Taking One for the Team

Taking One for the Team is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Simple Plan. It was released on February 19, 2016 through Atlantic Records and represents the band's first full-length record in nearly five years.[6] Following the release of three buzz singles in mid-2015, the band released "I Don't Wanna Go to Bed" featuring American rapper Nelly as the official lead single for the album on October 16, 2015.[7] It debuted at number 4 on the Canadian Albums Chart, earning the band their fourth consecutive top-5 and a perfect streak of top-10s for their first five studio albums. It is the band’s final album to feature all five original members, as bassist David Desrosiers left Simple Plan in July 2020 due to sexual misconduct allegations.[8]

Taking One for the Team
Studio album by Simple Plan
Released	February 19, 2016
Recorded	March – November 2015[1]
Genre	Pop punk[2][3] pop rock[4][2]
Length	46:10
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Howard Benson[5] Ryan Stewart
Simple Plan chronology
Get Your Heart On – The Second Coming! (2013) Taking One for the Team (2016) TBA (2021)
Singles from Taking One for the Team
"I Don't Wanna Go to Bed" Released: October 16, 2015 "Singing in the Rain" Released: March 25, 2016 "Perfectly Perfect" Released: September 26, 2016

Singles

"I Don't Wanna Go to Bed" was released October 16, 2015 as the album's official lead single.[9] The song features pop and funk influences in a stylistic departure from the pop punk and pop rock of the group is earlier work. A Baywatch-inspired music video premiered October 15, 2015 – a day before the song is digital release.[7] It has since peaked outside the top 50 on the Canadian Hot 100 at number 54.[10]

"Singing in the Rain" was released as second single from the album on March 25, 2016.[11][12] However, the single version of the song does not feature R. City.[13] The music video for "Singing in the Rain was released on April 12, 2016; set in the 1960s, it was a tribute to the movie That Thing You Do.

"Perfectly Perfect" was announced as the third official single on September 26, 2016.[14]

Other songs

The first song released from the era was "Saturday" on June 22, 2015.[15] In September 2015, drummer Chuck Comeau revealed the song would not be featured on the album.[16]

"Boom" was released August 28, 2015 as the second promotional single after its music video premiered a day earlier.[17][18]

A third buzz track, "I Don't Wanna Be Sad", was released September 18, 2015.[19] Initially presumed to be the album's first official single, it was later announced to be a promotional track only.

The band released the album tracks steadily leading up to the release date. A music video for "Opinion Overload" was released on February 5, 2016.[20][21] "Farewell" was released on February 14, followed by[22] "I Refuse" on February 15,[23] "Nostalgic",[24] "P.S. I Hate You"[25] and "Perfectly Perfect".[26]

At the end of the album, Canadian sports announcer Bob Cole calls a fictional ice hockey game featuring Simple Plan, concluding with, "Oh my goodness, can you believe it? Just like that, Simple Plan have won the game!".[2]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	65/100[27]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Kerrang!	[28]
Consequence of Sound	D+[3]

Taking One for the Team received generally favorable reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 65 based on 4 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[27]

Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic called the record "pure, no-frills, feel-good fun, a start-to-finish crowd-pleaser for fans of that classic pop-punk sound." He concluded about the band's musical stance they made with their album: "When music is presented this directly, and after so many years holding firm to a particular style, it's hard to root against them […] Simple Plan -- whose members were in their late thirties at the time of recording -- are the comeback underdog team, winning whether critics like it or not."[2] Collin Brennan of Consequence of Sound commended the band for their longevity and continuation to deliver "earnest sentimentalism" through "heavy music for people who don't like heavy music" but was heavily critical towards their attempts at different soundscapes on "Singing in the Rain" and "I Don't Wanna Go to Bed", concluding that "[W]hen their punches land, you want to bless these guys for sticking to their guns and not growing up. But the misses are real and painful, and they make Taking One For the Team a far more embarrassing listen than it needed to be."[3]

Track listing

All writing credits per booklet.[29]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Opinion Overload"	Simple Plan Nathaniel Company	3:19
2.	"Boom!"	Simple Plan Ryan Ogren Nick Bailey	3:10
3.	"Kiss Me Like Nobody's Watching"	Simple Plan	3:22
4.	"Farewell" (featuring Jordan Pundik)	Simple Plan Ogren Bailey	3:21
5.	"Singing in the Rain" (featuring R. City)	Simple Plan Theron Thomas Timothy Thomas	3:42
6.	"Everything Sucks"	Simple Plan	3:31
7.	"I Refuse"	Simple Plan	3:18
8.	"I Don't Wanna Go to Bed" (featuring Nelly)	Simple Plan Christopher J. Baran Comell Haynes	3:08
9.	"Nostalgic"	Simple Plan Company	3:06
10.	"Perfectly Perfect"	Simple Plan Ryan Stewart Tom Higgenson	3:07
11.	"I Don't Wanna Be Sad"	Simple Plan	3:13
12.	"P.S. I Hate You"	Simple Plan Stewart	3:03
13.	"Problem Child"	Simple Plan Justin Tranter	3:41
14.	"I Dream About You" (featuring Juliet Simms)	Simple Plan	3:09

Bonus tracks

French bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
15.	"I Don't Wanna Go to Bed" (feat. Nelly) (French version)	Simple Plan Baran Haynes

Japanese bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
15.	"Summer Paradise" (live)
16.	"I'd Do Anything" (live)

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[30]	12
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[31]	18
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[32]	45
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[33]	105
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[34]	4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[35]	59
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[36]	30
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[37]	21
Scottish Albums (OCC)[38]	37
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[39]	11
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[40]	10
UK Albums (OCC)[41]	44
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[42]	4
US Billboard 200[43]	94
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[44]	15

