Nicky Stew

Album cover for Nicky Stew (2012), showing Stewart sitting on the ledge,

***Nicky Stew*** is the seventh studio album by American-Romanian singer-songwriter Nicholas Stewart, serving as the singer's third eponymous album after *Nicholas* (1997) and *Miles* (1998), serving his well-known nickname. It was released on July 2, 2012 by Sunrise Records. Stewart was given more creative control in making the album. Most of the tracks were based on his personal experience he had in the recent years, especially his 2011 divorce and his failed suicide attempt in 2002. This served as Stewart's most personal record at the time, alongside his 2010 album *Shades of Yellow.*

Upon release, *Nicky Stew* was met with widespread acclaim and drew controversy due to its extremely explicit message and content. The album experienced commercial success worldwide. It became Stewart's ninth number one album and eighth #1 debut on the Billboard 200. It's also Stewart's sixth consecutive album to sell over 500,000 units on its first week in the United States. The album peaked at #1 on all countries except Oceania countries. The album was supported with five singles, "Cross Off", "It Was Good (Until You Ruined It)", "Xanny", " Late Night", and "Lucid Dreaming". *Nicky Stew* was certified seven times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and received multi-platinum certifications globally. It became his first album to top the Billboard Year-End chart since his 2004 album *Sweet Dreams.* To promote the album, Stewart went on to embark his Lucid Dreaming Tour.

*Nicky Stew* was nominated won Best Engineered Album and Best Rock Album and got nominated Album of the Year at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. The album appeared in publications' lists of the best albums of the 2010s decade, and ranked at number 25 on the 2020 revision of *Rolling Stone*'s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

## Background and Production

After his separation with Walterz, Stewart was in no place to do back in the studio or promote something in shows due to isolation. His scheduled production for a country album as his label requested was cancelled that year. He was left to take care of his eldest daughter, Caroline, after the divorce. In December 2011, Stewart began working on his new album, with at least 60 new songs written throughout the 6-month hiatus. He shared: "My mind is overloaded and I needed to take down notes. But there's still something lacking for me and I'd go crazy if I don't even let this earworm out of my mind."

Stewart's request of making another rock album was accepted by the label, giving him more creative control for the next record. Recording sessions ended in March 2012. At that time, Stewart still hasn't decided what to name for his album. After choosing the 12 songs for the album, he decided to name his next album, *Nicky Stew*, a name called to him by his friends in the recent years. It became his third eponymous record after *Nicholas (1997)* and *Miles* (1998), due to this record being based on his personal experiences and real-life incidents from his late friends.

## Release and promotion

### Singles

Throughout 2012-2013, five songs were released as singles, "Cross Off", "It Was Good (Until You Ruined It)", "Xanny", "Late Night", and "Lucid Dreaming", which became the biggest hit of the album. All of the singles became top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with two of them being #1 hits. Its lead single "Cross Off" was released on May 7, 2012 and climbed its way to the top ten during the release of the album. It peaked at #1 on its twenty-second week of charting. Its fifth and final single "Lucid Dreaming" was released on May 6, 2013 on different radio formats and spent five nonconsecutive weeks at #1. It has received widespread acclaim from critics, who have lauded it as one of Stewart's best-written songs for its heavily detailed and powerful lyrics. The music video also met similar success and acclaim, garnering over 5.8 billion views in YouTube as of 2028, becoming one of the most-viewed music videos in the platform.

### Tour

To promote the album, Stewart embarked his Lucid Dreaming Tour which ran from October 2012 to February 2013, grossing $226 million upon completion.

## Critical reception

Upon release, *Nicky Stew* was met with widespread acclaim and drew controversy due to its extremely explicit message and content. Critics generally described it as a landmark release of far-reaching impact and importance, but noted that its experimentalism made it a challenging listen. According to Tim Footman, "Not since 1967, with the release of *Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band*, had so many major critics agreed immediately, not only on an album's merits, but on its long-term significance, and its ability to encapsulate a particular point in history." Mike Ross of Jam! found the album to be an effective fusion of hip hop and heavy metal sounds and praised Nicholas Stewart for showcasing the new side of his artistry. Stephanie Dickison of *PopMatters* commented that he is "a far more complex and talented artist than the hard rock boy bands of late" that "will continue to fascinate and challenge music's standard sounds." *Q* magazine wrote that Stewart had given "angst-ridden rock... an effective electronic spin."

