The Fray (album)
Encyclopedia
The Fray is the second studio album by The Fray
. Released on February 3, 2009, through Epic Records
, the album debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200
chart, and became a top 5 hit in Australia
and Canada
. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album
in 2010. However, it lost to The E.N.D.
by The Black Eyed Peas
.
The album was preceded by the single "You Found Me," which charted in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100
and reached the number-one spot in Australia. The second single from the album, "Never Say Never
," was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 2010.
Critical reception was mixed, and less positive than the band's debut album, How to Save a Life
, with critics pointing out that the album was too similar to its predecessor. However, positive reviews also noted that despite the similarities, The Fray was "more focused" and "consistent" than the debut album. The album has been certified gold
in the United States
, Canada
and Australia
.
in 2005 and an extensive tour which ended by mid-2007, The Fray began work on their second album. The band occasionally took breaks from recording, and performed some of their new songs on a few high-profile shows, most notably the song "You Found Me", which was then titled "Amistad". The band finished recording the self-titled album at the end of July 2008 for an early 2009 release. The album was produced by Aaron Johnson
and Mike Flynn (the same production duo from the band's debut album) and recorded by Warren Huart
. The song "Amistad" went through several changes and finally evolved into "You Found Me", which was chosen as the album's lead single
. The band filmed a music video in Chicago for the song, which was directed by Josh Forbes.
The single debuted on November 20, during a commercial break of the show Grey's Anatomy
. It was a one-minute promo with scenes from the then-upcoming season of ABC's Lost
. "You Found Me" received heavy airplay in the United States, and became their third song the chart in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100
. It also became a success internationally, most notably in Australia
where it reached number-one. The band performed the song live at the 2008 American Music Awards
on November 23, and began touring in support of their second album.
On November 21, 2008, the album was made available for pre-order in standard, vinyl and deluxe versions. The deluxe version contains the CD in a Digipack case, a bonus DVD, an extended booklet and a set of postcards. The deluxe version of the album was only available for order in the United States. A documentary, titled Fair Fight, was sold with the first 300,000 copies of the album.
The band shot acoustic video performances of some of the songs from the album which were circulated on the internet before the album's release. Some songs of the album were also featured on a few TV shows: "Never Say Never
" was on an episode of One Tree Hill
as well as on the season five finale of Grey's Anatomy. The song "Happiness" was played on an episode of "Brothers and Sisters." The second track on the album, "Absolute", charted on the Billboard Hot 100
at number 70, on the strength of a large number of digital downloads, despite not being released as a single.
iTunes Bonus Tracks:
Deluxe edition iTunes bonus tracks:
Pre-order iTunes bonus track (for both iTunes editions):
"Enough for Now" (Acoustic Version)
Bonus DVD:
, selling 179,000 copies in its first week of release. It then dropped to number 4 the next week selling 75,000 copies. According to Soundscan, as of March 2010, the album has sold 807,891 copies in the U.S. The album re-entered the Billboard 200
at No. 96 chart on the week ending March 7, 2010, and dropped out in the following week.
review stated, "The Fray is all blah, all the time: more minor-key melodies, more dreary tempos, more of singer-pianist Isaac Slade
's spiceless sore-throat croon." Allmusic, whilst giving the album a modestly positive review, echoed many of these statements, saying that the "songcraft remains virtually unchanged" and that the album lacks any "purported originality." BBC Music
too gave the album an overall positive review, stating "there are enough haunting hooks and delicately well written tunes here".
AbsolutePunk criticized the negative reviews, "For what it's worth, the Denver quintet has released a charming, appealing record that would be far more praiseworthy if it didn't sound so much like its predecessor...it may be an album a lot like its predecessor, but that isn't exactly a bad thing." Sputnikmusic
too criticized the negative reviews, stating "something about The Fray has caused the more elite music audience to sneer and cast criticism on the band’s music that is misplaced........you are going to be hard-pressed to find an album that delivers more of a consistent set of pop rock songs than those to be found on the Fray’s self-titled." Uncut
too gave the album a positive review, stating the album was "not only a radio-friendly unit-shifter, but also a bona fide guilty pleasure." At Metacritic
, a review aggregate website, the album holds a rating of 56/100 based on 9 professional reviews, meaning "mixed or average reviews".
The Fray
-Literature:*Fray, a phenomenon in Terry Pratchett's The Carpet People*Fray , a comic book series by Joss Whedon**Melaka Fray, titular character of the comic book series-Music:*"Fray", a song from the album 14 Shades of Grey by Staind...
. Released on February 3, 2009, through Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, the album debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, and became a top 5 hit in Australia
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
and Canada
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album
Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop music albums...
in 2010. However, it lost to The E.N.D.
The E.N.D.
According to review aggregator Metacritic, The E.N.D. received an average of 60 out of 100 indicating mixed to average reviews from music critics, based on fifteen critiques, higher than their 2005 album Monkey Business but lower than their 2003 breakout Elephunk, with critics agreeing that the...
by The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
.
