Real Friends (Chris Janson album)

Real Friends
Studio album by
Chris Janson
ReleasedOctober 18, 2019 (2019-10-18)
GenreCountry
Length38:39
LabelWarner Nashville
Producer
Chris Janson chronology
Everybody
(2017) 		Real Friends
(2019) 		All In
(2022)
Singles from Real Friends
  1. "Good Vibes"
    Released: February 8, 2019
  2. "Done"
    Released: November 25, 2019
  3. "Waitin' on 5"
    Released: September 14, 2020[2]

Real Friends is the third studio album by American country music singer Chris Janson. It was released via Warner Records Nashville on October 18, 2019. The album contains the singles "Good Vibes" and "Done" and "Waitin' on 5".

Content

Janson produced the album with Tommy Cecil, Brock Berryhill, and Zach Crowell, who also co-wrote tracks on the album. It is also Cecil's first production credit. Blake Shelton sings duet vocals on the title track. Janson said that he wanted the album to have a positive theme, and told Billboard that "We wrote it with a positive narrative and tone all the way through."[3]

"Hawaii on Me" was later recorded by Joe Nichols for his 2022 album Good Day for Living.

Critical reception

Rating it 3.5 out of 5 stars, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said of the album that it was "a cheerful, breezy affair, filled with reassuring ballads and party tunes that mindfully avoid pressing the pedal to the metal."[4]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 12 on Billboard's Top Country Albums with 3,400 copies sold.[5] It has sold 9,900 copies in the United States as of March 2020.[6]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Good Vibes"
2:44
2."Check"
  • Janson
  • Tommy Cecil
  • Greylan James
  • James McNair
  • Mitch Oglesby
2:43
3."Done"
  • Janson
  • Oglesby
  • Jamie Paulin
  • Matt Roy
3:40
4."Normal People"
  • Janson
  • Crowell
  • Cecil
2:56
5."Say About Me"
3:00
6."Waitin' on 5"
2:54
7."Hawaii on Me"
  • Janson
  • Kelly Roland
  • Wil Nance
3:12
8."Mine Does"
3:13
9."God’s Gotta Be a Good Ole Boy"
  • Janson
  • Brock Berryhill
  • Brad Clawson
  • Greylan James
  • Oglesby
2:50
10."Real Friends" (featuring Blake Shelton)
  • Janson
  • Clawson
  • James
  • Oglesby
3:06
11."Everybody’s Going Through Something"
2:47
12."Beer Me"
2:40
13."Country USA"
2:54

Personnel

Credits by AllMusic[7]

  • Matt Alderman – background vocals
  • Brock Berryhill – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, programming, background vocals
  • Jason Blaine – electric guitar
  • Shy Carter – background vocals
  • Ben Caver – background vocals
  • Tommy Cecil – percussion, programming, background vocals
  • Zach Crowell – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, programming, background vocals
  • Josh Dunne – background vocals
  • Jerry Flowers – bass guitar
  • Scotty Huff – horn arrangements, trumpet
  • Evan Hutchings – drums, percussion
  • Greylon James – bass guitar, electric guitar, steel guitar
  • Chel Janson – background vocals
  • Chris Janson – gut string guitar, lead vocals, background vocals
  • Georgia Janson – background vocals
  • Jesse Janson – background vocals
  • Devin Malone – banjo, dobro, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, steel guitar
  • James McNair – background vocals
  • Jovan Quallo – baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone
  • Josh Scalf – trombone
  • Justin Schipper – banjo, dobro, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, steel guitar, mandolin, slide guitar
  • Isaac Senty – drums, cowbell
  • Blake Shelton – duet vocals on "Real Friends"
  • Jonathan Singleton – background vocals
  • Aaron Sterling – drums, percussion, piano
  • Tim Galloway – banjo, bass guitar, bouzouki, acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, electric guitar, hi-string guitar, ukulele, background vocals
  • Brad Winters – background vocals
  • Alex Wright – clavinet, Hammond B-3 organ, omnichord, piano, synthesizer, Wurlitzer

Charts

Chart performance for Real Friends
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[8] 41
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[9] 12
US Billboard 200[10] 110

References

  1. ^ Laffer, Lauren (September 6, 2019). "Chris Janson Shares 13-song Track List For 'Real Friends' album". Sound Like Nashville. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  2. ^ "Future Releases for Country Radio Stations". AllAccess. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  3. ^ Deborah Evans Price (October 17, 2019). "Chris Janson's Art Imitates Life on New Album 'Real Friends'". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  4. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Real Friends". AllMusic. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  5. ^ "Top Country Albums". Billboard. November 2, 2019.
  6. ^ Bjorke, Matt (March 10, 2020). "Top 10 Country Albums Pure Sales Chart: March 9, 2020". RoughStock. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  7. ^ "Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  8. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Digital Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  9. ^ "Chris Janson Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
  10. ^ "Chris Janson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2019.