The Sellout (album)

The Sellout is the fifth studio album by American singer and songwriter Macy Gray. It was released on June 22, 2010, by Concord Records. The album's lead single, "Beauty in the World" was released in April 2010. Upon its release, The Sellout received generally mixed reviews from most music critics.

For the 1952 film, see The Sellout (film).
The Sellout
Studio album by
Macy Gray
ReleasedJune 21, 2010 (2010-06-21)
Recorded2008–2010
Genre
Length45:05
LabelConcord
Producer
Macy Gray chronology
Big
(2007)		 The Sellout
(2010)		 Covered
(2012)
Singles from The Sellout
  1. "Beauty in the World"
    Released: March 30, 2010[1]
  2. "Kissed It"
    Released: May 24, 2010[2]
  3. "Lately"
    Released: June 14, 2010[3]

Background

Gray announced the album on her website, stating that it had been a work in progress since 2008. She wrote:

Since November 2008, I've been working hard on my fifth album and am so excited for you to hear it. It is called "The Sellout." It's about all the mountains I've been climbing to be where I want to be in my personal and professional life. It is most certainly my best work and we are almost finished. The album is produced by Myself, Jared and Whitey, Caviar, Kaz James and Rodney Jerkins. It includes a duet with the legendary Bobby Brown and performances by the best musicians I've ever known. Check in daily for updates on the progress of the record and songs from the record that you will hear here first. - Macy[4]

Release and promotion

The album was originally intended to be released on May 18, 2010, but for unknown reasons its release was pushed to June 22, 2010.[5]

Singles

The first US single is "Beauty In The World", which has been on three Billboard charts, including the Adult Contemporary and its remix on the Hot Dance Club Songs. The first UK single is "Lately", released on June 14, but failing to reach the UK Singles Chart. It charted better on the Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play, so far, reaching the top-ten.[6] The second US single, "Kissed It" (featuring Velvet Revolver) was released on May 24, and is the featured song on Bravo's summer campaign.[7]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.0/10[8]
Metacritic58/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
The Boston Globefavorable[11]
Entertainment WeeklyB-[12]
The Independent[13]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)A-[14]
The New York Timesmixed[15]
NME7/10[16]
PopMatters5/10[17]
Rolling Stone[18]
Slant Magazine[19]

The Sellout received generally mixed reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 58, based on 17 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".[20] At AnyDecentMusic?, that collates critical reviews from more than 50 media sources, the album scored 6.0 points out of 10. Andy Gill of The Independent gave it 3 out of 5 stars and wrote that it "suffers much of the same frustrating patchiness, that distinctively emotive voice squandered on material that simply doesn't deserve it".[13] Allmusic writer John Bush shared a similar sentiment and panned Gray's songwriting.[10] MusicOMH writer Talia Soghomonian gave the album 2½ out of 5 stars and wrote "While there is plenty of soul in the sound, there is a lack of body in both delivery and melody".[21] Q gave it 2 out of 5 stars and called it "her blandest record yet: it drifts from nondescript disco-pop and cloying R&B to woefully ersatz glam stomp".[22]

However, The Boston Globe's James Reed commended its production and wrote that it "sands off the edges that have been key to Gray’s appeal".[11] Jeremy Allen of NME gave the album a 7/10 rating and praised Gray for "effortlessly combining classic pop with flamboyant chart-frippery".[16] Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson gave The Sellout a B- rating and stated "Nothing here will dramatically alter the arc of Gray's career, but The Sellout yields several jams worth hearing".[12] In his consumer guide for MSN Music, critic Robert Christgau gave the album an A- rating,[14] indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction. Anyone open to its aesthetic will enjoy more than half its tracks".[23]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number #38 on the US Billboard 200 Album Chart, selling 11,000 copies, less than half the number of copies her last album, Big, sold in the same time-frame.[24] It dropped to number #133 on its second week.[25]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Sellout"Macy Gray, Chauncey Hollis, Chase N. CasheHit-Boy, Chase N. Cashe3:58
2."Lately"Gray, Kaz James, Mellissa "Honey" Larochelle, Lazonate Franklin, Ely Weisfeld, Jamie AlmosKaz James, The Brothers Rise2:57
3."Kissed It" (featuring Velvet Revolver)Gray, Franklin, Kannon "Caviar" Kross, Corey "Oz" SimonKross, Simon4:36
4."Still Hurts" (featuring Romika)Gray, Teedra Moses, Lamar "Kromic" Mitchell, Jared GosselinGosselin, Phillip White3:50
5."Beauty in the World"Gray, Josh Lopez, George Reichart, KrossGray, Kross, Simon3:50
6."Help Me"Gray, Rock City, Rodney JerkinsJerkins4:37
7."Let You Win"Gray, Phillip White, Larochelle, Samir ElmehdaouiGosselin, White3:57
8."That Man"Gray, Mel Hinds, White, MitchellWhite3:33
9."Stalker"Gray, Tony HardyGosselin, White2:27
10."Real Love" (featuring Bobby Brown)Gray, White, Larochelle, Elmehdaoui, Freddie Moffett, GosselinGosselin, White4:03
11."On & On"Gray, Mika Lett, Meelah Williams, Hit-Boy, Don CannonHit-Boy, Cannon3:19
12."The Comeback[5]"Gray, White, Hardy, GosselinGosselin, Gray4:04
Total length:45:05
iTunes pre-order bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Lost"3:21
Target limited deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Lately" (Acoustic Version) 
14."Beauty in the World" (Island Mix) 
15."The Comeback" (Acoustic Version) 

