# Where Does This Door Go

Where Does This Door Go is the third studio album by American singer Mayer Hawthorne. It was released on July 16, 2013, by Republic Records.

## Singles

The album's lead single, "Her Favorite Song", was released on May 15, 2013, its music video was released on June 26, 2013.

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Aggregate scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 6.9/10 |
| Metacritic | 73/100 |
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| The A.V. Club | B− |
| Consequence | C+ |
| Exclaim! | 8/10 |
| The Guardian | |
| The Independent | |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| Pitchfork | 7.1/10 |
| PopMatters | 9/10 |
| Rolling Stone | |
Where Does This Door Go was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 73, based on 17 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.9 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.
Michael Gallucci of The A.V. Club stated, "For all of his apparent devotion to the genre, Hawthorne comes off somewhat soulless on Where Does This Door Go". Derek Staples of Consequence stated, "For those awaiting more of Hawthorne's soul revivalism, his new carefree mentality has also had a positive effect on the songwriter's more straightforward soul affairs". Ryan B. Patrick of Exclaim! stated, "With Where Does This Door Go, Hawthorne's falsetto-inflected voice has become more commanding, his production more intriguing and his indie-soul aspirations have morphed into mainstream ambitions". Andy Gill of The Independent stated, "Hawthorne's muse is steeped in '70 influences—notably falsetto and symphonic-soul giants like Curtis Mayfield and Barry White, while trailing threads of piercing lead guitar through songs like "Wine Glass Women" and "Corsican Rose" bring to mind Ernie Isley's work on "Summer Breeze"". Zachary Houle of PopMatters stated, "Where Does This Door Go improves over his last effort, which was already pretty good to begin with, and may go down as one of the year's most exceptional releases. Where Does This Door Go is as refreshing as a tropical breeze, if not a good cup of joe at your favorite hangout".
Nate Patrin of Pitchfork stated, "Inconsistency or complexity? Depends on how much you believe in this music as sincere self-expression versus its status as smartly crafted, artist-as-listener-proxy pop". David Jeffries of AllMusic stated, "Wherever this door does go, it is a place that calls for boat shoes, a relaxed attitude, and a returning fan's patience". Harriet Gibsone of The Guardian stated, "Packed with cleverly crafted production, Where Does This Door Go may be a sonic adventure, but it's not quite slick enough to challenge the current crop of R&B luminaries". August Brown of Los Angeles Times stated, "Where Does This Door Go feels like a once-promising OK Cupid date that's gone off the rails". Mike Powell of Rolling Stone stated, "From modest goals come modest returns".

## Commercial performance

Where Does This Door Go debuted at number 30 on the US Billboard 200, and number four on the R&B Albums, selling around 10,000 copies in its first week. It has sold 38,000 copies in the United States as of March 2016.

## Track listing

Notes
* signifies a co-producer
Sample credits
* "Robot Love" contains an interpolation from "Put Your Love (In My Tender Care)", written by William Curtis.

## Personnel

Musicians
* Mayer Hawthorne – vocals, drums (3, 13, 15, 18), percussion (3, 13), programming (3), bass guitar (3, 6, 10, 12–15), electric guitar (3, 5, 13), electric piano (3, 15), piano (5, 12, 18), synthesizers (4, 13, 16), records scratches (3, 5, 9, 11), drum fills (10), vibraphone (12, 15), glockenspiel (15), celeste (18), additional electric piano (14)
* Marsha Ambrosius – additional vocals (11)
* Miguel Atwood-Ferguson – string arrangements, violin, and viola (12)
* Sam Beaubien – trumpet (5)
* Alison Bjorkedal – harp (12)
* Jeannette Boling – additional vocals (15)
* Kid Harpoon – mellotron (13)
* John Hill – electric guitar, claps, and drum machine (13)
* Da Internz – drums, programming, and additional background vocals (2)
* Eric Jackson – acoustic guitar (2)
* JimiJames – background vocals (2)
* Quentin Joseph – drums (14)
* Justin Jozwiak – tenor saxophone (5)
* Kendrick Lamar – additional vocals (9)
* James Manning – bass guitar (2)
* Matt Martinez – trombone (5)
* Quincy McCrary – additional electric piano (6)
* Steve "Ace Face" Mostyn – bass guitar (4, 7, 9, 11), electric guitar (4, 7, 9, 11), Yamaha CP70 (4, 7, 9), electric piano (11), synthesizers (4), Turkish saz (9), background vocals (4)
* Oak – drums (4, 7, 9, 11), programming (4, 7, 9, 11), synthesizers (7, 9, 11), background vocals (4)
* Destiny Papalia – additional vocals (13)
* Tricia Parris – skit (5)
* Jackson Perry – additional background vocals (2), additional vocals (15)
* Jason Pipkin – drums (16)
* Kevin Randolph – electric piano and synthesizers (2)
* Josh Remsberg – additional vocals (15)
* Fernanda Repsold – additional background vocals (2)
* Jimetta Rose – additional vocals (6)
* Harlan Silverman – electric guitar (10, 16, 18), electric bass (16, 18), piano (16), Wurlitzer (16, 18), synthesizer (18)
* Shaili Sirpal – additional vocals (15)
* Jack Splash – drums (3, 5), percussion (3), programming (3, 5), synthesizers (5), bass guitar (5), piano (5), additional vocals (3), all instruments (17)
* Rene Toledo – electric guitar (6, 14)
* Karl Tyler – skit (6)
* Chris Votek – cello (12)
* Jessie Ware – additional vocals (7)
* Greg Wells – drums (12, 18), drum machine (15), electric piano (12), acoustic piano (15), mellotron (15), electric guitar (12), electric slide guitar (15)
* Pharrell Williams – drums (6, 10), percussion (6, 10, 14), programming (6), electric piano (6, 14), acoustic piano (10, 14), glockenspiel (14), additional vocals (14)
* Christian Wunderlich – electric guitar (2), bridge guitar (13)
Technical personnel
* Delbert Bowers – mix assistant (2, 6–10, 12, 13)
* Michael H. Brauer – mixing (3–5, 11, 14, 16)
* Chris Galland – mix assistant (2, 6–10, 12, 13)
* Chris Gehringer – mastering
* Ryan Gilligan – mix assistant and Pro Tools engineer (3–5, 11, 14, 16)
* Mayer Hawthorne – mixing (19)
* Manny Marroquin – mixing (2, 6–10, 12, 13)
* Jason Schweitzer – mixing (17, 18)
* Greg Wells – mixing (19)

## Charts

Chart performance for Where Does This Door Go :
| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) | 81 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) | 92 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | 57 |
| US Billboard 200 | 30 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) | 10 |