Love Stuff
2015 studio album by Elle King
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Love Stuff is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Elle King, released in the United States on February 13, 2015 by RCA Records.[1][2] The album peaked at number 26 on the Billboard 200, received platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and was generally praised by music critics. It was mastered in Hollywood, California at Stephen Marcussen's namesake recording studio.[3]
| Love Stuff | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 13, 2015 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:26 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Elle King chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Love Stuff | ||||
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The album was preceded by its lead single "Ex's & Oh's", which was released on September 23, 2014, peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, and received quadruple platinum certification by the RIAA.[4] Additionally, the song peaked the Alternative Songs chart in September 2015, becoming only the second song by a female solo act to do so since 1996 after Lorde achieved the feat in 2013 with "Royals". It was also preceded by the promotional single "Under the Influence". The album's second single, "America's Sweetheart", peaked at number ten on Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart — becoming her second song to do so — and has since been certified platinum by Music Canada.
The album made history by being the first album to debut atop the UK Americana chart, which launched on 28 January 2016.[5] It also was placed No. 2 on UK Biggest Americana Albums of 2016 and has since been certified platinum in the United States.
Composition
Singles
"Ex's & Oh's" was released on September 23, 2014, as the album's lead single. It first found success in the rock genre, where it became the second song by a solo female artist in the past twenty years to reach the top position of the Billboard Alternative Songs airplay chart[8] and led the magazine's Hot Rock Songs chart for 10 consecutive weeks in mid-2015. The song later crossed over to a mainstream audience and became a number-one hit on the Adult Pop Songs chart in addition to spending one week in the top 10 of the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. "Ex's & Oh's" received two nominations at the 58th Grammy Awards: for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song.[9]
The second rock single from the album is "Under the Influence", released to AAA radio on December 14, 2015 modern rock radio on December 15.[10][11]
"America's Sweetheart" was released on February 8, 2016, as the second mainstream single and third overall released from Love Stuff; it impacted American hot adult contemporary radio on that date.[12]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [13] |
| Renowned for Sound |  [14] |
Marcus Floyd from Renowned for Sound was impressed by King's "sonically versatile qualities" in her vocal performance over the track listing and the lyrical content she co-wrote with her collaborators, saying that "it’s great to hear less clichéd written tracks, replaced by personal pieces that tell a story and relive an experience." He concluded that King's career was just beginning, saying that "with her debut album now under her belt, she seems capable of anything; we can’t wait to hear more from this girl."[14] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine was critical of King's vocals feeling exhaustive throughout the album as she keeps up her chosen image but gave praise to her performances on "Ex's & Oh's", "Under the Influence", "Last Damn Night" and "Jackson" for finding a balance between "rock crunch and soul testifying," concluding that "Such highlights suggests that when [Elle] King doesn't have to try so hard to prove her bona fides, she might wind up with a record that's hard to deny. For now, she merely has a promising debut on her hands."[13]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Where the Devil Don't Go" | John Hill | 3:01 | |
| 2. | "Ex's & Oh's" |
| Dave Bassett | 3:22 |
| 3. | "Under the Influence" |
| Bassett | 3:18 |
| 4. | "Last Damn Night" | Jeff Bhasker | 4:02 | |
| 5. | "Kocaine Karolina" |
| Bhasker | 3:59 |
| 6. | "Song of Sorrow" | King | Hill | 3:35 |
| 7. | "America's Sweetheart" |
| Martin Johnson | 4:06 |
| 8. | "I Told You I Was Mean" | King | Jacknife Lee | 4:31 |
| 9. | "Ain't Gonna Drown" |
| Bhasker | 3:21 |
| 10. | "Jackson" |
| Lee | 3:14 |
| 11. | "Make You Smile" |
| Lee | 2:31 |
| 12. | "See You Again" |
| Eg White | 3:26 |
| Total length: | 42:26 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Playing for Keeps" | King, Chris DeStefano | Chris DeStefano | 3:37 |
| 14. | "Good to Be a Man" | King | Andy Baldwin | 2:48 |
| 15. | "No One Can Save You" | King | 2:14 | |
| 16. | "My Neck, My Back (Live)" | Khia Chambers, Michael J. Williams, Ed Meriwether[15] | 2:40 | |
| Total length: | 53:45 | |||
Personnel
- Vocals
- Lead vocals – Elle King, Jacknife Lee
- Background vocals – Zach Carothers, Scarlet Cherry, John Gourley, Martin Johnson, Tyler Sam Johnson, Elle King, Phillip Lawrence, Kyle O'Quin, Alisan Porter
- Instruments
- Banjo – Elle King
- Bass – Dave Bassett, Jacknife Lee, Brandon Paddock, Mark Ronson, Sebastian Steinberg
- Bouzouki – Blake Mills
- Drums, percussion, and beats – Dave Bassett, Sam Bell, Jeff Bhasker, Patrick Carney, Zach Carothers, James Gadson, John Gourley, John Hill, Martin Johnson, Patrick Keeler, Elle King, Jacknife Lee, Kyle O'Quin, Darren Weiss
- Guitars – Dave Bassett, Martin Johnson, Elle King, Jacknife Lee, Blake Mills, Hunter Perrin, Mark Ronson, Eg White
- Keyboards – Dave Bassett, Jeff Bhasker, John Hill, Jacknife Lee
- Organ – Jeff Bhasker, Jacknife Lee, Jamie Muhoberac, Kyle O'Quin
- Piano – Jeff Bhasker, Martin Johnson, Jacknife Lee, Jamie Muhoberac, Kyle O'Quin, Brandon Paddock
- Synthesizer – John Hill
- Production
- A&R – Peter Edge, David Wolter
- Assistant – Marcus Johnson, Kyle Moorman, Alex Salibian, Joe Visciano
- Digital editing – Chris Bernard, Matt Bishop
- Engineering – Dave Bassett, Sam Bell, Mark Bengtson, Matt Bishop, Doug Boehm, Tyler Sam Johnson, Jacknife Lee, Matt Ross, Alex Salibian, Pawel Sek, Laura Sisk, Eg White
- Mastering – Stephen Marcussen
- Mixing – Jeff Bhasker, Michael H. Brauer, Tom Elmhirst, Martin Johnson, Vance Powell, Alex Salibian, Eg White
- Mixing assistant – Mark Bengtson
- Producer – Dave Bassett, Jeff Bhasker, John Hill, Martin Johnson, Jacknife Lee, Eg White
- Production assistant – Ben Baptie, Tyler Sam Johnson, Brandon Paddock
- Programming – John Hill, Martin Johnson, Kyle Moorman, Brandon Paddock
- Imagery
- Art direction – Erwin Gorostiza, Michelle Holme
- Design – Michelle Holme
- Photography – Dustin Cohen
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[36] | Gold | 40,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[37] | Gold | 7,500‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[38] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[39] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
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^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||