The album was preceded by the single "You Found Me," which charted in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and reached the number-one spot in Australia. The second single from the album, "Never Say Never
Never Say Never (The Fray song)
"Never Say Never" or "Never Say Never " is a song by Denver-based piano rock band The Fray that was included on their second studio album, The Fray...
," was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 2010.
Critical reception was mixed, and less positive than the band's debut album, How to Save a Life
How to Save a Life
How to Save a Life is the debut album by The Fray. Released on September 13, 2005 through Epic Records, the record charted in the top 15 on the Billboard 200 and was a top ten hit in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK...
, with critics pointing out that the album was too similar to its predecessor. However, positive reviews also noted that despite the similarities, The Fray was "more focused" and "consistent" than the debut album. The album has been certified gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
in the United States
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
, Canada
Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...
and Australia
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
.
Background
Following the success of their debut album, How to Save a LifeHow to Save a Life
How to Save a Life is the debut album by The Fray. Released on September 13, 2005 through Epic Records, the record charted in the top 15 on the Billboard 200 and was a top ten hit in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK...
in 2005 and an extensive tour which ended by mid-2007, The Fray began work on their second album. The band occasionally took breaks from recording, and performed some of their new songs on a few high-profile shows, most notably the song "You Found Me", which was then titled "Amistad". The band finished recording the self-titled album at the end of July 2008 for an early 2009 release. The album was produced by Aaron Johnson
Aaron Johnson (musician)
Aaron Howard Johnson is an American music producer. Aaron has produced and mixed many artists including Secondhand Serenade, Katie Herzig, and Eve6, but he is best known for being the producer of the Denver-based piano rock band The Fray....
and Mike Flynn (the same production duo from the band's debut album) and recorded by Warren Huart
Warren Huart
Warren Huart is an English record producer/musician/composer and recording engineer based in Los Angeles, California. He currently lives in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California with his wife and son.- Biography :...
. The song "Amistad" went through several changes and finally evolved into "You Found Me", which was chosen as the album's lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
. The band filmed a music video in Chicago for the song, which was directed by Josh Forbes.
The single debuted on November 20, during a commercial break of the show Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
. It was a one-minute promo with scenes from the then-upcoming season of ABC's Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
. "You Found Me" received heavy airplay in the United States, and became their third song the chart in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. It also became a success internationally, most notably in Australia
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
where it reached number-one. The band performed the song live at the 2008 American Music Awards
American Music Awards of 2008
The 2008 American Music Awards were held on November 23, 2008 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.-Performers:-Presenters:* Jamie Foxx* Sarah Chalke* Akon* Julianne Hough* Ashley Tisdale...
on November 23, and began touring in support of their second album.
On November 21, 2008, the album was made available for pre-order in standard, vinyl and deluxe versions. The deluxe version contains the CD in a Digipack case, a bonus DVD, an extended booklet and a set of postcards. The deluxe version of the album was only available for order in the United States. A documentary, titled Fair Fight, was sold with the first 300,000 copies of the album.
The band shot acoustic video performances of some of the songs from the album which were circulated on the internet before the album's release. Some songs of the album were also featured on a few TV shows: "Never Say Never
Never Say Never (The Fray song)
"Never Say Never" or "Never Say Never " is a song by Denver-based piano rock band The Fray that was included on their second studio album, The Fray...
" was on an episode of One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
as well as on the season five finale of Grey's Anatomy. The song "Happiness" was played on an episode of "Brothers and Sisters." The second track on the album, "Absolute", charted on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at number 70, on the strength of a large number of digital downloads, despite not being released as a single.
Track listing
Deluxe Edition:- "HeartlessHeartless (Kanye West song)"Heartless" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released on November 4, 2008 digitally as the second single for his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak. It debuted at the number four spot on the Billboard Hot 100 where it eventually peaked at number two and reached number-one on the...
" – 4:16 (First time on CD) (Kanye WestKanye WestKanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
cover) - "Never Say Never" – 4:21 (Live with the London Quartet)
- "You Found Me" – 4:05 (Live with the London Quartet)
- "Where the Story Ends" – 3:20 (Piano Version)
- "Fair Fight" – 3:08 (Live)
- "Be The One" – 3:30 (New song demo)
- "Uncertainty" – 3:16
- "How To Save A Life" – 4:58 (Live from Webster Hall)
iTunes Bonus Tracks:
- "Fair Fight" – 2:45 (Slade)
Deluxe edition iTunes bonus tracks:
- "Where the Story Ends" (Piano Version)
- "Absolute" (Acoustic Version)
- "You Found Me" (Acoustic Version)
- "Fair Fight"
- "Uncertainty"
Pre-order iTunes bonus track (for both iTunes editions):
"Enough for Now" (Acoustic Version)
Bonus DVD:
- "You Found Me" (Video)
- "You Found Me" (Making the Video)
- "Making the Album"(Video)
Release
The Fray was released on February 3, 2009. Following the success of "You Found Me", the album debuted at number 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, selling 179,000 copies in its first week of release. It then dropped to number 4 the next week selling 75,000 copies. According to Soundscan, as of March 2010, the album has sold 807,891 copies in the U.S. The album re-entered the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at No. 96 chart on the week ending March 7, 2010, and dropped out in the following week.
