto | Massey Hall | |
| Chart (2015–17) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[17] | 15 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] | 21 |
| Chart (2016) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] | 22 | |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[20] | 61 | |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[21] | 61 | |
| US Billboard 200[22] | 42 | |
| Chart (2017) | Position | |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[23] | 72 | |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] | 80 | |
| US Billboard 200[25] | 112 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Edition(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 13 November 2015 | Universal Music | [26] [27] | ||
| United States | Def Jam | ||||
| United Kingdom | 11 March 2016 | Virgin EMI | Deluxe | ||
| Australia | Universal Music Australia |