Kane Brown is the debut studio album by American country music singer Kane Brown. The album was released on December 2, 2016, through RCA Records Nashville.[3] Singles released from the album are "Thunder in the Rain" and "What Ifs". An expanded deluxe edition of the album was released October 6, 2017 featuring four new tracks.[4] The album and songs from the album reached number one simultaneously on all five main Billboard country charts, a first for any artist.[5] "Heaven" was released as the album's first single from the re-release, and third single overall.

Kane Brown
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 2, 2016 (2016-12-02)
Genre
Length35:55
LabelRCA Nashville
Producer
Kane Brown chronology
Chapter 1
(2016)
Kane Brown
(2016)
Experiment
(2018)
Singles from Kane Brown
  1. "Thunder in the Rain"
    Released: August 22, 2016
  2. "What Ifs"
    Released: February 6, 2017
  3. "Heaven"
    Released: November 13, 2017

Background

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Brown co-wrote seven of the eleven tracks in the album. According to Brown, the album is "pretty much autobiography", with songs that detailed his childhood and the hard time he had growing up, "from bullying to being broke to child abuse".[6] For example, "Learning" describes the abuse he suffered at the hands of his stepfather, and the discrimination he faced because of the color of his skin. He collaborated with Lauren Alaina, a friend from high school who had encouraged Brown to sing, on "What Ifs".[7]

The album also features tracks co-written by Chris Young and Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley.[8] The album was produced largely by Dann Huff.[9] Huff originally only intended to produce two tracks for the album, but decided to become more involved after hearing the track "Learning".[10]

Critical reception

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The album was generally well received by music critics. Matt Bjorke of Roughstock thought that Brown had crafted a country album that blended "quite a few flavors", judged the second half of Kane Brown to be stronger "with better hooks and lyrics", and overall the album is "a strong mainstream start to an already promising career".[11] Laura Hostelley of Sounds Like Nashville similarly found "the diversity displayed in Brown’s freshman record begins to unravel him and all of the talent that he has to offer", and that the showed "how far Brown has come and the bright future he still has in front of him".[12] Billy Duke of Taste of Country thought Brown "a more convincing storyteller now" and the songs better produced than his previous efforts, and that the album is "a rich, honest collection of songs that introduces a country singer that's going to be around for awhile, with or without radio’s support".[13] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic noted the diversity of sounds in the album that blended hip-hop, R&B and country-pop, but felt that while versatile, Brown was "attempting whatever sound that might land him on the charts", nevertheless thought that "there's just enough variety of sounds to keep things interesting and it all goes down smooth."[1]

Commercial performance

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The album debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number 10 with 51,000 units, 45,000 of which were pure album sales.[14] It also debuted at number one on the Top Country Albums chart.[15] The album later reached a peak of number five on the Billboard 200 in October 2017 following the release of the deluxe edition with 26,000 copies sold (43,000 units).[16] It also returned to number one on Top Country Albums, and a track "Heaven" from the deluxe edition (for which a video was released) became the best selling digital song.[17] The same week the single from the album "What Ifs" also reached number one on multiple charts, and Brown became the first artist to have simultaneous number ones on all five main country charts – Top Country Albums, Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay, Country Digital Song Sales and Country Streaming Songs.[5]

The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on November 8, 2017, and Platinum on April 4, 2018,[18] It was the fifth best-selling country album of 2017, with 297,800 copies (503,000 album-equivalent units) sold.[19] it has sold 550,200 copies in the United States as of November 2019,[20] and 1,828,000 consumed units including track and streams as of February 2020.[21]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)ProducerLength
1."Hometown"
Dann Huff3:23
2."What Ifs" (featuring Lauren Alaina)Huff3:08
3."Learning"
Huff3:22
4."Thunder in the Rain"
McVaney2:46
5."Pull It Off"
  • Adam Doleac
  • Taylor Phillips
  • Matt Roy
Huff3:00
6."Cold Spot"Huff3:38
7."Ain't No Stopping Us Now"
McVaney3:03
8."Comeback"
McVaney2:46
9."Rockstars"
Huff3:20
10."Better Place"
  • Brown
  • Chase McGill
  • Will Weatherly
Huff3:44
11."Granddaddy's Chair"
Huff3:45
Total length:35:55
Deluxe Edition[22][23]
No.TitleWriter(s)ProducerLength
12."Setting the Night on Fire" (with Chris Young)
  • Brown
  • Corey Crowder
  • Hoge
  • Young
Huff3:21
13."What's Mine Is Yours"
Huff3:36
14."Found You"
  • Brown
  • Berryhill
  • Jared Mullins
  • Phillips
Huff3:11
15."Heaven"
  • Carter
  • McGinn
  • Lindsay Rimes
Huff2:59

