Singular: Act I is the third studio album by American singer Sabrina Carpenter. It was released on November 9, 2018 through Hollywood Records. Carpenter began work on the album shortly after the release of her second studio album, Evolution (2016). The album is primarily a pop album with elements of dance-pop, themed around self-empowerment, and marked the first time where all songs on an album were co-written by Carpenter.[2] In support of the album, Carpenter embarked on the Singular Tour in March 2019.
Two singles were released for the album including "Almost Love" and "Sue Me" while "Paris" and "Bad Time" were released as promotional singles. Additionally, singles "Why" and "Alien" were not on the album's tracklist but were instead included on the Japanese edition of the album. The album received critical acclaim from music critics, and debuted at number 103 on the US Billboard 200. The album itself is the first half of a two-piece project, being supplemented by Singular: Act II (2019).
Background and release
Carpenter released her second studio album Evolution in 2016 to commercial success and began to work soon after on her follow up album, originally titled Singular.[3] During The De-Tour in 2017, she began teasing material from the album including a now scrapped song titled "Alone Together" and "Why"; the latter was not included in the final tracklisting.[4] In March 2018, Carpenter also released "Alien" with British DJ Jonas Blue which reached number one on the US Dance Club Songs chart.[5]
In May 2018, Carpenter began teasing Singular with the release of the lead single, "Almost Love".[6] In June, Carpenter released a trailer for the album, which was scheduled for a winter 2018 release.[7] The trailer was directed by Lauren Dunn with snippets from songs including "Sue Me", "Mona Lisa" and "I Can't Stop Me".[8] She premiered "Almost Love" that same week alongside a live performance at Wango Tango.[9]
In October, during a performance of "Almost Love" on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Carpenter ripped off a piece of the set wall revealing a part of the album cover art and spray painted "11/9" on the wall indicating that the album was scheduled for release on November 9, 2018.[10][11] That same month she also announced that the album would be split into two parts with Act I officially released on November 9, 2018.[12] A compact disc was exclusively released for sale at Target stores.[13]
Composition
Genres and themes
Welcome to Singular! The show is about to begin. Please find your seats. This is just the start. I hope that you'll listen. I hope that you'll dance. I hope that you'll fall in love with who you are. There will be a slight intermission before Act II. Enjoy the show. Each voice to their own. Singularly, Sabrina.
— Carpenter's note adapted from album's booklet.[14][15]
Singular: Act I is primarily a pop and dance-pop album.[16][1] Its lyrical content centred around empowerment with PopCrush writer Erica Russel calling it an introduction to Carpenter's "playful psyche".[17] The album cover portrayed Carpenter on a staircase "amidst the chaos" where "you feel like you really are the only one who exists in the crowd".[17]
Music and content
The album opens with "Almost Love", which Mike Nied of Idolator described as an "edgy anthem".[18] The song is about a relationship ready to take the next step and contains "intermittent whistles and drums".[19]Affinity writer Lucy Parry called it a "great start to the album" noting that the "bridge is possibly the best part of this track as they strip away the bass-line".[20] This is followed by "Paris" which was called an "ode to the city of love".[18] Carpenter sings about being reminded that she "already [has] love in LA".[18] Parry noted that the song might sound like a cliché but rather works as the opposite, with Carpenter using her head voice over "a gorgeous guitar riff".[20] "Hold Tight" was described as "stellar slow jam" and features Amir Mitchell-Townes as Uhmeer, one of Carpenter's castmates from Girl Meets World.[19] The song was also described a "slinky and vaguely retro R&B" song with subtle sexual references indicating that "Carpenter is now an adult".[18][20]
"Sue Me" was written by Carpenter after she had been sued by her ex music managers Stan Rogow and Elliot Lurie for allegedly not paying them commissions after she fired them in 2014.[21] In an interview with Live With Kelly & Ryan, Carpenter noted that the song is about "empowerment", "confidence: and "being comfortable with yourself regardless of what anybody thinks".[22] Nied called the song a "self-assured tune for the end of a relationship" adding that it is a "sassy kiss-off".[18] This is followed by "Prfct" which was titled incorrectly to reflect imperfection.[20] The song talks about not needing everything in a relationship to be perfect for it to work and features "fuzzy gramophone effects" before and after the song.[19][20]
"Bad Time" is a "synth-driven [...] badass anthem" which adds to the empowerment theme of the album.[20] The song sees Carpenter "picking and choosing when they want to engage with someone".[23] "Mona Lisa" named after the famous painting of the same name was described as "enticing" and contained "flirty and creative lines".[19] Carpenter sings about not wanting to be left "hanging like the Mona Lisa".[20] The album closes with "Diamonds Are Forever", ending "the album in the most empowering way possible".[20] Carpenter was described as a "soaring diva" and sings about knowing her self-worth never selling yourself short.[20][24]The Line of Best Fit called the song a "theatrical belter" and compared it to Ariana Grande's song, "Dangerous Woman".[19][23]
The singles "Why" and "Alien" were included on the Japanese edition of the album alongside several remixes.[25]
Upon release, Singular Act: I received critical acclaim. Mike Nied of Idolator wrote in his review that the album is an "eight-track collection jam-packed with bop after bop".[18] He called the album "lush with potential hits" and "another near-perfect work from one of the industry's brightest young stars."[18] He added that with the album Carpenter had "truly earned her status as one of pop's most consistent acts".[18]
The Line of Best Fit writer Julian Baldsing rated the album 7.5 out of 10, stating that "it's certainly no small triumph that Singular: Act I stands so firmly by itself and its creation marks an exciting new phase of an artist properly coming into her own."[19] He added that "Carpenter has always displayed a knack for crafting and curating strong pop releases" and that the album "sees her hone these skills further, resulting in her tightest, most polished project to date".[19]
Lucy Parry from Affinity called the album "a pop masterpiece" and its production "exquisite" also praising the use of more mature themes compared to her previous works.[20]Earmilk writer Larisha Paul gave the album 9 stars noting that Carpenter showed her "versatility on a myriad of sonic landscapes".[23] She gave Carpenter's vocals the biggest praise adding that "her inarguable dynamic vocal performances that remain consistent in every track is what sets her apart from the rest."[23] She added that the album "conveys the singer in a space equipped for showcasing her talent and attraction as a pop artist" noting that it "shows immense promise for the future of her discography as she continues to cement her place as one of the top new artist in this next generation of musicians".
"Sue Me" was released as the album's second single on January 8, 2019.[13][33] It received a music video on November 16, 2018.[34] Carpenter promoted the single with live performances on The Today Show and Live with Kelly and Ryan.[22][35] The song also reached number one on the Dance Club Songs chart making it Carpenter's third number one on the chart.[5]
"Paris" and "Bad Time" were released as promotional singles on October 25, 2018 and November 2, 2018 respectively.[36] A music video directed by Jasper Cable-Alexander was released for the former and filmed in Paris, France.[37] A visualiser was released for "Bad Time".[38]
Commercial performance
Singular Act I debuted at number 103 on the US Billboard 200 and 38 on the US Top Album Sales chart.[39] The album also reached 48 in the UK,[40] and 20 in Australia.[41] The singles from the album fared well on the charts with "Almost Love" and "Sue Me" both reaching number one on the US Dance Club Songs chart and 21 and 31, respectively, on the US Pop Songs chart.[5]
^ ab"Singular Act I by Sabrina Carpenter". Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2019. Somehow, in the midst of all that, she recorded a third album—the two-part project Singular—which begins here with a serving of saucy, confident dance-pop
