Hamilton (album)

Hamilton is the cast album to the 2015 musical Hamilton. The musical is based on the 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton written by Ron Chernow, with music, lyrics, and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The recording stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson, Daveed Diggs, Anthony Ramos, Okieriete Onaodowan, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and Jonathan Groff. It also features Jon Rua, Thayne Jasperson, Sydney James Harcourt, Ephraim Sykes, Ariana DeBose, and Sasha Hutchings. The musicians on the album are Alex Lacamoire, Kurt Crowley, Andres Forero, Robin Macatangay, Richard Hammond, Benny Reiner, Jonathan Dinklage, Erin Benim Mayland, Anja Wood, Mario Gotoh, and Laura Sherman. It achieved the largest first week sales for a digital cast album and is the highest-charting cast album since 1963.[1] It was the highest-selling Broadway cast album of 2015 and peaked at number one on the Rap Albums chart, the first cast album to ever do so.[2] After being certified seven times platinum by the RIAA in 2019, Hamilton became the best-selling cast album of all time.

Hamilton
Cast recording by the original Broadway cast of Hamilton
Released	September 25, 2015
Recorded	August 16–21, 2015
Studio	Avatar, NYC Invictus Sound, Long Island, NYC
Genre	Show tunes hip hop R&B soul
Length	142:13 (2 hours, 23 minutes)
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Alex Lacamoire Bill Sherman Lin-Manuel Miranda (also exec.) Ahmir Thompson (also exec.) Tariq Trotter (also exec.)

Commercial reception

The cast album for the musical premiered in September 2015 on NPR's website.[3] Its digital release on September 25, 2015 debuted on numerous charts and was released in stores as a two-disc set on October 16, 2015. It debuted at number one on the Top Broadway Albums chart as well as number 3 on Top Rap Albums.[1] Hamilton's debut was the second biggest first week sales of a Broadway cast album, just behind the cast album for the musical Rent. It debuted at number 12 on the overall Billboard 200 chart for sales, with over 2.1 million streams combined from digital service providers, the largest streaming debut for a cast album ever.[1] Following the 70th Tony Awards in 2016, the album re-peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it one of only three cast recordings to reach the top 10 in the last 50 years.[4] The album reached a new peak of number two in July 2020, following the release of the live stage film of the Broadway production on July 3, 2020. This made Hamilton the highest charting cast album since Hair in 1969. This peak also came on the album's 250th consecutive week on the Billboard 200.[5]

The album was the highest-selling Broadway cast album of 2015 and peaked at number one on the Top Rap Albums chart, the first cast album to ever do so.[2] It achieved the largest first week sales for a digital cast album and was the highest-charting cast album debut since 1963.[1] It sold 169,000 copies in 2015, and a further 739,000 copies in 2016, making it the fifth best-selling album of 2016.[6] It was certified 6x Multiplatinum by the RIAA on April 4, 2019, making it the best-selling cast recording of all time.[7] That record was extended when the album was certified 7x platinum on September 16, 2020.[7] As of July 2020 the album has sold 1.97 million copies.[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	85/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Billboard	[10]
Pitchfork	6.9/10[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]
Vice	A[13]

Billboard called the album an "eye-popping debut", giving it a 5-out-of-5 star review and listing it at number 2 on the magazine's 50 Best Albums of 2015.[10] Rolling Stone gave it a 4.5-out-of-5 star rating, listing it at number 8 on the magazine's Top 50 Albums of 2015.[12][14] Robert Christgau wrote in Vice, "I can attest that the intrinsic intellectual interest [Lin-Manuel Miranda] powers up here is so impressive it's exciting".[13]

Lin-Manuel Miranda made a conscious decision to exclude one scene in the performance from the cast album, "Tomorrow There'll Be More of Us", also known as Laurens' Interlude.[15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Act One

