Future History

Future History is Jason Derulo's second studio album that was released on September 16, 2011 by Beluga Heights and Warner Bros. Records.
==Tracklisting==
#Don't Wanna Go Home	3:27
#It Girl	3:12
#Breathing	3:54
#Be Careful	3:34
#Make It Up As We Go	3:10
#Fight For You	4:02
#Pick Up The Pieces	3:35
#Givin' Up	3:51
#Bleed Out	4:09
#That's My Shhh	4:21
#X	3:32
#Dumb	3:50
==Album Background==
During an interview with Rap-Up magazine in May 2011, Derulo stated that the album was "a bunch of reinventions ... I’ve experienced so much in these last two years. When I recorded my first record I was 19 years old and now I'm 21."
He also revealed that he showed more than one side with the album, stating "There's records on the album that are deeply emotional, very vulnerable, just all sorts of things."
Derulo spoke more about the album in an interview with Billboard magazine, stating, "I like to write music based on who I am as a person, and this [album] is far different from the first one. On the first one I didn't have club tracks because I hadn't experienced that at all, and on this one my first record is about the most amazing party you've ever been to."
During a promotional tour in the United Kingdom, Derulo told 4Music that the album was the greatest accomplishment of his life, "I've never been more excited about something. I've put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this record."
Derulo further added that, "It's more growth than anything. I've grown more in these last two years than I've grown in my whole life.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Derulo stated that the title "Future History" reflects his desire for longevity in the music business. "I would like my music to live after me ... I want my music to be what is in the history books in the future."
===Recording===
Most of the album was recorded at Serenity West Recording Studio in Los Angeles, California; other recording sessions in Los Angeles took place at Chalice Recording Studios and Jim Henson Studios.
Westlake Recording Studios in Hollywood, California was also used for recording the album.
Derulo began working on the album in September 2010 and recorded 150 songs. He detailed his journey recording the album via a series of webisodes that were posted on his official website every Friday.
In an interview with Billboard magazine, Derulo said that he recorded the track "Make It Up as We Go" while he was drunk, stating "cause that's just what it was at that time. I can never recapture that. Me being sober would just not be the same, because at that moment that's what I was feeling and how I'm saying it is exactly how it's supposed to be said."
Derulo also revealed that while recording another song titled "Grieving", he was "crying in the booth ... it's just that emotional and personal to me."
The album was mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound in New York City.
==Chart Performance==
"Future History" peaked at #29 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 13,000 copies during its first week which was significantly lower than that of his debut album (which debuted at #11 on the Billboard 200, selling 43,000 copies).
As of April 2014, the album has sold 80,000 copies.
==Critical Reception==
"Future History" received generally mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 59, based on five reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".
Allmusic editor David Jeffries complimented Derulo’s "conviction" and called the album "an ambitious stab at growth in the pop-R&B world of 2011", but found the songs formulaic, stating: "Derulo’s still saying nothing – which is fine, since these are hooky, club cuts."
MSN Music's Alex Thornton viewed that the album "may not be a huge expansion on his formula", but stated, "while 'Future History' is chock-full of Auto-Tune and pyrotechnics, Derulo can actually sing and the effects are more of a means to an end than a crutch."
Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone described its music as "party-hearty robo R&B" and stated: "Derulo doesn't travel light; on nearly every song he stuffs his suitcase until the seams split. [...] But Derulo is endearingly into it – he attacks the songs – and he can sing. [...] He's just a bit too overeager – too determined to please all of the people all of the time."
In Cuepoint, Robert Christgau gave the album a three-star honorable mention, which indicates "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure."
He cited "Breathing" and "It Girl" as highlights and said Derulo was "definitely not as dumb as he pretends to think he is".
Entertainment Weekly's Brad Wete noted "several attempts at home-run club records and huge ballads" and wrote that Derulo "swings hard, but often misses – perhaps his biggest problem is that he's not rooted in any genre outside of people- pleasing pop", adding that he "should give true R&B a try."
Michael Cragg of BBC Music criticized the "meaningless slogans and relationship clichés" in the lyrics and stated, "As with his self-titled debut, Future History is more of a collection of singles than an album, but it feels a little more calculated."
Digital Spy critic Robert Copsey shared a similar sentiment and, despite complimenting the dance tracks "Breathing" and "Fight for You", he found "little in the way of surprises elsewhere." 
Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian criticized Derulo's "gauche declarations" and called it "an album that cleaves so closely to this year's ubiquitous pop/urban sound that you wonder whether the Florida-born crooner has an original idea in his head."
Category:2010s albums
Category:Pop
Category:Dance-Pop