Wildflower (Lauren Alaina album)

Wildflower is the debut studio album by season ten American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina. The album was released on October 11, 2011, by Mercury Nashville.[2][3] The album's first single, "Like My Mother Does", reached the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.[4] Wildflower debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart, making Alaina the youngest female artist to debut that high since LeAnn Rimes' debut album, Blue, fifteen years prior.[5]

Wildflower
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 11, 2011 (2011-10-11)
Recorded2011
GenreCountry
Length44:33
Label
ProducerByron Gallimore[1]
Lauren Alaina chronology
American Idol Season 10 Highlights: Lauren Alaina
(2011)
Wildflower
(2011)
Lauren Alaina
(2015)
Singles from Wildflower
  1. "Like My Mother Does"
    Released: May 25, 2011
  2. "Georgia Peaches"
    Released: October 24, 2011
  3. "Eighteen Inches"
    Released: July 16, 2012

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(72/100)[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [7]
Country Weekly     [8]
Entertainment WeeklyB[9]
The New York TimesPositive[10]

Wildflower received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72, based on 4 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[6] AllMusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and wrote: "Byron Gallimore, who previously produced Sugarland and Faith Hill, gives Wildflower an appealing gloss that helps disguise the ordinariness of the material along with any of Alaina's shortcomings, and that slickness serves Wildflower well, making it a much more enjoyable piece of product than McCreery's Clear as Day".[7] The New York Times gave a very positive review to the album and said: "It works, not only because Ms. Alaina has a big voice, but also because she doesn't portray herself as an aw-shucks beginner. She's skipped that step, and rightly so".[10] Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly was also positive on the album and gave it a "B" and said: "On Wildflower, she captures the restless spirit of small-town girls who get grounded for French-kissing the boy next door".[9] Jessica Nicholson of Country Weekly gave the album 3 and half stars out of 5 and noted: "Despite the album's title, she plays it safe rather than wild".[8]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Georgia Peaches"3:07
2."Growing Her Wings"
3:01
3."Tupelo"3:39
4."The Middle"
3:56
5."Like My Mother Does"4:07
6."She's a Wildflower"
  • Lindsey
  • McEwan
  • Sampson
3:38
7."I'm Not One of Them"3:18
8."The Locket"Hope5:10
9."Eighteen Inches"3:44
10."One of Those Boys"
  • Marla Cannon-Goodman
  • Benjamin Caver
  • Anthony L. Smith
2:42
11."Funny Thing About Love"3:57
12."Dirt Road Prayer"
  • Galyon
  • April Geesbreght
4:14

Personnel

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Chart performance

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The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 with 69,000 copies sold.[11] It has sold 303,000 copies in the United States as of January 2013.[12]

Weekly charts

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Chart (2011) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[13] 22
US Billboard 200[14] 5
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[15] 2

Year-end charts

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Chart (2011) Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[16] 47
Chart (2012) Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[17] 34

References

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  1. ^ Shelburne, Craig (September 8, 2011). "New Album Preview: Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum and More". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  2. ^ Dukes, Billy (September 15, 2011). "Lauren Alaina 'Wildflower' Track Listing Revealed". Taste of Country. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  3. ^ Mansfield, Brian (September 15, 2011). "Lauren Alaina reveals 'Wildflower' tracklisting". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  4. ^ Stromblad, Cory (September 15, 2011). "Lauren Alaina Reveals 'Wildflower' Track Listing". The Boot. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  5. ^ "Lauren Alaina : News : Lauren Alaina Best-Selling Country Female Debut Since 2006". www.laurenalainaofficial.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-31.
  6. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Wildflower by Lauren Alaina". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  7. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Wildflower - Lauren Alaina". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  8. ^ a b Nicholson, Jessica (October 20, 2011). "Wildflower by Lauren Alaina - Country Weekly". Country Weekly. American Media. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  9. ^ a b Maerz, Melissa (October 13, 2011). "Wildflower review - Lauren Alaina Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Claudia Quintet - New Albums". The New York Times. October 10, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  11. ^ Mansfield, Brian (October 19, 2011). "Lauren Alaina's 69,000 sales mean a top-five debut". Idol Chatter. USA Today. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
  12. ^ Mansfield, Brian (January 7, 2013). "Phillip Philips' album sales rise". Idol Chatter. USA Today. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  13. ^ "Lauren Alaina Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  14. ^ "Lauren Alaina Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  15. ^ "Lauren Alaina Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  16. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  17. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
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