No.	Title	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"Alexander Hamilton"	Leslie Odom Jr. Anthony Ramos Daveed Diggs Okieriete Onaodowan Lin-Manuel Miranda Phillipa Soo Christopher Jackson Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton	3:56
2.	"Aaron Burr, Sir"	Miranda Odom Jr. Ramos Diggs Onaodowan	2:36
3.	"My Shot"	Miranda Ramos Diggs Onaodowan Odom Jr. Cast	5:33
4.	"The Story of Tonight"	Miranda Ramos Onaodowan Diggs Cast	1:31
5.	"The Schuyler Sisters"	Renée Elise Goldsberry Soo Jasmine Cephas-Jones Odom Jr. Cast	3:06
6.	"Farmer Refuted"	Thayne Jasperson Miranda Cast	1:52
7.	"You'll Be Back"	Jonathan Groff Cast	3:28
8.	"Right Hand Man"	Jackson Miranda Odom Jr. Cast	5:21
9.	"A Winter's Ball"	Odom Jr. Miranda Cast	1:09
10.	"Helpless"	Soo Cast	4:09
11.	"Satisfied"	Goldsberry Cast	5:29
12.	"The Story of Tonight (Reprise)"	Ramos Onaodowan Diggs Miranda Odom Jr.	1:55
13.	"Wait for It"	Odom Jr. Cast	3:13
14.	"Stay Alive"	Cast	2:39
15.	"Ten Duel Commandments"	Ramos Miranda Jon Rua Odom Jr. Cast	1:46
16.	"Meet Me Inside"	Miranda Odom Jr. Ramos Jackson Cast	1:23
17.	"That Would Be Enough"	Soo Miranda	2:58
18.	"Guns and Ships"	Odom Jr. Diggs Jackson Cast	2:07
19.	"History Has Its Eyes On You"	Jackson Miranda Cast	1:37
20.	"Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)"	Cast	4:02
21.	"What Comes Next?"	Groff	1:39
22.	"Dear Theodosia"	Odom Jr. Miranda	3:04
23.	"Non-Stop"	Odom Jr. Miranda Goldsberry Soo Jackson Cast	6:25
Total length:			70:58

Act Two

No.	Title	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"What'd I Miss"	Diggs Odom Jr. Onaodowan Cast	3:56
2.	"Cabinet Battle #1"	Jackson Diggs Miranda Onaodowan	3:35
3.	"Take a Break"	Soo Ramos Miranda Goldsberry	4:46
4.	"Say No to This"	Cephas-Jones Odom Jr. Miranda Sydney James Harcourt Cast	4:02
5.	"The Room Where It Happens"	Odom Jr. Miranda Diggs Onaodowan Cast	5:18
6.	"Schuyler Defeated"	Ramos Soo Miranda Odom Jr.	1:03
7.	"Cabinet Battle #2"	Jackson Diggs Miranda Onaodowan	2:22
8.	"Washington On Your Side"	Odom Jr. Diggs Onaodowan Cast	3:01
9.	"One Last Time"	Jackson Miranda Cast	4:56
10.	"I Know Him"	Groff	1:37
11.	"The Adams Administration"	Cast	0:54
12.	"We Know"	Miranda Diggs Odom Jr. Onaodowan	2:22
13.	"Hurricane"	Miranda Cast	2:23
14.	"The Reynolds Pamphlet"	Cast	2:08
15.	"Burn"	Soo	3:45
16.	"Blow Us All Away"	Ramos Ariana DeBose Sasha Hutchings Ephraim Sykes Miranda Cast	2:53
17.	"Stay Alive (Reprise)"	Miranda Ramos Soo Cast	1:51
18.	"It's Quiet Uptown"	Goldsberry Miranda Soo Cast	4:30
19.	"The Election of 1800"	Diggs Onaodowan Odom Jr. Miranda Cast	3:57
20.	"Your Obedient Servant"	Odom Jr. Miranda Cast	2:30
21.	"Best of Wives and Best of Women"	Soo Miranda	0:47
22.	"The World Was Wide Enough"	Odom Jr. Miranda Cast	5:02
23.	"Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story"	Cast	3:37
Total length:			71:15

Interpolations

• "My Shot" contains elements of "Shook Ones Pt. II" written by Albert Johnson and Kejuan Waliek Muchita; "Going Back to Cali" written by Osteen Harvey Jr., Roger Troutman and Christopher Wallace; and "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" from South Pacific, music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.
• "Right Hand Man" contains elements of "The Modern Major General" from The Pirates of Penzance written by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan.
• "Ten Duel Commandments" contains elements of "Ten Crack Commandments" written by Christopher E. Martin, Christopher Wallace, and Khary Kimani Turner.
• "Meet Me Inside" contains elements of "Party Up (Up in Here)" written by Kasseem Dean and Earl Simmons.
• "Cabinet Battle #1" contains elements of "The Message" written by Clifton Nathaniel Chase, Edward G. Fletcher, Melvin Glover, and Sylvia Robinson.
• "Say No to This" contains elements of "Nobody Needs to Know" from The Last Five Years, music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown.
• "Cabinet Battle #2" contains elements of "Juicy (It's All Good)" written by Sean Combs, James Mtume, Jean-Claude Olivier, and Wallace.
• "Blow Us All Away" contains elements of "Ten Crack Commandments" written by Martin, Wallace, and Turner; and "Shook Ones Pt. II" written by Johnson and Muchita.
• "The World Was Wide Enough" contains elements of "Ten Crack Commandments" written by Martin, Wallace, and Turner.

