We the Kings (album) explained

We the Kings
Type:studio
Artist:We the Kings
Cover:WeTheKings(album cover).jpg
Released:October 2, 2007 (U.S.)
September 8, 2008 (UK)
Recorded:2007
Studio:Mission Sound, Fresh Kills Music
Length:34:18
Label:S-Curve
Producer:S*A*M and Sluggo
Prev Title:Between the Ink and the Paper
Prev Year:2006
Next Title:Smile Kid
Next Year:2009

We the Kings is the debut studio album by American rock band We the Kings, released on October 2, 2007 in the U.S.

Background

We the Kings formed in 2005 while its members attended Manatee High School.[1] The band's line-up consisted of vocalist Travis Clark, guitarist Hunter Thomsen, bassist Drew Thomsen, and drummer Danny Duncan.[1] In summer, the group toured with Don't Die Cindy.[1] PureVolume, a place where people could upload their music, helped the band's popularity.[1]

We the Kings was produced by S*A*M and Sluggo, and recorded at Mission Sound, and Fresh Kills Music, both in New York City. Sean Gould and Scott Riebling acted as engineers. Lou Giordano mixed almost every track, save for "Secret Valentine", "Check Yes Juliet", and "Stay Young", which were done by Tom Lord-Alge and his assistant Femio Hernandez. Chris Gehringer mastered the album at Sterling Sound, also in New York City. According to Travis Clark, the album was "really guitar driven, with those poppy catchy choruses".[2]

Release

In July 2007, We the Kings supported the White Tie Affair and Fireworks on the Act Like You Know Tour.[3] In September, the group went on the School's for Fools tour across the US,[4] alongside Valencia, Just Surrender and Metro Station. However, partway through the tour Valencia had to drop off the tour due to their vocalist Shane Henderson having strep throat. As a result, Just Surrender headlined the rest of the dates.[5] The group supported Boys Like Girls on their US headlining tour, dubbed Tourzilla, from late September to late October.[6] It was released on October 2, 2007.[7] From mid-January to early March 2008, the band supported Cobra Starship on their North America tour.[8] In April, the band appeared at the Bamboozle Left festival.[9] In June, the band supported Cobra Starship on their US tour, dubbed Really Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour Out to Warped Tour Tour.[10]

Between June and August 2008, the band performed on the Warped Tour.[11] [12] In October and November, the band supported the Academy Is... on their headlining tour of the US.[13] In October, a re-recorded version of "Check Yes Juliet" was posted online. The re-recording's lyrics were altered to include a reference to Tampa Bay Rays.[14] On December 12, a music video was released for "Secret Valentine" through the band's Myspace profile.[15] In February and March 2009, the group went on a headlining US tour, dubbed The Secret Valentine Tour, with support from the Maine, the Cab, There for Tomorrow and VersaEmerge.[16] In April, the band performed on the Bamboozle Roadshow[17] and appeared at The Bamboozle festival in early May.[18] At the end of May, the band performed at the Slam Dunk Festival.[19] In July, the band supported All Time Low on their US east coast tour.[20]

Reception

The album peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart, and at No. 151 on the Billboard 200.[21] We the Kings was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for the shipment of 75,000 copies. Three singles were released from the album. The album's second single "Check Yes Juliet", gained commercial success. It was featured as "The iTunes Single of the Week" in early 2008, and it peaked at No. 84 on the Pop 100 and No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US,[22] and No. 26 in Australia where it was certified platinum by the ARIA. Cleveland.com ranked "Check Yes Juliet" at number 60 on their list of the top 100 pop-punk songs.[23]

Track listing

All songs by Travis Clark and Sam Hollander, except "Headlines Read Out..." by Clark.