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Russia (NFPF)[45]	Gold	10,000^*
^* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[29]

Simple Plan Pierre Bouvier – lead vocals; backing vocals Chuck Comeau – drums; backing vocals David Desrosiers – bass, backing vocals; Sebastien Lefebvre – rhythm guitars, backing vocals Jeff Stinco – lead guitars; backing vocals Additional musicians Lenny Skolnik – programming, keyboards, additional backing vocals Howard Benson – Hammond B3, Vox Continental Jonny Litten – additional backing vocals Chady Awad – additional backing vocals Melanie Fontana – additional backing vocals Sidnie Tipton – additional backing vocals Myah Langston – additional backing vocals Jordan Pundik – guest vocals on "Farewell" Nelly – guest vocals on "I Don't Wanna Go to Bed" Juliet Simms – guest vocals on "I Dream About You" R. City – guest vocals on "Singing in the Rain" Bob Cole – play-by-play announcer

Production Howard Benson – producer Neal Avron – mixing Mike Plotnikoff – recording Hatsukazu "Hatch" Inagaki – recording Paul DeCarli – digital editing Gersh – drum technician Marc VanGool – guitar technician Wendell Teague – assistant engineer Chris Bousquet – assistant engineer Scott Skrzynski – mixing assistant Chris Gehringer – mastering Ryan Stewart – co-producer on "Perfectly Perfect" Chapman Baehler – album photography Simple Plan – art direction, concept Fred Jérôme – art direction, concept, layout design

References

1. "Simple Plan - Timeline Photos" (It's officially happening! We're really excited to...). Simple Plan's Official Facebook. February 13, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
2. Yeung, Neil Z. "Taking One for the Team - Simple Plan". AllMusic. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
3. Brennan, Collin (February 16, 2016). "Simple Plan – Taking One For the Team Album Review". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
4. Glitto, Tom, ed. (February 29, 2016). "People Picks". People: 51.
5. Sherman, Maria (July 22, 2015). "Simple Plan Reveal New Album Plans, Talk 5SOS & Warped Tour". Fuse. Fuse Networks, LLC. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
6. "Taking One for the Team by Simple Plan". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
7. Gonshor, Adam (October 15, 2015). "SIMPLE PLAN + NELLY + DAVID HASSELHOFF???!!!". Warner Music Canada. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
8. "Simple Plan's David Desrosiers leaves band following sexual misconduct allegations". Global News. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
9. "I Don't Wanna Go to Bed (feat. Nelly) - Single by Simple Plan". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
10. "Simple Plan - Chart history (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
11. "Singing In The Rain (Explicit, Single) by Simple Plan : Napster". Rhapsody.com. 2016-03-25. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
12. "Simple Plan on Twitter: "Check out our new single "Singing In The Rain" in the Top 10 on #TheScene playlist @Spotify"". Twitter. 2016-03-30. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2016-04-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
14. "Simple Plan - "Perfectly Perfect is about being in love with someone and seeing beauty in every part of them, even the parts they don't like about themselves..."" (photo). Facebook. September 26, 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016. Buy our #TeamSP album featuring the single
15. "Saturday - Single by Simple Plan". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
16. Chuck Comeau [@chuckcomeau] (September 17, 2015). "no. Saturday will not be on the new album" (Tweet). Retrieved December 23, 2015 – via Twitter.
17. "Boom - Single by Simple Plan". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
18. Sherman, Maria (August 28, 2015). "Simple Plan Returns! Check Out The Star-Studded "Boom" Now". Fuse. Fuse Networks, LLC. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
19. "I Don't Wanna Be Sad - Single by Simple Plan". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
20. "Simple Plan Premiere New Song/Video, Opinion Overload". Kerrang!. 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
21. Simple Plan (February 4, 2016). "Simple Plan - "We are so excited to share with all of you the video for "Opinion Overload", the opening song of our new album "Taking One For The Team"..."" (post). Facebook. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
22. "Stream Simple Plan's new track "Farewell" featuring New Found Glory's Jordan Pundik (exclusive) - Features - Alternative Press". Altpress.com. 2016-02-14. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
23. Brennan, Collin (2016-02-16). "Simple Plan – Taking One For the Team | Album Reviews". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
24. "Simple Plan Have Unveiled A Nostalgic New Song - Features - Rock Sound Magazine". Rocksound.tv. 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
25. "Simple Plan - P.S. I Hate You (Lyrics)". YouTube. 2016-02-17. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
26. "CBC Music". Music.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
27. "Taking One for the Team by Simple Plan". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
28. Jennyfer J. Walker (February 17, 2016). "TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM MONTREAL POP-PUNKS MAKE ANOTHER SIMPLE PLAN ALBUM THAT SOUNDS JUST LIKE SIMPLE PLAN". Kerrang!. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
29. Taking One for the Team (Booklet). Simple Plan. Atlantic. 2016. 7567-86657-3.CS1 maint: others (link)
30. "Australiancharts.com – Simple Plan – Taking One for the Team". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
31. "Austriancharts.at – Simple Plan – Taking One for the Team" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
32. "Ultratop.be – Simple Plan – Taking One for the Team" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
33. "Ultratop.be – Simple Plan – Taking One for the Team" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
34. "Simple Plan Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
35. "Dutchcharts.nl – Simple Plan – Taking One for the Team" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
36. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
37. 29, 2016/ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: February 29, 2016" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
38. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
39. "Spanishcharts.com – Simple Plan – Taking One for the Team". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
40. "Swisscharts.com – Simple Plan – Taking One for the Team". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
41. "Simple Plan | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
42. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
43. "Simple Plan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
44. "Simple Plan Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
45. "Russian album certifications – Simple Plan – Taking One for the Team" (in Russian). National Federation of Phonogram Producers (NFPF). 2018. Missing or empty |url= (help)