Personnel

Cast Lin-Manuel Miranda – Alexander Hamilton Phillipa Soo – Eliza Hamilton Leslie Odom Jr. – Aaron Burr Renée Elise Goldsberry – Angelica Schuyler Christopher Jackson – George Washington Daveed Diggs – Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson Okieriete Onaodowan – Hercules Mulligan / James Madison Anthony Ramos – John Laurens / Philip Hamilton Jasmine Cephas Jones – Peggy Schuyler / Maria Reynolds Jonathan Groff – King George III Sydney James Harcourt – James Reynolds / Doctor / Philip Schuyler (non-speaking role) Thayne Jasperson – Samuel Seabury Jon Rua – Charles Lee Ephraim Sykes – George Eacker Ariana DeBose – Martha / Bullet Sasha Hutchings – Dolly Ensemble vocals Carleigh Bettiol Andrew Chappelle Ariana DeBose Alysha Deslorieux Sydney James Harcourt Neil Haskell Sasha Hutchings Thayne Jasperson Stephanie Klemons Morgan Marcell Javier Muñoz Emmy Raver-Lampman Jon Rua Austin Smith Seth Stewart Betsy Struxness Ephraim Sykes Voltaire Wade-Greene

Production Alex Lacamoire – production, orchestrations Bill Sherman – production Lin-Manuel Miranda – production, executive production Ahmir Thompson & Tariq Trotter for the Roots – production, executive production Craig Kallman – associate production Riggs Morales – associate production Sean Patrick Flahaven – associate production Thomas Kail – associate production Tyler Hartman – assistant engineering Ron Robinson – assistant engineering Ebonie Smith – assistant engineering Tom Coyne – mastering Michael Keller – music coordination Michael Aarons – music coordination Randy Cohen – synthesizer and drum programming Nevin Steinberg – Broadway sound effects Scott Wasserman – Ableton programming Taylor Williams – associate synthesizer programming Jeremy King – assistant synthesizer programming Will Wells – drum samples and additional loop editing Tim Latham – mixing Derik Lee – recording Emily Grishman – music copying Katharine Edmonds – music copying

Musicians Alex Lacamoire – conducting, keyboard 1 Kurt Crowley – keyboard 2, associate music direction Jonathan Dinklage – concertmaster Erin Benim Mayland – violin Mario Gotoh – viola, violin Anja Wood – cello Andres Forero – drums Benny Reiner – percussion, keyboard Richard Hammond – bass, keyboard Robin Macatangay – guitars, banjos Additional musicians for recording Laura Sherman – harp Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson – wood table on "Aaron Burr, Sir"

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2015–2020) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 6 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 136 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[18] 2 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[19] 36 Irish Albums (IRMA)[20] 52 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21] 7 UK Albums (OCC)[22] 58 UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[23] 2 US Billboard 200[24] 2 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[25] 1 US Top Internet Albums (Billboard)[26] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2015) Position US Cast Albums (Billboard)[27] 1 Chart (2016) Position US Billboard 200[28] 10 US Cast Albums (Billboard)[29] 1 Chart (2017) Position US Billboard 200[30] 9 US Cast Albums (Billboard)[31] 1 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[32] 5 Chart (2018) Position UK Albums (OCC)[33] 89 US Billboard 200[34] 21 US Cast Albums (Billboard)[35] 1 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[36] 14 Chart (2019) Position US Billboard 200[37] 29 US Cast Albums (Billboard)[38] 1 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[39] 15 Chart (2020) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[40] 56 US Billboard 200[41] 12 US Cast Albums (Billboard)[42] 1 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[43] 7 Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position US Billboard 200[44] 11

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[45]	Platinum	600,000
United States (RIAA)[7]	7× Platinum	7,000,000
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Song certifications