Personnel

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Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[40] 2× Platinum 160,000
United States (RIAA)[18] 3× Platinum 3,000,000 / 550,200[20]

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Kane Brown: Kane Brown". AllMusic.
  2. ^ "Kane Brown's Self-Titled Debut Album Out Now". The Country Note. December 2, 2016.
  3. ^ "Kane Brown by Kane Brown on iTunes". ITunes.
  4. ^ Whitaker, Sterling (August 22, 2017). "Kane Brown Duets With Chris Young on Deluxe Edition of Debut Album". Taste of Country. Townsquare Media. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Asker, Jim (October 17, 2017). "Kane Brown Becomes First Artist To Simultaneously Lead Five Country Charts". Billboard.
  6. ^ Graff, Gary (December 2, 2016). "Kane Brown on His Self-Titled Debut: 'It's Pretty Much My Childhood on That Record'". Billboard.
  7. ^ Freeman, Jon (December 2, 2016). "Kane Brown on Personal New Album, Why He Won't Sing First Hit: Ram Report". Rolling Stone.
  8. ^ Konicki, Lisa (October 19, 2016). "Kane Brown to Release Self-Titled Debut Album Dec. 2; Reveals Track Listing". Nash Country Daily.
  9. ^ Watts, Cindy (December 1, 2016). "Raising Kane Brown: Biracial singer forges own path in country music". The Tennessean.
  10. ^ Nicholson, Jessica (November 15, 2016). "Kane Brown's Team Talks Unstoppable Journey During Album Preview Party". Music Row.
  11. ^ Bjorke, Matt (December 1, 2016). "Album Review: Kane Brown - "Kane Brown"". Roughstock.
  12. ^ Hostelley, Laura (November 30, 2016). "Album Review: Kane Brown's Self-Titled Debut". Sounds Like Nashville.
  13. ^ Dukes, Billy (December 2, 2016). "Album Spotlight: Kane Brown, 'Kane Brown'". Taste of Country.
  14. ^ Caulfield, Keith (December 11, 2016). "'The Hamilton Mixtape' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  15. ^ Asker, Jim (December 13, 2016). "Kane Brown Bows At No. 1 On Top Country Albums; Old Dominion Crowns Country Airplay". Billboard.
  16. ^ Caulfield, Keith (October 16, 2017). "NF Scores First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Perception'". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  17. ^ Bjorke, Matt (October 17, 2017). "Top 30 Digital Country Chart: October 17, 2017". Roughstock.
  18. ^ a b "American album certifications – Kane Brown – Kane Brown". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  19. ^ Rau, Nate (January 4, 2018). "Revealed: Country music's most listened to artists in 2017". Tennessean. USA Today.
  20. ^ a b "Top 10 Country Albums: November 11, 2019". Roughstock. November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  21. ^ Bjorke, Matt (February 10, 2020). "Country Music's Most-Consumed Album Chart: February 10, 2020". Roughstock. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  22. ^ "Amazon.com: Kane Brown (Deluxe Edition): Kane Brown: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  23. ^ Hollabaugh, Lorie (2017-08-22). "Kane Brown's New Deluxe Album Edition Features Chris Young Duet". MusicRow. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  24. ^ "ARIA CHART WATCH #398". auspOp. December 10, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  25. ^ "Kane Brown Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  26. ^ "Kane Brown Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  27. ^ "Kane Brown Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  28. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  29. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  30. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  31. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  32. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  33. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  34. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  35. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  36. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  37. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  38. ^ "Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  39. ^ "Decade-End Charts: Top Country Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  40. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Kane Brown – Kane Brown". Music Canada. Retrieved February 24, 2024.