Old Shack of Copenhagen

Cover for Old Shack of Copenhagen

***Old Shack of Copenhagen*** is the thirteenth studio album by American-Romanian singer-songwriter Nicholas Stewart, released on February 5, 2029, through Sunset Records. Stewart stated the album is built around impressionist storytelling and mythmaking, comprising tales of love, marriage, infidelity, and grief, arranged like an anthology and also themes of childhood, familial dynamics, and mental health. During a trip to Denmark, Stewart was inspired to make new music again after years of doing Broadway and studying Astronomy and decided to release this album.

The album is an alternative rock, folk-pop, and chamber rock record blending wintry compositions of fingerpicked guitars, somber pianos, sparse strings and drums, a big shift away from his previous dance pop-induced album ***After Party*** (2024). *Old Shack of Copenhagen* received universal acclaim from music critics, who praised its character dynamics, experimental production, and Stewart's expressive vocals. Various publications included *Old Shack of Copenhagen* in their year-end best albums lists of 2029. It was nominated for Album of the Year at the 72nd Annual Grammy Awards. The album reached number one in mainland European countries, United Kingdom, and the United States. It became his twenty-sixth number one on the Billboard 200.

## Background, release and production

During a trip to Denmark, Stewart was inspired to make new music again after years of doing Broadway and studying Astronomy. Recording began on late 2028 and concluded in the same year. Unlike his previous recording processes, Stewart wasn't too restricting his activity this time, as he wasn't clear on where this would go. He also revealed that he watched a lot of rom-com movies that inspired some of the backstories of the song in the album. On the evening of February 5, 2029, a photo was uploaded on Stewart's Instagram account, without caption, showing the singer sitting on a stairway inside a shack. Subsequently, he made another post across all his social media accounts, announcing that his thirteenth studio album would be released at midnight, stating "the rumors are true". He added: "There are so many things happening in the world and most of us wanted to escape the reality, so I made a record about it." He confirmed the image as the album's cover artwork and revealed the track-list. The album is an alternative rock, folk-pop, and chamber rock record blending wintry compositions of fingerpicked guitars, somber pianos, sparse strings and drums, a big shift away from his previous dance pop-induced album *After Party* (2024).

### Singles

"Early Morning" served as the lead single of *Old Shack of Copenhagen*. It was accompanied by a music video posted to YouTube, directed and produced by Stewart. Both were released on February 5, 2029, alongside the album. It was serviced to US pop and adult pop radio formats on February 8. The song debuted at number one on the *Billboard* Hot 100 chart, becoming Stewart's record-extending fortieth chart-topper and fourth number-one debut. It was the only song on the album that was released as a single.

## Title and artwork

The album cover was a candid photo taken on Stewart's stay on an old shack of Copenhagen, Denmark, thus inspiring the title. On his trip, he preferred staying overnight on vintage shacks rather than booking in hotels. The color scheme of the photo is mostly a mix of white and brown hues.

## Critical reception

*Old Shack of Copenhagen* received widespread acclaim from music critics, who praised its emotional weight and introspective songwriting, calling it Stewart's most subdued and sophisticated body of work yet. At Metacritic, which assigns an aggregate score using ratings from publications, the album received a weighted mean score of 87 out of 100, based on 27 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". *Pitchfork*'s Stephen M. Deusner, who praised Stewart's "soulful performance," describing the record as "a ruminative collection of songs full of natural imagery and acoustic strums—the sound of a man left alone with his memories and a guitar." Rob Sheffield for *Rolling Stone* christened it a "quiet marvel," praising Stewart's "light touch, with zero interest in narrative or confessional lyrics." *The Guardian*'s Jude Rogers praised Stewart's restraint, noting, "nothing is overplayed, but nothing feels throwaway either." Steven Hyden of *The A.V. Club* characterized it as "quietly startling," opining, "The power is in how these songs sound rather than what the opaque lyrics don't quite spell out." Tim Sendra of AllMusic wrote that "*Old Shack* captures the sound of broken and quiet isolation, wraps it in a beautiful package, and delivers it to your door with a beating, bruised heart. It's quite an achievement for a debut and the promise of greatness in the future is high." David Marchese, writing for *Spin*, suggested Stewart's "sturdy folk chords, earthy melodies, and plainspoken, pastoral lyrics prevent the album from descending into self-pity." *Uncut*'s John Mulvey deemed the record "a hermetically sealed, complete and satisfying album" that "operates so securely and intensely in its own world that to listen sometimes seem like an intrusive act.

## Commercial performance

Despite limited promotion, *Old Shack of Copenhagen* experienced commercial success and oversold expectations. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and topped it for twelve nonconsecutive weeks, becoming the longest-reigning number-one album of 2029. Opening with 786,000 album equivalent units, consisting 496,000 pure album sales and 435 million streams, it marked the largest sales week and streaming figure of 2029. It became Stewart's twenty-sixth number one album on the chart and his nineteenth album to sell over 500,000 units on its first week. *Old Shack of Copenhagen* became 2029's fastest album to move a million units. The album went on to stay on the chart for 356 nonconsecutive weeks. It was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

All of its 15 tracks debuted simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100, giving four top-10, five top-20, and 8 top-40 hits. Stewart became one of the few acts to debut atop both *Billboard* 200 and Hot 100 in the same week, with the number-one debut of "Early Morning". *Old Shack of Copenhagen* was Stewart's sixth album to chart all of its tracks together on the Hot 100. On the 2029 *Billboard* Year-End charts, the album was ranked number one on the top-performing albums of the year.

Overseas, the album performed very well, topping in many European countries, Canada and United Kingdom. It debuted at the top ten on all countries, #2 in Australia and New Zealand, and #8 in Japan.

## Track listing

All tracks are written and produced by Nicholas Stewart.

## Personnel

#### **Musicians**

* Nicholas Stewart - vocals, guitar, piano
* John Haven - drums
* Yelena Bolova - trumpet (track 15)

**Production**

* Nicholas Stewart - mastering and recording

**Design**

* Amala Harris - photography
* Harold Gypsy – art direction, cover photography

## Charts

### Weekly Charts

**Peak chart positions for *Old Shack of Copenhagen***

### Year-end charts

**Year-end chart positions for *Old Shack of Copenhagen***

### Decade-end charts

**Decade-end chart positions for *Old Shack of Copenhagen***

 US Top Alternative Albums (*Billboard*)