Confidential

## Alternative Cover

***Confidential*** is the eighth studio album by American singer Richie McCartney. It was released on December 1, 2017, by Capitol Records. The album was executive produced by McCartney himself, and it's one of his most experimental works so far, with a pop and r&b sound. It peaked at number one on the US *Billboard* 200. The album was well received by critics, with Billboard saying it was Undertow 2.0 because of it's modern, mature and even experimental sound.

The album was recorded in only five months and was used to support McCartney's Las Vegas residency Private. Confidential sold 240,000 copies on its first week in the United States and had five singles, making Richie the most streamed male artist in 2017.

Despite not having a massive promotion, McCartney went on Good Morning America, Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon in the week of the album's release for interviews only. The only televised performance for this album was for the song "First Time", broadcasted directly from the residency for the New Years Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest.

## **Background and musical style**

Confidential recording sessions begun in April 2017. The project started after McCartney saw his scrapped album Checkmate being released without further warning on all streaming platforms.

McCartney called producers he had never worked with before and asked for lots of demos. The choosing process was simple, McCartney heard each one if he liked the lyrics, composition and sound he would go to the studio and record it. The album was almost done in two months, with McCartney being part of few sessions, where he would only put his voice without much involvement with the rest of production. Everything else was left for the producers.

Despite not being involved in most part of the production, McCartney was the executive producer for the album. Each song that made to the album was selected by him. The singer also made some small changes to lyrics making each song feel like his, taking it to his reality.

## **Release**

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In between all the buzz regarding his new show in Vegas, the album's promotion started on October 5 with the release of "First Time" in all digital and streaming platforms. The music video for the song was released one week later.

McCartney promoted the album with an interview for Billboard, in which he stated: "This album is different from everything I've done so far. It's modern and even a little bit dark, something my fans really love. But it also has some good uptempo songs. This is my most personal album yet". That same week, on November 10, McCartney released the second single from the album "Mind", a modern mid tempo song. On November 28 "I Wrote a Song for You" and "Survive" were released as promotional singles for the album.

In the week of the album's release, McCartney went on Good Morning America, The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live to give interviews, where he talked about Confidential the album, the fragrance and the Private residency. On Good Morning America he revealed: "Confidential is no doubt my personal album yet. I wrote, or co-wrote, every song on this album. I had very little time to make this record and it was such a rush that I had to take a different strategy. I wrote the songs, sent it to the producers to create the melodies. I tried not to involve so many producers, and looked to work with people I've never worked before".

On December 31, the Private residency began and the "First Time" performance was broadcasted on New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest.

## **Singles**

*"First Time"* was released on October 5, 2017, and had very little TV promotion. However, it was heavily promoted online, with lots of banners and playlists on streaming services. The single peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and also reached the top 20 in most European countries.

*"Mind"* was released as the second single from the album, along with its music video. It reached number 1 in more than 55 countries on iTunes, including the US and UK, within its 24 hours of release. It was a success after the buzz and promo for the previous single, peaking at number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

*"Curvin Everybody"* was released on February 12, 2018, to a very moderate success. It peaked at number 55 on the US Billboard Hot 100, but managed to get into the top 10 in Canada and Australia, even with zero promotion from the singer or his record label.

*"Desire"* was the fourth single from the album and peaked at number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100. It made a decent impact on Europe, reaching top 20 in most countries, but nothing remarkable.

*"Gold"* was released as the fifth and last single from Confidential, failing on almost every chart around the world, despite being one of the fan favorites from the album. It only charted in the US, where it peaked at 75 on the Billboard Hot 100.

## Review scores

### The Times

3/5

*Confidential* received positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on 26 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". This effectively makes *Confidential* McCartney's second best reviewed album to date, after *Undertow*.

Neil McCormick of *The Daily Telegraph* said the album is a "welcome change of sound for the singer that was used to sing mainly dance songs". Jon Pareles of *The New York Times* wrote a favorable review, saying the album "brings a different side of the singer, with a more chill vibe that works wonderfully with his voice". In a very positive review from *Billboard*, Kevin Long wrote that "Like Undertow, this album is an accomplished piece of art".

*Billboard* named *Confidential* their album of the week. Writing for *The Independent*, Roison O'Connor wrote that "*Confidential* is more of an evolution of his sound rather than a radical change, in fact, it's his most expansive album to date," concluding that "McCartney is far more self-aware than he has been on his previous albums." El Hunt of *DIY* wrote that *Confidential* is "a record that is prepared to be truly intimate, and is all the more impactful for it."