Unstoppable (Rascal Flatts album)
| Unstoppable | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Rascal Flatts | ||||
| Released | April 7, 2009 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 45:45 (Standard Edition) | |||
| Label | Lyric Street | |||
| Producer |
Dann Huff Rascal Flatts | |||
| Rascal Flatts chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Unstoppable | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| About.com | [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B-[3] |
| Roughstock | (favorable)[4] |
| USA Today | [5] |
Unstoppable is the sixth studio album by the American country music group Rascal Flatts. The album was released on April 7, 2009, via Lyric Street Records, under the production of Dann Huff and the group. This album is led off by the single, "Here Comes Goodbye", which was released in January 2009 and reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in the issue dated April 25, 2009. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in the U.S. with 351,000 copies sold, making it the band's fourth consecutive number-one debut on the chart. It topped the 1 million mark on October 31, 2009.[6] As of June 2010, the album has sold 1,230,638 copies in the United States.[7]
Content
Three tracks were released as digital singles prior to the album's release: "Forever", "Love Who You Love" and "Things That Matter", on March 17, 24, and 31, respectively.
Singles
The first single, "Here Comes Goodbye", was released on January 20, 2009. The song was co-written by American Idol season 6 finalist Chris Sligh. Rascal Flatts will tour in support of the album on the Rascal Flatts American Living Unstoppable Tour, presented by department store chain JCPenney. Editions sold at JCPenney include the bonus track "American Living".[8] "Summer Nights" was released as the second single from the album on May 19, 2009. It reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. "Why" was released as the third single from the album on September 29, 2009. It became their lowest-peaking career single to date, peaking at number 18 on the aforementioned chart. "'Unstoppable" was released as the album's fourth single on January 4, 2010, and was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard country chart.
Critical reception
The album overall gained mixed reviews. Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the album a favorable review. Similar to his later review of the single "Summer Nights,", Bjorke commented that the album would appeal to fans of Rascal Flatts, but would unlikely bring new fans to the group. He specifically cited "Why" as the best track of the album, writing, "This is the kind of song that got me to personally like Rascal Flatts and it's certainly the best track on 'Unstoppable'" and "There's gotta be 'Song of the Year' accolades somewhere down the line for this song as it's that powerful."[4]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Who You Love" | Jason Sellers, Neil Thrasher, Paul Jenkins | 3:36 |
| 2. | "Here Comes Goodbye" | Chris Sligh, Clint Lagerberg | 4:02 |
| 3. | "Close" | Jay DeMarcus, Michael Dulaney, Sellers | 3:48 |
| 4. | "Forever" | Sellers, Thrasher | 4:16 |
| 5. | "She'd Be California" | Jenkins, Sellers, Tim Nichols | 4:18 |
| 6. | "Unstoppable" | DeMarcus, James T. Slater, Hillary Lindsey | 3:48 |
| 7. | "Things That Matter" | Gary LeVox, Thrasher, Dulaney | 4:41 |
| 8. | "Summer Nights" | LeVox, Brett James, busbee | 4:03 |
| 9. | "Holdin' On" | Dulaney, Thrasher, Wendell Mobley | 4:25 |
| 10. | "Once" | Kara DioGuardi, John Shanks, Jeffrey Steele | 3:50 |
| 11. | "Why" | Rob Mathes, Allen Shamblin | 4:58 |
| Total length: | 45:45 | ||
| J. C. Penney Bonus Track | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 12. | "American Living" | 3:15 |
Personnel
- Rascal Flatts
- Jay DeMarcus - bass guitar, background vocals
- Gary Levox - lead vocals
- Joe Don Rooney - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, soloist, background vocals
- Additional Musicians
- Tim Akers - keyboards
- Tom Bukovac - acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- David Campbell - string arrangements, conductor
- Eric Darken - percussion
- Dan Dugmore - steel guitar
- Shannon Forrest - drums
- Paul Franklin - steel guitar, soloist
- Carl Gorodetzky - string contractor
- Dann Huff - banjo, dobro, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin
- Charlie Judge - conductor, cello, Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards, lap steel guitar, drum loops, percussion, piano, electric piano, string arrangements, synthesizer strings, synthesizer
- Chris McHugh - drums
- Gordon Mote - piano
- The Nashville String Machine - strings
- Steve Nathan - Hammond B-3 organ
- Adam Shoenfeld - electric guitar
- Ilya Toshinsky - bouzouki, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Jonathan Yudkin - cello, fiddle, mandolin, string arrangements, string bass, viola, violin
Chart performance
Album
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 7 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[9] | 164 |
| US Billboard Top Country Albums[10] | 28 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US [11] |
US Pop |
US AC | CAN | |||||
| 2009 | "Here Comes Goodbye" | 1 | 11 | 23 | 13 | 48 | |||
| "Summer Nights" | 2 | 37 | — | — | 61 | ||||
| "Why" | 18 | 102 | — | — | — | ||||
| 2010 | "Unstoppable" | 7 | 52 | — | — | 83 | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[12] | Platinum |
References
- ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Unstoppable review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ↑ Fabian, Shelly. "Rascal Flatts - Unstoppable review". About.com. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ↑ Bierly, Mandi (April 14, 2009). "Unstoppable review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- 1 2 "Rascal Flatts - "Unstoppable"".
- ↑ Mansfield, Brian (April 6, 2009). "Rascal Flatts: 'Unstoppable' force of country". USA Today. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ↑ "Week Ending Oct. 18, 2009: Taylor Swift's Minor Miracle". Chart Watch. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ↑ Grein, Paul (2009-06-03). "Week Ending May 31, 2009: "Boom Boom Pow" Sets Digital Record". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ↑ Rascal Flatts news, Rascalflatts.com
- ↑ "Best of 2010 - Billboard Top 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
- ↑ "Best of 2010 - Top Country Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955–2010. Record Research, Inc. p. 732. ISBN 0-89820-188-8.
- ↑ "American album certifications – Rascal Flatts – Unstoppable". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
| Preceded by Defying Gravity by Keith Urban |
Top Country Albums number-one album April 25, 2009 - May 2, 2009 |
Succeeded by Hannah Montana: The Movie (soundtrack) by Various artists |
| Billboard 200 number-one album April 25, 2009 |