Own The Night

## Singles from *Own The Night*

1. Just A Kiss
 Released: May 2nd, 2011

2. We Owned The Night
 Released: August 15th, 2011

3. Dancin' Away With My Heart
 Released: December 12th, 2011

4. Wanted You More
 Released: May 7th, 2012

***Own The Night*** is the third studio album by American country music trio Lady A. It was released on September 13th, 2011, through Capitol Records Nashville.

## Critical Reception

Upon its release, *Own The Night* received mixed-to-favorable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 63, based on eight reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". *The New York Times* was very positive about *Own The Night* and wrote this third album "elevates this group's fecklessness to high art. It makes no apologies for its blunt-force tactics. It owns its shamelessness. That cocksure stance helps to make it one of the most convincing albums of the year, a huge leap forward for a group that threatened to become famous without leaving a true mark." Giving it a four stars rating out of five, *Country Weekly*'s Jessica Phillips appreciated that "For the most part, Lady Antebellum strikes a nice balance between the two -creating something different while replicating some elements of the previous album, keeping the penchant for bighearted ballads and the vocal chemistry between Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott intact". Billy Dukes of *Taste of Country* gave the album a 3.5 stars out of 5 commenting "In an effort to break new ground on their just released album, *Own The Night*, Lady Antebellum occasionally forget their strengths and weaknesses. Not every courageous step they take lands on solid ground, but it’s difficult to criticize a band for taking artistic chances." *Entertainment Weekly* gave the album a "B" grade commenting "With their easy pop-country tempos and ingratiating white-soul harmonies, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Dave Haywood are masters of the soft sell, an approach they employ here with characteristically genteel results." Randy Lewis of *The Los Angeles Times* found that "everything sounds bigger, brighter and shinier than on Lady A's first two albums. That'll probably go over well with fans of grandiose country pop" but he noted that "the all-stops-out production gradually loses impact." However, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic was less enthusiastic about the album. He gave it a three stars rating and described it as "mood music but the aim isn't amorous; it's nothing more than a spot of relaxation, which doesn't quite amount to compelling listening no matter how immaculate the execution." *American Songwriter* found *Own The Night* not "high art" and despised the "clichéd country images" but did appreciate the singing "with the band stacking its harmonies three voices deep at every twist and turn" and that's why the album received a three stars rating. Nevertheless, *Rolling Stone*'s Will Hermes was not convinced by the new album and gave it a two stars rating out of five. Jonathan Keefe of *Slant Magazine* negatively reviewed *Own The Night*: "In the past, the trio has been able to elevate their unremarkable songwriting with spirited performances, but that isn't the case on Own The Night". He found the band "across-the-board amateurish and anonymous".

## Commercial Performance

*Own The Night* debuted at No. 1 on the US *Billboard* 200 chart, selling 347,000 in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. This became Lady Antebellum's second US No. 1 debut. The album is the largest start for any country release since Taylor Swift's *Speak Now* (2010). The album also debuted at No. 1 on the US Top Country Albums chart, becoming the group third No. 1 debut on that chart. In its second week, the album dropped to No. 2 on the chart, selling an additional 125,000 copies. In its third week, the album dropped to No. 6 on the chart, selling 75,000 more copies. In its fourth week, the album climbed to No. 4 on the chart, selling 58,000 copies. Since its release, the album has topped the US Top Country Albums chart for 13 weeks. On October 17th, 2011, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over one million copies. As of June 2013, the album has sold 1,837,525 copies in the United States.

In Canada, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 21,000 copies in its first week. On September 27th, 2011, the album was certified platinum by Music Canada (MC) for sales of over 80,000 copies.

## Singles

Just A Kiss
May 2nd, 2011We Owned The Night
August 15th, 2011Dancin' Away With My Heart
December 12th, 2011Wanted You More
May 7th, 2012

## Release History

 Australia
 Japan

## Credits

### Lady A

* **Hillary Scott** – lead vocals, background vocals
* **Charles Kelley** – lead vocals, background vocals
* **Dave Haywood** – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, piano, background vocals

### Additional Musicians

* **Bruce Bouton** – dobro, steel guitar
* **Chad Cromwell** – drums
* **Jason "Slim" Gambill** – electric guitar, soloist
* **David Huff** – drum loops, percussion
* **Rob McNelley** – electric guitar, soloist
* **The Nashville String Machine** –  strings
* **Mike Rojas** – accordion, Hammond B-3 organ, piano, synthesizer
* **Kris Wilkinson** – string arrangements
* **Karen Winklemann** – penny whistle
* **Paul Worley** – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, soloist
* **Craig Young** – bass guitar
* **Jonathan Yudkin** – bouzouki, cello, fiddle, acoustic guitar, harp, mandolin

## References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Own\_the\_Night