American Teen (album)

American Teen is the debut studio album by American singer Khalid.[1] It was released on March 3, 2017, by Right Hand Music Group and RCA Records.[2] The album was supported by the singles "Location", "Young Dumb & Broke" and "Saved".

American Teen
Studio album by Khalid
Released	March 3, 2017
Studio	Various Beacon Hill Recording Studio (El Paso, TX) Golden Age (Los Angeles, CA) Body High Studios (Los Angeles, CA) Gower House (Los Angeles, CA) Temple Base Studios (Los Angeles, CA) Black Wax Studio (New York, NY) The Premises (London, United Kingdom) Sony/ATV Studios (London, United Kingdom)
Genre	R&B teen pop
Length	54:37
Label	Right Hand RCA
Producer	Syk Sense (also exec.) Alfredo Gonzalez Bryan Medina Daniel Picciotto Dave Sava6e DJDS Hiko Momoji !llmind Joel Little Jay Knight OZ Scribz Sevn Thomas Skrittzy Smash David Chris McClenney The Arcade Tiggi Tunji Ige UNO Stereo
Khalid chronology
American Teen (2017) Suncity (2018)
Singles from American Teen
"Location" Released: January 26, 2017 "Young Dumb & Broke" Released: June 13, 2017 "Saved" Released: October 30, 2017

In October 2017, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for accumulating over one million in combined pure sales and album-equivalent units.[3] The album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album while its lead single "Location" was nominated for Best R&B Song at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. In August 2018, the album was certified double platinum by the RIAA.

Singles

The lead single from the album, called "Location" was released on January 26, 2017.[4] The song peaked at 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5] The music video for "Location" was released on September 26, 2016.[6] "Young Dumb & Broke" was sent to rhythmic radio on June 13, 2017 as the second single.[7] "Saved" was released as the third single on October 30, 2017.[8]

Promotional singles

"Let's Go" was released as the first promotional single from the album on September 12, 2016.[9] It is also Khalid's first released song. "Hopeless" was released as the second promotional single on October 27, 2016.[10] "Coaster" was released as the third promotional single on December 16, 2016.[11] "Shot Down" was released as the fourth promotional single on February 6, 2017.[12] "American Teen" was released as the fifth and final promotional single on February 22, 2017.[13]

The promotional single "Reasons" was released on December 2, 2016, but was not included on American Teen.[14]

Commercial performance

American Teen debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200 with 37,000 album-equivalent units, of which 12,000 were pure album sales.[15] In August 2017, it reached a peak of number four.[16] On October 24, 2017, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales, streaming and track-sales equivalent of one million units.[3] By the end of 2017, American Teen had accumulated 1,220,000 album-equivalent units in the United States, with 147,000 being pure sales.[17]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[18]
Exclaim!	8/10[19]
The New Zealand Herald	[20]
Newsday	B+[21]
Vice	A[22]

Reviewing for Vice, Robert Christgau said that "the first half of this R&B album justifies its title with a clarity and candor so astonishing it overshadows the music's racial identity [...] Second half is skillful but conventional—seven succinct, catchy unrequited love songs all in a row. Khalid Robinson sings in a winning conversational murmur with room for growth, and because the vocals are as unassuming as the words, the song structures he concocts with various pals and pros seems more straightforward than they are."[22] He later called the album a "teenpop milestone".[23] Ryan B. Patrick of Exclaim! wrote that the album "generally plays things straight up, not too concerned about chasing bleeding edge sounds but resting nicely in the pocket between conventional R&B and a future-pop-minded audience".[19] Glenn Gamboa of Newsday gave the album a grade of B+ and summarized that American Teen shows Khalid as a "natural" and "establishes him as one of R&B's up-and-coming stars".[21] In a three-star review for AllMusic, Andy Kellman said that on lead single "Location" "and through much of what fills out American Teen, [...] Robinson's not one to get worked up. He's in no particular rush, content to drift through life while accepting, and occasionally sort of celebrating, the present."[18]

Track listing

Credits adapted from liner notes.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"American Teen"	Khalid Robinson Atilla Elçi Orlando Gomez Alfredo Gonzalez Leslie Johnson	Hiko Momoji	4:10
2.	"Young Dumb & Broke"	Robinson Joel Little Talay Riley	Little	3:22
3.	"Location"	Robinson Joshua Scruggs Samuel David Jimenez Christopher McClenney Olatunji Ige Gonzalez	Syk Sense Smash David Tunji Ige Gonzalez^[a]	3:39
4.	"Another Sad Love Song"	Robinson Jerome Potter Sam Griesemer	DJDS	4:04
5.	"Saved"	Robinson Scruggs Ozan Yildirim Bryan Medina Cameron Hale Calvin Tarvin	Syk Sense OZ Medina Tiggi^[a]	3:26
6.	"Coaster"	Robinson Nathaniel Hernandez	Skrittzy	3:19
7.	"8teen"	Robinson Little	Little	3:48
8.	"Let's Go"	Robinson Yildirim Elçi Noah Gale Daniel Picciotto	OZ Momoji Picciotto^[a]	3:24
9.	"Hopeless"	Robinson Elçi	Momoji	2:47
10.	"Cold Blooded"	Robinson Kurtis McKenzie Jon Mills Nick Martin Carl Dimataga	The Arcade UNO Stereo^[a]	3:27
11.	"Winter"	Robinson Mike "Scribz" Riley	Scribz GRADES	4:01
12.	"Therapy"	Robinson Little	Little	4:17
13.	"Keep Me"	Robinson Rupert Thomas, Jr. Scruggs Yildirim Jake Austin	Sevn Thomas Syk Sense OZ Dave Sava6e^[a]	4:36
14.	"Shot Down"	Robinson Scruggs Ramon Ibanga	Syk Sense !llmind	3:27
15.	"Angels"	Robinson Gonzalez Scruggs	Gonzalez Syk Sense Rangi	2:50
Total length:				54:37

