Carrie Underwood - "Cry Pretty"

[travelrocks24]

[recordyear]

Early HDD prediction: 185k-205k pure sales, 190k-210k SPS

[bboat11]

I don't think I have ever heard a less consistent album in my entire life... She can't decide if this album is supposed to be country, rock, pop, R&B, or rap, and the songs themselves are either among the best of her career or literally terrible... I will bring track-by-track thoughts later after a few more listens, but so far I am shocked to see so many people claiming this is the best album of her career. Considering that her early albums had literally zero low points, I'm detecting a LOT of bulls**t lately...

[recordyear]

Updated prediction: 210-220k pure sales, 220-230k SPS

[DJ General]

Really enjoy the album so far. I had it mixed it with a couple other albums on a 2 hr walk today. Can't believe after the DISASTER That Cry Pretty (single) was that she has such a nice album

[recordyear]

And HDD increased the pure sales by 10k.
New figure is 220-230k pure sales, 230-240k SPS

[.indulgecountry]

She continues her trend of making solid albums but not masterpieces. There's definitely a few weak spots on this one, like I've come to expect from her records. I definitely like it on the whole though and the standouts for me are *really* good.

"Ghosts on the Stereo" and "The Bullet" are the two biggest highlights on Cry Pretty for me and I personally would love to see both of those as singles, but I'd settle for 1 of the 2. *fingers crossed*

[CoJoFan]

I think if this goes 4 singles deep the most logical choices for the third and fourth single would be “Southbound” followed by “Ghosts On The Stereo”.

[bboat11]

Sept 20, 2018 10:05:49 GMT -5 CoJoFan said:

I think if this goes 4 singles deep the most logical choices for the third and fourth single would be “Southbound” followed by “Ghosts On The Stereo”.

Please God, no... That song isn't even good enough to be sung by Carrie Underwood, and yet here we are...

Edit: "Ghosts on the Stereo" tho MAJOR masterpiece there!!!! It sounds like a hit to me too, so I hope they put it out there!

[carriefan15]

Sept 20, 2018 20:54:33 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Sept 20, 2018 10:05:49 GMT -5 CoJoFan said:

I think if this goes 4 singles deep the most logical choices for the third and fourth single would be “Southbound” followed by “Ghosts On The Stereo”.

Please God, no... That song isn't even good enough to be sung by Carrie Underwood, and yet here we are...

Edit: "Ghosts on the Stereo" tho MAJOR masterpiece there!!!! It sounds like a hit to me too, so I hope they put it out there!

Yes please!!! Something about GOTS is just so smooth and relaxing, while also being slightly haunting at the same time haha

[Deleted]

Yes, absolutely no "Southbound" as a single. I don't care that it fits in for summer. Release the best songs, and there are plenty "Low", "Ghosts on the Stereo", "Drinking Alone"...etc.

[lady𝓐fan]

I would love hearing "That Song..." on the radio, it's just so catchy. Yes, it's very pop-leaning but so are songs like "Life Changes" and "Speechless," both of which are or are becoming hits. That would be my preferred uptempo. "Low" is also amazing so that should definitely be a single.

[.indulgecountry]

"Southbound" sounds like something Miranda Lambert would've both written and performed better, but I do like it for what it is and think it'd be a decent single choice for next summer. I'd like to see them release "Ghosts on the Stereo" and "The Bullet" as singles, and I hope they go 5-deep on this record and don't end it on 4 like they usually do with her eras (except Carnival Ride), but I'm not sure what other song I'd pick. "Drinking Alone" would possibly be the best option of the rest.

[musicfix18]

After reading the Variety article, I do feel like she will be pushed to Pop and Country. With that said:

Country: Drinking Alone, Spinning Bottles, and Southbound
Pop: Backsliding, That Song...

Depending on Love Wins reception on radio (i.e. it flops), they should probably replace Spinning Bottles with Drinking Alone so that Spinning Bottles is during the more "somber" winter.

[toomuchboy]

The two I'm pulling for to be singles are "That Song That We Used to Make Love To" and "The Bullet." I could see "Ghosts On the Stereo" or "End Up With You" getting released, too, if they go 5 deep. I'm not sure "The Bullet" will happen though, just because "Love Wins" already has the opening verse about gun violence and both "Cry Pretty" and "Love Wins" are both slower types (not ballads exactly, but you get what I mean?), which probably means more upbeat songs like "That Song..." and "End Up With You" more likely.

"Backsliding" reminds me of "Chaser" and "Relapse" for some reason, which is why I'd be surprised if it got a single release.