## Commercial performance

Stewart's seventh studio album *Nicky Stew* was released on July 2, 2012 and experienced commercial success worldwide. It sold 930k copies on its first week in the United States, debuting at #1 and spent 5 weeks atop the Billboard 200 and was a major improvement compared to his previous record *Shades of Yellow* in terms of both acclaim and commercial performance*.* It became the best-selling album of 2012. It also became his first album to top the Billboard Year-End chart since his 2004 album *Sweet Dreams.* As of December 2026, it is certified seven times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and received multi-platinum certifications globally.

In Canada, it debuted at #2 and peaked at #1 five weeks later. It was certified 2x Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for selling over 200,000 units in the country. In United Kingdom, it spent two nonconsecutive weeks at #1 and is certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for selling over 300,000 units. In Europe, it went on to stay at #2 on its first two weeks before reaching #1. It is certified 2x Platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for selling over 2 million units in the region. In Australia, it debuted at #2 and spent seven nonconsecutive weeks at that position. It is certified seven times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for selling over 490,000 units in the country. The album also received moderate success in Asia, peaking at #1 in Japan and selling 500,000 units in the country and was certified double platinum by by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). Worldwide, the album sold 10 million pure copies, becoming one of the rare albums to achieve this feat. in the 2010s decade.

## Accolades

*Nicky Stew* was nominated won Best Engineered Album and Best Rock Album and got nominated Album of the Year at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. The album also won Top Billboard 200 Album on the 2012 Billboard Music Awards.

## Legacy

### Retrospective appraisal

*Nicky Stew* has appeared frequently in professional lists of greatest albums. A number of publications, including *NME*, *Melody Maker*, *Alternative Press*, *Spin*, *Pitchfork*, *Time*, *Metro Weekly* and *Slant Magazine* placed *Nicky Stew* prominently in lists of best albums of the early 2010s or of all time. It was voted number 8 in Colin Larkin's *All Time Top 1000 Albums* 5th Edition (2015). *Rolling Stone* ranked it 25 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2020. Retrospective reviews from BBC Music, *The A.V. Club* and *Slant* received the album favourably. *Rolling Stone* gave the album five stars in the 2024 edition of *The Rolling Stone Album Guide*, with critic Rob Sheffield saying, "Stewart was claiming the high ground abandoned by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, U2, R.E.M., everybody; and fans around the world loved them for trying too hard at a time when nobody else was even bothering." "Most would rate *OK Computer* the apogee of pomo texture", Christgau said in retrospect. According to Acclaimed Music, a site which uses statistics to numerically represent reception among critics, *Nicky Stew* is the 8th most celebrated album of all time. In 2019, the United States National Recording Preservation Board selected the album for preservation in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, which designates it as a sound recording that has had significant cultural, historical or aesthetic impact in American life.

### Commentary, interpretation and analysis

*Nicky Stew* was released a year before Stewart's drug accusation scandal and South Carolina ambush. In 2019, Stewart cleared: "This record has nothing to do with something that happened in you know...don't want to mention it. I made this record before shit went down and happened and some tracks was inspired by my late friends who died from drug addiction." Just like his 2004 record Sweet Dreams, the album's tracks were also dug deeper by music analysists and experts and some conspiracy theories found subliminal messages when the tracks were played in reverse.

## Track listing

All tracks are written and produced by Nicholas Stewart.

***Nicky Stew*** - Standard Edition

***Nicky Stew*** - deluxe edition

 14

## Personnel

### Musicians

* Nicholas Stewart - lead vocals; lead guitar; backing vocals percussion ; brushes ; guitar; programming; keyboard arrangements ; drums; acoustic guitar; piano; production coordinator; additional engineering; mastering; mixing
* Jude Garfield – drums
* Ryan Martin – bass guitar ; backing vocals

### Design

* Alli – art direction
* Ro-Starr – art direction, logos/design
* Christine Alicino – front cover photo
* Kate Garner – photography

## Charts

### Weekly Charts

**Peak chart positions for *Nicky Stew***

### Year-end charts

**Year-end chart positions for *Nicky Stew***

**Decade-end chart positions for *Nicky Stew***

 US Top Rock Albums (*Billboard*)