List of songs, with selected chart positions and available certifications

Title	Certifications
"Aaron Burr, Sir"	RIAA: Platinum[46]
"Alexander Hamilton"	RIAA: Platinum[46]
"A Winter's Ball"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"Burn"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"Dear Theodosia"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"Farmer Refuted"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"Guns and Ships"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"Helpless"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"History Has Its Eyes On You"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"My Shot"	RIAA: Platinum[46]
"Non-Stop"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"Right Hand Man"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"Satisfied"	RIAA: Platinum[46]
"Ten Duel Commandments"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"That Would Be Enough"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"The Room Where It Happens"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"The Schuyler Sisters"	RIAA: Platinum[46]
"The Story of Tonight"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"Wait For It"	RIAA: Platinum[46]
"What'd I Miss"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)"	RIAA: Gold[46]
"You'll Be Back"	RIAA: Platinum[46]

Awards

Year	Award type	Category	Result
2016	Grammy Award	Best Musical Theater Album[47]	Won
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Duo, Group, or Collaboration[48]	Nominated
2017	Billboard Music Award	Billboard Music Award for Top Soundtrack/Cast Album[49]	Won

References

1. Caulfield, Keith (October 7, 2015). "Hamilton's Historic Chart Debut: By The Numbers". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
2. Estevez, Marjua (November 18, 2015). "Hamilton Broadway Album Tops Billboard Rap Chart". Vibe. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
3. Jekket, Frannie (September 21, 2015). "Review: Cast Recording, 'Hamilton'". NPR Music. Archived from the original on January 20, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
4. Caulfield, Keith (June 19, 2016). "'Hamilton' Cast Album Races to No. 3 on Billboard 200 Chart After Tony Awards". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 21, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
5. Caulfield, Keith (July 12, 2020). "Pop Smoke's 'Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
6. Caulfield, Keith (February 15, 2018). "'Hamilton' Surpasses Jersey Boys'". Billboard. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
7. "American album certifications – Various Artists – Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 18, 2020. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
8. "Hamilton: An American Musical [Original Broadway Cast Recording] by Lin-Manuel Miranda". Metacritic. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
9. Donelson, Marcy. "Hamilton: An American Musical [Original Broadway Cast Recording] – Lin-Manuel Miranda". AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
10. Gale, Alex (October 1, 2015). "Hamilton, the Best Broadway Musical Ever, Boasts an Equally Thrilling Cast Recording: Album Review". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 20, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
11. Delerme, Felipe (October 2, 2015). "Various Artists: Hamilton: Original Broadway Cast Recording". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
12. Spanos, Brittany (September 25, 2015). "Hamilton: Original Broadway Cast Recording". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 25, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
13. Christgau, Robert (February 19, 2016). "Poets, Playwrights, and Pranksters: Expert Witness with Robert Christgau". Vice. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
14. "Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums of 2015". BrooklynVegan. December 1, 2015. Archived from the original on January 18, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
15. Miranda, Lin-Manuel. "COMPLETISTS ONLY (Spoilers)". Lin-Manuel Miranda's Official Tumblr. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
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17. "Ultratop.be – Musical – Hamilton - Original Broadway Cast Recording" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
18. "Canadian Albums Chart". Billboard. July 18, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
19. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2016. 28. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
20. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 24, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
21. "Charts.nz – Musical – Hamilton - Original Broadway Cast Recording". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
23. "Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
24. "Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
25. "Original Broadway Cast Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
26. "Internet Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016.
27. "Cast Albums Year-End Chart 2015". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
28. "Top Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End 2016". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
29. "Cast Albums Year-End Chart 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
30. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
31. "Cast Albums Year-End Chart". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
32. "Rap Albums Year-End Chart 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
33. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2018". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
34. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
35. "Cast Albums Year-End Chart". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
36. "Rap Albums Year-End Chart 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
37. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
38. "Cast Albums Year-End Chart 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
39. "Rap Albums Year-End Chart 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
40. "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2020". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
41. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
42. "Cast Albums - Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
43. "Top Rap Albums - Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
44. "Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
45. "British single certifications – Original Broadway Cast – Hamilton". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
46. "American single certifications – Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 18, 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
47. Ward, Marguerite (December 22, 2015). "Hamilton Fan Art: Animation Student Beautifully Recreates Scenes from Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway Smash Hit". International Business Times. Archived from the original on December 25, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
48. "Creed Tops 47th Annual NAACP Image Award Nominations". Ebony. February 5, 2016. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
49. "2017 BBMAs Announce Non-Televised Award Recipients". Billboard Music Awards. May 21, 2017. Archived from the original on June 5, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2017.

External links

• Official website