Charts
Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)[26] 14
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[27] 70
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28] 88
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29] 72
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[30] 76
French Albums (SNEP)[31] 62
Greek International Albums (IFPI)[32] 10
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[33] 42
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 28
UK Albums (OCC)[35] 128
US Billboard 200[36] 38

References
  1. "Beauty in the World - Single by Macy Gray - Download Beauty in the World - Single on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-03-30. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  2. "Kissed It (feat. Velvet Revolver) by Macy Gray - Download Kissed It (feat. Velvet Revolver) on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-05-11. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  3. "Music - - Singles Release Diary". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  4. "Macy Gray". Macy Gray. 2010-06-18. Archived from the original on 2012-05-05. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  5. "The Sellout: Macy Gray: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  6. "Club Music, Hot Dance Songs, Club Songs, Dance Club Music Charts". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  7. "Macy Gray Spreads Positive Vibes on 'The Sellout'". Billboard.com. 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  8. "Macy Gray: The Sellout". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  9. "THE SELLOUT by Macy Gray". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  10. Bush, John. "Review: The Sellout". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  11. Reed, James. Review: The Sellout. The Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2010-07-01.
  12. Vozick-Levinson, Simon. Review: The Sellout. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2010-07-01.
  13. Gill, Andy. Review: The Sellout. The Independent. Retrieved on 2010-07-01.
  14. Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: The Sellout". MSN Music: July 2010.
  15. Pareles, Jon. Review: The Sellout. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2010-07-01.
  16. Allen, Jeremy. Review: The Sellout. NME. Retrieved on 2010-07-01.
  17. Layman, Will. Review: The Sellout. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2010-07-01.
  18. Hermes, Will. Review: The Sellout. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2010-07-01.
  19. Cole, Matthew. Review: The Sellout. Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-07-01.
  20. The Sellout (2010): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2010-07-01.
  21. Soghomonian, Talia. Review: The Sellout. MusicOMH. Retrieved on 2010-07-01.
  22. Columnist. "Review: The Sellout". Q: 132. July 2010.
  23. Christgau, Robert. "CG Keys to Icons: Grades 1990-". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  24. Despite its poor sales, it debuted one spot higher on the album chart than her last release. The Billboard 200 charts - Macy debuts - MTV News MTV News Retrieved 2010-07-02
  25. "Music Albums, Top 200 Albums & Music Album Charts" (in Japanese). Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  26. "ARIA Urban Album Chart – Week Commencing 5th July 2010" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association (1062): 19. July 5, 2010. Retrieved December 8, 2018 – via Pandora Archive.
  27. "Austriancharts.at – Macy Gray – The Sellout" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  28. "Ultratop.be – Macy Gray – The Sellout" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  29. "Ultratop.be – Macy Gray – The Sellout" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  30. "Dutchcharts.nl – Macy Gray – The Sellout" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  31. "Lescharts.com – Macy Gray – The Sellout". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  32. "Macy Gray – The Sellout". greekcharts.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  33. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  34. "Swisscharts.com – Macy Gray – The Sellout". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  35. "Chart Log UK: 1994–2010: Gina G – GZA". Zobbel. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  36. "Macy Gray Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
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