page_title: All American Boy (Steve Grand album)
section_title: Critical reception
hierarchical_section_title: All American Boy (Steve Grand album) / Release and reception / Critical reception
caption_attribution_description: English: Shania Twain at a Country Music Hall of Fame press conference announcing a two-year residency at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
context_page_description: All American Boy is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Steve Grand. It was released on March 23, 2015 independently by his imprint Grand Nation Music and was disseminated through Brody Distribution Group via Sony RED Distribution. The album's tracks feature genres spanning from mostly country to pop music, as well as rock music. In the making of the album, Grand took his musical influences such as Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, and Sum 41 onto the album. Some tracks on the album express a celebration of a person's sexuality or identity, predominantly aimed to the Gay community and also represents and reminiscences his younger life.
  The album garnered mostly mild commendations from critics who lauded the album's content and production, many noting Grand's talent, also some tracks for its "radio-friendliness", and that some songs could relate to anybody no matter what sexual orientation. For such an independent release, the album was a moderate success, making its debut on the U.S. Billboard 200 at No. 47 and its components charts Digital and Independent albums at No. 19 and No. 3, respectively.
context_section_description: All-American Boy was highly commended by contemporary critics. While praising Steve Grand's musical talent, Gregg Shapiro of ChicagoPride praised tracks such as "We Are the Night", "Better Off", and "Back to California". He also claimed that "Next to Me" and "Run" were radio-friendly. Upon "Back to California" he stated that the "emotion-packed power-ballad that is yet another examples of Grand's towering versatility." In a review of the record, Shapiro also wrote, "Grand wisely included the title cut, the song that first introduced him to his far-reaching and devoted followers. It also features 'Stay,' another song with which the Grand Nation (his fans) will be familiar. Among the new material the sexy 'Soaking Wet,' intoxicating 'Whiskey Crime,' dance-floor-destined 'Better Off' and the beautiful 'Back To California,' are all welcome additions to his repertoire." 
   
  Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal lauded the album and praised tracks "Say You Love Me", "Red, White and Blue", "We Are the Night", "All-American Boy", "Soakin' Wet", "Lovin' Again", "Whiskey Crime", "Time", "Run", and "Back to California". He wrote "For Steve Grand fans the wait is finally over for his highly-anticipated breakthrough studio album, "All American Boy," and it is a superb studio effort." and also added "Overall, Steve Grand delights on his new studio album All American Boy. There is a lot of variety on the collection, and one can hear Grand's heart on every song. It may have taken a while to record, but it was well worth the wait, since excellence takes time, and Grand has achieved that on this musical project." Markos Papadatos gave an A rating. David Clarke of Broadway World lauded the album, saying that it consists of "strong love songs, gorgeously crooned ballads, and infectious pop-country anthems that listeneres of all walks of life can get lost in. Regardless of who you are, the universal human emotions expressed in these smartly penned lyrics are instantly relatable." Clarke praised tracks such as "Say You Love Me", "We Are the Night", "Whiskey Crime", "Soakin' Wet, "Next to Me", and "Time".
   
  Luis Gonzalez of AlbumConfessions praised the album as well. He wrote "Grand has produced an album, a majority of it written and produced on his own, that crosses many boundaries. The album is not only a country experiment as many have labelled it. The artist has used pop, dance and rock elements to his advantage, expanding his broad range that much more. His honest storytelling leaves no stone unturned and may be the main reason Grand found a devoted audience in the first place." He singled out "We Are the Night", "All-American Boy", "Soakin' Wet" and "Run" as the tracks to hear in his four-star review. Timothy Monger of AllMusic also lauded the album "With his passionate, powerful delivery and clever pop songcraft, Grand delivers 13 tracks of passionate, country-infused rock that should resonate with fans regardless of their sexuality." He also praised the two tracks "Red, White, and Blue" and "Whiskey Crime". Monger has yet to give a rating to the album despite his positive report upon the album.
  Josh Haigh from SoSoGay UK gave a positive review and said that the album was "a country album at its heart" and said that "The album’s pop influences bring to mind Shania Twain’s iconic Come On Over, which famously managed to bridge the gap between country and pop and went on to become one of the best selling albums of all time." He claimed his assumptions on "Soaking Wet" saying, "whose subtle sexual-charged undertone – ‘You can dry off later on/’Cos we’re a little having too much fun/Being soaking we-e-et/Got you soaking we-e-et'" and called it "album’s instant standouts". He also said that the track "gives us a hint of what Grand’s sound could potentially evolve into with future releases." Upon "Stay", Haigh says that it "sees him emulate indie-pop singer Ben Folds to great effect" and that "Whiskey Crime" is "equivalent of Come On Over’s ‘Rock This Country!’". He claimed that it could be mistaken that "this was a major label debut from an up a
caption: All American Boy was compared by critics to country singer Shania Twain's 1997 album Come On Over.
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