Japan edition bonus track[24]

No.	Title	Length
16.	"Location" (featuring Lil Wayne and Kehlani)	4:38
Total length:		59:25

Notes

• "8teen" is stylized as "8TEEN".
• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2017–2021) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[25] 13 Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)[26] 3 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[27] 69 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[28] 199 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[29] 7 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[30] 2 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[31] 26 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[32] 46 French Albums (SNEP)[33] 177 Irish Albums (IRMA)[34] 18 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[35] 5 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[36] 7 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[37] 15 UK Albums (OCC)[38] 44 US Billboard 200[39] 4 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[40] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2017) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[41] 40 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[42] 21 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[43] 16 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[44] 83 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[45] 20 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[46] 57 US Billboard 200[47] 14 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[48] 7 Chart (2018) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[49] 32 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[50] 198 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[51] 18 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[52] 10 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[53] 90 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[54] 21 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[55] 41 UK Albums (OCC)[56] 97 US Billboard 200[57] 15 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[58] 11 Chart (2019) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[59] 34 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[60] 166 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[61] 36 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[62] 38 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[63] 74 US Billboard 200[64] 33 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[65] 17 Chart (2020) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[66] 65 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[67] 161 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[68] 58 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[69] 40 US Billboard 200[70] 68 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[71] 40 Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position US Billboard 200[72] 35

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[73]	Platinum	70,000
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[74]	Gold	20,000
Canada (Music Canada)[75]	Platinum	80,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[76]	3× Platinum	60,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)[77]	Gold	30,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[78]	2× Platinum	30,000
Norway (IFPI Norway)[79]	Platinum	20,000^*
Singapore (RIAS)[80]	Platinum	10,000^*
United Kingdom (BPI)[81]	Gold	100,000
United States (RIAA)[82]	3× Platinum	3,000,000
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Khalid Set To Release Debut Album "American Teen" On March 3rd, 2017; Pre-Order Available Now; New Track "Shot Down" Out Today". RCA. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
2. "American Teen on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
3. "Khalid's debut Album American Teen is certified Platinum". The Fader. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
4. "Location". Spotify. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
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6. "Khalid Finds A Digital Love In "Location" Video - The FADER". The Fader. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
7. "Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
8. "Saved". Spotify. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
9. "Let's Go". Spotify. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
10. "Hopeless". Spotify. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
11. "Coaster". Spotify. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
12. "Shot Down". Spotify. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
13. "American Teen". Spotify. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
14. "Reasons". Spotify. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
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20. Fenwick, George (March 16, 2017). "Joel Little helps lift Khalid's skillful debut, American Teen". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
21. Gamboa, Glenn (March 1, 2017). "'American Teen' review: Solid debut from Khalid". Newsday. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
22. Christgau, Robert (April 15, 2017). "American Teens, American Dreams: Robert Christgau on Khalid and Kevin Abstract". Vice. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
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32. "Khalid: American Teen" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
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37. "Swedishcharts.com – Khalid – American Teen". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
38. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
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50. "Jaaroverzichten 2018". Ultratop. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
51. "Canadian Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
52. "Album Top-100 2018" (in Danish). Hitlisten. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
53. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2018" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
54. "Top Selling Albums of 2018". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
55. "Årslista Album – År 2018" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
56. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2018". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
57. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
58. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
59. "ARIA End of Year Albums Chart 2019". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
60. "Jaaroverzichten 2019". Ultratop. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
61. "Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
62. "Album Top-100 2019" (in Danish). Hitlisten. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
63. "Årslista Album, 2019". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
64. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
65. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
66. "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2020". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
67. "Jaaroverzichten 2020". Ultratop. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
68. "Album Top-100 2020". Hitlisten. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
69. "Top Selling Albums of 2020". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
70. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
71. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
72. "Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
73. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
74. "Brazilian album certifications" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
75. "Canadian album certifications – Khalid – American Teen". Music Canada. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
76. "Danish album certifications – Khalid – American Teen". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
77. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved December 10, 2019. Type Khalid in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and American Teen in the box under TÍTULO
78. "New Zealand album certifications – Khalid – American Teen". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
79. "Norwegian album certifications – Khalid – American Teen" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
80. "Singapore album certifications – Khalid – American Teen". Recording Industry Association Singapore. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
81. "British album certifications – Khalid – American Teen". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 19, 2018. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type American Teen in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
82. "American album certifications – Khalid – American Teen". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 4, 2020. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.