[bboat11]

Sept 22, 2018 5:58:34 GMT -5 toomuchboy said:

The two I'm pulling for to be singles are "That Song That We Used to Make Love To" and "The Bullet." I could see "Ghosts On the Stereo" or "End Up With You" getting released, too, if they go 5 deep. I'm not sure "The Bullet" will happen though, just because "Love Wins" already has the opening verse about gun violence and both "Cry Pretty" and "Love Wins" are both slower types (not ballads exactly, but you get what I mean?), which probably means more upbeat songs like "That Song..." and "End Up With You" more likely.

"Backsliding" reminds me of "Chaser" and "Relapse" for some reason, which is why I'd be surprised if it got a single release.

I don't know what you mean... Lmao "Love Wins" is literally the most uptempo and upbeat song on the entire album

[toomuchboy]

It's also a message song with a choir, heavy and syrupy. All I meant is they probably want something more lighthearted after the first two, which would lower "The Bullet"'s chances.

[jab820]

"Drinking Alone" is the clear next single for me. It just sounds like a radio hit and has been consistently selling the third best under "Love Wins" and "Cry Pretty". I'm also on the team of "Ghosts on the Stereo" as a single, but my guess is "Southbound" would be the fourth single if the first three consistently cover heavy topics.

[zaclord 🌈]

Okay after listening to this non-stop for the past week, here are my preliminary rankings (these will change drastically I know...)

01. Low
02. Spinning Bottles
03. Drinking Alone
04. Backsliding
05. Kingdom
06. Love Wins
07. That Song That We Used To Make Love To
08. End Up With You
09. Southbound
10. Ghosts on the Stereo
11. The Bullet
12. The Champion
13. Cry Pretty

Cry Pretty is easily the worst song on the album for me and I still like it, but the rest of the album is so much better. My top 4 are some of the best songs of Carrie's entire career though.

[onebuffalo]

#1 country, #1 top 200 album with 251,000 sold. Congratulations, Carrie Underwood.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Just found this guy on YouTube. He does some pretty enjoyable musical reviews.

[raylatch98]

Sept 24, 2018 11:19:07 GMT -5 Ten Pound Hammer said:

Just found this guy on YouTube. He does some pretty enjoyable musical reviews.

Love Mark on Spectrum Pulse. He basically said everything I thought of when it came to this album. This album feels really middle of the road and Carrie Underwood has had much better albums (particularly her first, second and fourth albums). This album is just kind of there for me.

[.indulgecountry]

YouTube reviewers are always terrible. I've never watched a single one where I didn't feel like I lost brain cells during the duration of the video, and that one posted above was no exception. Not here for that guy staring into my soul with those dead, emotionless owl eyes while sounding like he hasn't had a drink of water in years.

[travelrocks24]

www.turnto23.com/entertainment/carrie-underwood-is-first-female-country-artist-to-have-four-no-1-albums-at-top-of-all-genre-charts

Carrie Underwood just became the first female country artist to have four No. 1 albums at the top of the all-genre charts, according to Billboard.

"Cry Pretty" topped the Billboard 200 chart for the week ending September 20, selling 266,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music. Of that, 251,000 were traditional album sales.

Billboard reported that Underwood's latest album is "the biggest for any country album since Aug. 29, 2015, when Luke Bryan's 'Kill the Lights' bowed at No. 1 with 345,000 units earned."

" 'Cry Pretty' also had the biggest overall week for a country album by a woman since the charts began ranking albums by equivalent album units in late 2014," the publication said.

[lady𝓐fan]

Wow, I just noticed "Cry Pretty" (the song) re-entered the Hot 100 at #90 this week.

[someguy]

This is pretty high on my list of Carrie albums, and I could see it becoming my favourite of hers in time. I never would have guessed that from the first two singles though, which are among my least favourite of her career. I'm disappointed that they've (imo) wasted two single slots already. The run on the album from tracks 2-7 and then "Spinning Bottles" are among some of the best moments of Carrie's career.

Ideally, I would've gone with this for singles:

1. Southbound
2. Ghosts On The Stereo
3. Drinking Alone
4. That Song That We Used To Make Love To
5. Spinning Bottles

"End Up With You" could have been released as well, though no way we're getting 6 singles.

Now that we're already two singles in, it's hard to say what she should do. I almost wonder if she should go "Drinking Alone", then "Southbound" followed by "That Song...".

[McCreerian (Harris 2024!)]

I like this album but I miss the "bad girl" rocker Carrie songs she's been so good at on her past albums. Maybe she's moved past that now or its just for this album.

[daddy]

Sept 24, 2018 11:19:07 GMT -5 Ten Pound Hammer said:

Just found this guy on YouTube. He does some pretty enjoyable musical reviews.

I made it halfway through this. That was unwatchable.

[edph1]

This is a brilliant album! I’m not sure where I’d rank it in comparison to her others just yet. It’s at the very least better than Play On haha