  1. "Secret Valentine" – 3:28
  2. "Skyway Avenue" – 3:26
  3. "Check Yes Juliet" – 3:40
  4. "Stay Young" – 2:49
  5. "Whoa" – 2:37
  6. "August Is Over" – 3:16
  7. "The Quiet" – 3:12
  8. "Don't Speak Liar" – 3:01
  9. "Headlines Read Out..." – 3:14
  10. "All Again for You" – 3:06
  11. "This Is Our Town" – 2:29
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
  1. "Check Yes Juliet (acoustic)" – 3:56
  2. "Skyway Avenue (acoustic)" – 3:50

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[24] We the Kings

Design

Production

Charts

Album
Chart (2007)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200151
U.S. Billboard Heatseekers Albums3

Singles

YearSingleChartPosition
2008"Check Yes Juliet"U.S. Billboard Hot 10070
U.S. Billboard Pop 10026
Australian Single Charts26
"Secret Valentine"Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs)40

Certifications

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bradenton's We The Kings builds music career. bradenton.com. Hyunh, Brandon. March 10, 2014 . September 8, 2015.
  2. Web site: Q-and-A with Travis Clark of We The Kings. Move. Duan, Crystal. March 12, 2014. September 12, 2015. September 12, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150912103558/http://move.themaneater.com/stories/2014/3/12/q-and-travis-clark-we-kings/#.VfP49TZRGUk. dead.
  3. Web site: Act Like You Know Tour. Punknews.org. White, Adam. June 28, 2007. May 30, 2022.
  4. Web site: School's for Fools Tour. https://web.archive.org/web/20110816030627/http://isurrenderrecords.com/valencia/tour/schools_for_fools_tour/. I Surrender Records. 2011-08-16. March 19, 2017. dead.
  5. Web site: Valencia cancels remaining School's for Fools tour dates. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. September 15, 2007. March 19, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170320053457/http://www.altpress.com/index.php/news/entry/archive_2721. March 20, 2017. dead. mdy-all.
  6. Web site: Boys Like Girls to release deluxe edition of debut album. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. September 20, 2007. March 19, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170320053838/http://www.altpress.com/index.php/news/entry/archive_2747. 2017-03-20. dead.
  7. We the Kings review AllMusic. Retrieved: 2008-06-16
  8. Web site: Cobra Starship announce headlining run. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. November 29, 2007. July 8, 2017.
  9. Web site: Blaqk Audio, Hot Water Music, H2O added to Bamboozle Left. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. February 15, 2008. July 9, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170728175351/http://www.altpress.com/index.php/news/entry/archive_3511. 2017-07-28. dead.
  10. Web site: Cobra Starship set up mini-tour with the Secret Handshake. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. April 3, 2008. July 9, 2017.
  11. Web site: Warped Tour unveils final band lineup for 2008. Punknews.org. Paul, Aubin. February 26, 2008. June 13, 2022.
  12. Web site: Warped Tour confirms routing. Punknews.org. Paul, Aubin. January 28, 2008. June 13, 2022.
  13. Web site: The Academy Is… announce dates with We The Kings, Carolina Liar and Hey Monday. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. August 18, 2008. July 23, 2017.
  14. Web site: We The Kings re-record "Check Yes Juliet" to root on the Tampa Bay Rays. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. October 22, 2008. July 26, 2017.
  15. Web site: New We The Kings Music Video to Premiere on Friday. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. December 8, 2008. July 29, 2017.
  16. Web site: WTK / The Maine / The Cab / TFT / VersaEmerge Tour. AbsolutePunk. SpinMedia. Kohli, Rohan. December 16, 2008. March 17, 2017.
  17. Web site: Bamboozle Roadshow tickets on sale. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. February 10, 2009. August 1, 2017.
  18. Web site: Bamboozle set single-day lineups. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. February 8, 2009. July 31, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170801044453/http://www.altpress.com/index.php/news/entry/archive_5918. 2017-08-01. dead.
  19. Web site: You Me At Six To Headline Slam Dunk 2009 - News. Rock Sound. Patrick Napier. Rock Sound. March 13, 2009. June 3, 2018.
  20. Web site: All Time Low }} Headlining Warped Tour Dates]. Melodic. Wippsson, Johan . May 27, 2009. June 2, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170729051707if_/http://melodic.net/?page=news&id=13390 . 29 July 2017.
  21. We the Kings albums chart peak
  22. We the Kings singles chart peak
  23. Web site: The 100 greatest pop punk songs of all time. https://web.archive.org/web/20220303183529/https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2022/03/the-100-greatest-pop-punk-songs-of-all-time.html. Cleveland.com. Smith, Troy L.. March 2, 2022. March 3, 2022. March 3, 2022.
  24. We the Kings. 2008. booklet. S-Curve/Virgin Records. 509992 37647 2 9.
  25. Web site: Gold & Platinum Certification – December 2011 . . 2012-06-14 .