It's About Us Explained

It's About Us
Type:studio
Artist:Alex & Sierra
Cover:Alex & Sierra - It's About Us.png
Released:October 7, 2014
Recorded:2014
Label:Columbia, Syco
Next Title:As Seen On TV
Next Year:2016

It's About Us is the only studio album by American duo Alex & Sierra, released on October 7, 2014 by Columbia Records.[1] Their debut single and the album's lead single "Scarecrow" was written by the duo along with Martin Johnson and Sam Hollander and was released on June 23, 2014, while "Little Do You Know" was released as the second single from the album.

The album debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 selling 27,000 copies within its first week of release.

Background and development

In 2013, Alex & Sierra won Season 3 of The X Factor. Their prize included a $1 million recording contract from Sony Music Entertainment. Following their win on The X Factor, Alex & Sierra announced they would be making their debut album 'quick' and 'right'.[2] They've worked with Julian Bunetta, Sam Watters, John Shanks, Toby Gad, Jason Mraz and One Direction member Harry Styles,[3] Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter John Legend also made a contribution to the early stages of the album, however the track was not selected to be on the album.[4] On May 3, 2014, Alex & Sierra revealed their debut single, "Scarecrow".

Alex & Sierra have commonly described the album as one that is not just filled with slow or upbeat songs. They hope it becomes one of those albums that you can listen to without the songs ever sounding the same. Also, in an interview with Glamour.com the two shared that they had never written a song before. The duo described it as a really laid-back and magical experience and added that they wrote a total of twenty songs in five days.[5]

The first single "Scarecrow" was released on June 23, 2014 and was written by the duo, Martin Johnson and Sam Hollander. They described the single as "a song about hope, It's about believing in a relationship so strongly that a lack of communication isn't enough for you to give up on the other person. Everyone has trouble communicating sometimes... Or all the time, and everyone deserves to be believed in."[6]

Promotion

Alex & Sierra began promoting the album by performing on Today and Yahoo! Music on June 23, 2014 as part of the promotion for their single "Scarecrow".[7] They also promoted the single on popular blogging sites such as perezhilton.com[8] and rickey.org[9] A lyric video featuring puppets instead of the singers themselves was released on May 27, 2014.[10] While they released the official music video for the song on July 11, 2014.[11]

Reception

Critical

Matt Collar of AllMusic gave a positive review of the album stating "Alex & Sierra have delivered an album that showcases their crowd-pleasing musical chemistry."

Commercial

It's About Us debuted at number 9 on the New Zealand Albums Chart the week ending October 13, 2014. The album debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 with 27,000 copies sold within its first week of release.[12] The album has sold 86,000 copies in the United States as of August 2016.[13]

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2014–16)Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[14] 97
Canadian Albums Chart[15] 11
New Zealand Albums Chart[16] 9
US Billboard 2008
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[17] 3

Release history

RegionDateLabelFormat
AustraliaOctober 7, 2014ColumbiaDigital
Brazil
United Kingdom
United States

Notes and References

  1. Web site: iTunes - Music - It's About Us by Alex & Sierra . Itunes.apple.com . 2014-07-15 . 2015-04-01 . 2015-07-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150707121232/https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/its-about-us/id895611637 . live .
  2. Web site: Murphy. Shaunna. Alex & Sierra: ‘X Factor’ Winners Plan To Do 1st Album ‘Quick’ & ‘Right’. Hollywood life. December 20, 2013. December 22, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131222151651/http://hollywoodlife.com/2013/12/20/alex-and-sierra-win-x-factor-reveal-plans-for-first-album-interview/. dead.
  3. Web site: Robertson. James. Harry Styles secretly co-writes song with idol John Legend for US X Factor duo. February 23, 2013. February 24, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140224235609/http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/harry-styles-solo-songwriting-john-3177994. live.
  4. Web site: Parker. Lyndsey. ‘X Factor’ Winners Alex & Sierra Writing With John Legend for Debut Album. Yahoo. 8 February 2014. 28 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140128103144/http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/music-news/x-factor-winners-alex-sierra-writing-john-legend-235736664.html. live.
  5. Web site: Melby . Leah . The X-Factor's Alex and Sierra: Their New Album, Scarecrow, Jason Mraz, and More . Glamour.com . 2014-06-23 . 2015-04-01 . 2015-09-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150906165341/http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/blogs/obsessed/2014/06/alex-and-sierra-new-album . live .
  6. Web site: Alex & Sierra's 'Scarecrow' Premiere: Watch The Exclusive Acoustic Video . Billboard.com . 2014-06-24 . 2015-04-01 . 2015-06-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150608234921/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6128817/alex-sierra-scarecrow-acoustic-video-premiere . live .
  7. Web site: Alex & Sierra perform "Scarecrow" - Today Show - VIDEO . Mjsbigblog.com . 2014-06-23 . 2015-04-01 . 2014-07-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140701233901/http://www.mjsbigblog.com/alex-sierra-perform-scarecrow-today-show-video.htm . live .
  8. Web site: EXCLUSIVE! Alex & Sierra Perform An Acoustic Version Of Scarecrow! . PerezHilton.com . 2014-10-01 . 2015-04-01 . 2014-11-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141117032822/http://perezhilton.com/2014-10-01-the-x-factor-usa-alex-sierra-simon-cowell-columbia-records-scarecrow-song-singers#.VD9svhbUjqY . live .
  9. Web site: Yaneza . Rickey . Alex and Sierra release 'Scarecrow' acoustic performance official video . Rickey.org . 2014-06-24 . 2015-04-01 . https://archive.today/20141016070514/http://www.rickey.org/alex-sierra-release-scarecrow-acoustic-performance-official-video/263647/ . 2014-10-16 . dead .
  10. Web site: Alex & Sierra - Scarecrow (Lyric Video). YouTube.com. 13 June 2014. 10 June 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140610021440/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g1YpDK7Dcg. live.
  11. Web site: Alex & Sierra - Scarecrow . YouTube.com . 2014-07-11 . 2015-04-01 . 2015-05-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150515170712/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8R8oATk7NU . live .
  12. Web site: Christopher Morris . Country Keeps Its Hold on U.S. Album Charts With Jason Aldean in Top Spot . Variety.com . 2014-10-15 . 2015-04-01 . 2014-12-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141228051647/http://variety.com/2014/music/news/jason-aldean-old-boots-new-dirt-album-sales-1201330975/ . live .
  13. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20160829210341/http://hitsdailydouble.com/new_album_releases . August 29, 2016 . Upcoming Releases . Hits Daily Double . HITS Digital Ventures .
  14. Web site: Slipknot Land No 1 Album On ARIA Chart. Noise11. Ryan. Gavin. 2014-10-25. 2014-10-28. 2014-10-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20141031053700/http://www.noise11.com/news/slipknot-land-no-1-album-on-aria-chart-20141025. live.
  15. Web site: Canadian Albums: Top Albums Chart . Billboard.com . 2015-03-28 . 2015-04-01 . 2015-06-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150610133728/http://www.billboard.com/charts/canadian-albums?page=1 . live .
  16. Web site: NZ Top 40 Albums Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart . Nztop40.co.nz . 2015-04-01 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120511210518/http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/albums . 2012-05-11 .
  17. Web site: Digital Albums Chart . Billboard.com . 2015-03-28 . 2015-04-01 . 2015-03-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150329131828/http://www.billboard.com/charts/digital-albums . live .

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