Singles
- The lead singleLead singleA lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
from the album "You Found Me" was released in November 2008 and peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The song spent 38 weeks on the chart. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 TracksHot Adult Top 40 TracksAdult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts...
chart as well as Australia's ARIA ChartsARIA ChartsThe ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
and is the band's third song to sell 2 million downloads in the United States. The song charted in the top ten in IrelandIrish Singles ChartThe Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
and Greece and at No. 12 in CanadaCanadian Singles ChartThe Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....
. - The second single, "Never Say NeverNever Say Never (The Fray song)"Never Say Never" or "Never Say Never " is a song by Denver-based piano rock band The Fray that was included on their second studio album, The Fray...
," was released in May 2009 and peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The song spent 20 weeks on the chart. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. It lost to "I Gotta FeelingI Gotta Feeling"I Gotta Feeling" is the second single from The Black Eyed Peas' fifth studio album The E.N.D., produced by the French DJ David Guetta. The song was released on May 21, 2009 and debuted at number two on the Canadian and Billboard Hot 100 on the week of June 27, 2009, behind the group's "Boom Boom...
" by The Black Eyed PeasThe Black Eyed PeasThe Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
. - The Fray recorded a cover of Kanye WestKanye WestKanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
's "Heartless," which was the band's new single. They covered the hit song for Radio 1's Live LoungeLive LoungeThe Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio station BBC Radio 1. Originally hosted by Jo Whiley on her mid-morning radio show and now hosted by Fearne Cotton, it exhibits well-known artists usually performing one song of their own and one by another artist, in an acoustic format...
in February and the track has since become a highlight in their live set. Having already sold 125,000 copies in the US, The Fray released it as a digital single in the UK on 14 September 2009. The song was added on the deluxe edition of the album, which was released on 10 November 2009, and was also added on their live album, The Fray: Live from SoHoThe Fray: Live from SoHoThe Fray: Live from SoHo is an iTunes-exclusive album by Denver-based piano rock band The Fray. Released on April 7, 2009, it is the band's third live session and was recorded in SoHo on February 3, 2009. There was a special pass version made for the album, making The Fray the second artist in...
. - The third single, "SyndicateSyndicate (song)Syndicate is a song by Denver-based piano rock band The Fray. It is the opening track and the third single from their eponymous second studio album. It was released on January 12, 2010 for radio airplay, while the music video was released on 9 February 2010...
," was released for radio airplay on 12 January 2010. The music video premiered on February 9, 2010 on Yahoo! MusicYahoo! MusicYahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
. The song debuted at No. 25 on the Hot Adult Top 40 TracksHot Adult Top 40 TracksAdult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts...
chart and peaked at No. 16. Despite a generally positive critical reception, the song was the lowest charting single from the album, and the band's second single to miss the Hot 100 chart.
Critical reception
The album received mixed reviews and ratings. Rolling Stone stated that the album is "nothing new." An Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
review stated, "The Fray is all blah, all the time: more minor-key melodies, more dreary tempos, more of singer-pianist Isaac Slade
Isaac Slade
Isaac Edward Slade is the lead vocalist, main songwriter, pianist, and co-founder of Denver-based piano rock band The Fray.-Early years:...
's spiceless sore-throat croon." Allmusic, whilst giving the album a modestly positive review, echoed many of these statements, saying that the "songcraft remains virtually unchanged" and that the album lacks any "purported originality." BBC Music
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
too gave the album an overall positive review, stating "there are enough haunting hooks and delicately well written tunes here".
AbsolutePunk criticized the negative reviews, "For what it's worth, the Denver quintet has released a charming, appealing record that would be far more praiseworthy if it didn't sound so much like its predecessor...it may be an album a lot like its predecessor, but that isn't exactly a bad thing." Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
too criticized the negative reviews, stating "something about The Fray has caused the more elite music audience to sneer and cast criticism on the band’s music that is misplaced........you are going to be hard-pressed to find an album that delivers more of a consistent set of pop rock songs than those to be found on the Fray’s self-titled." Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
too gave the album a positive review, stating the album was "not only a radio-friendly unit-shifter, but also a bona fide guilty pleasure." At Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, a review aggregate website, the album holds a rating of 56/100 based on 9 professional reviews, meaning "mixed or average reviews".
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
Certifications |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
3 | Gold |
| Belgium Albums Chart (Flanders) | 59 | |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
2 | Gold |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
13 | |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
8 | |
| New Zealand RIANZ | 19 | |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 | Gold |