AngeloUnderwood
Member
https://exclaim.ca/music/article/carrie_underwood-cry_pretty
This counts for metacritic. 60/100, meh
This counts for metacritic. 60/100, meh
Carrie Underwood Fans
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Cry Pretty Album Reviews
- Thread starter Kizmet311
- Start date
Claire2004
Active member
^^Posted my review and rating on metacritic.
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainmen...erwood-struggles-personal-cry-pretty-57825224
Review: Underwood struggles to get personal on 'Cry Pretty'
By KRISTIN M. HALL, ASSOCIATED PRESS Sep 14, 2018, 11:11 AM ET
Carrie Underwood, "Cry Pretty" (Capitol Records Nashville)
For the first time in her career, Carrie Underwood took over co-producing duties on her new album, "Cry Pretty," and co-wrote nine of the 13 tracks. But does it make the collection more personal?
Underwood's career under the spotlight started with "American Idol," and she's a spectacular natural singer with a great ear for songs. But after an injury to her face last fall, she hid from the public for months as the tabloids circled.
Ultimately, she returned this year looking about the same as before and announced this summer she's pregnant with her second child. Now her personal life has become a bit more front and center than before. She's always sung with authentic emotion and drama, but she was more skilled at interpreting the song than revealing much about herself.
"Cry Pretty" is not the confessional record that her country peers have done really well, as evidenced from the title track that notes she's "not usually the kind to show my heart to the world." But she's pushing herself in new musical directions, teasing out parts of her multi-faceted voice with rhythm and tempo that feels like you're hearing her anew.
Working with producer David Garcia, who co-wrote the pop country crossover collab "Meant to Be" by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line, Underwood adds R&B, pop and dance rhythms to songs like "Backsliding" and "End Up With You." On "Low," she slinks into a bluesy country groove that sounds like a perfect vehicle for a duet between Underwood and Chris Stapleton.
However, the county ballad, "The Bullet" feels empty with lyrics such as, "You can blame it on hate, or blame it on guns, but mommas ain't supposed to bury their sons." ''Love Wins" is in a similar vein, delivering somewhat vague messages of hope, unity and love for all, but the building music makes better use of her soaring, arena-sized vocals.
She ends the album with what is likely the closest we're going to see of "real Carrie" on "Kingdom," where she sings about scampering children and the highs and lows of a family that's "perfectly imperfect." The song seems more revealing than the others, especially because it touches on her strong Christian faith.
It also shows that she can be relatable when she lets her guard down.
Review: Underwood struggles to get personal on 'Cry Pretty'
By KRISTIN M. HALL, ASSOCIATED PRESS Sep 14, 2018, 11:11 AM ET
Carrie Underwood, "Cry Pretty" (Capitol Records Nashville)
For the first time in her career, Carrie Underwood took over co-producing duties on her new album, "Cry Pretty," and co-wrote nine of the 13 tracks. But does it make the collection more personal?
Underwood's career under the spotlight started with "American Idol," and she's a spectacular natural singer with a great ear for songs. But after an injury to her face last fall, she hid from the public for months as the tabloids circled.
Ultimately, she returned this year looking about the same as before and announced this summer she's pregnant with her second child. Now her personal life has become a bit more front and center than before. She's always sung with authentic emotion and drama, but she was more skilled at interpreting the song than revealing much about herself.
"Cry Pretty" is not the confessional record that her country peers have done really well, as evidenced from the title track that notes she's "not usually the kind to show my heart to the world." But she's pushing herself in new musical directions, teasing out parts of her multi-faceted voice with rhythm and tempo that feels like you're hearing her anew.
Working with producer David Garcia, who co-wrote the pop country crossover collab "Meant to Be" by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line, Underwood adds R&B, pop and dance rhythms to songs like "Backsliding" and "End Up With You." On "Low," she slinks into a bluesy country groove that sounds like a perfect vehicle for a duet between Underwood and Chris Stapleton.
However, the county ballad, "The Bullet" feels empty with lyrics such as, "You can blame it on hate, or blame it on guns, but mommas ain't supposed to bury their sons." ''Love Wins" is in a similar vein, delivering somewhat vague messages of hope, unity and love for all, but the building music makes better use of her soaring, arena-sized vocals.
She ends the album with what is likely the closest we're going to see of "real Carrie" on "Kingdom," where she sings about scampering children and the highs and lows of a family that's "perfectly imperfect." The song seems more revealing than the others, especially because it touches on her strong Christian faith.
It also shows that she can be relatable when she lets her guard down.
CarrieAddicted
Well-known member
At first, I was scared about these magazines and blogs reviews, and also the Metacritic score, bacause I thought they could affect her chances at Grammy nominations and wins.
However, today I searched the Metacritic scores for recently Grammy-winning albums.
Kelly Clarkson’s Stronger, most of Beyoncé’s early albums, Lady Antebellum’s NYN and OTN, Eminem’s recent albums all were in the 60s score and ALL won Grammys in their respective album category.
Adele’s 25 is in the 70s score and won everything, including AOTY.
And they all won over much higher-rated albums.
So, my conclusion: Grammy voters don’t give a damn about critics and scores.
So, if the Grammys don’t give a damn about them, why should we?
I’m fine.
However, today I searched the Metacritic scores for recently Grammy-winning albums.
Kelly Clarkson’s Stronger, most of Beyoncé’s early albums, Lady Antebellum’s NYN and OTN, Eminem’s recent albums all were in the 60s score and ALL won Grammys in their respective album category.
Adele’s 25 is in the 70s score and won everything, including AOTY.
And they all won over much higher-rated albums.
So, my conclusion: Grammy voters don’t give a damn about critics and scores.
So, if the Grammys don’t give a damn about them, why should we?
I’m fine.
Review: Carrie Underwood flawless on new 'Cry Pretty' country album (Includes first-hand account)
Review: Carrie Underwood flawless on new 'Cry Pretty' country album SPECIAL
BY MARKOS PAPADATOS
On September 14, country superstar Carrie Underwood released her latest studio offering, "Cry Pretty," via Capitol Records Nashville.
Her album opens with the title track, "Cry Pretty," and it is followed by the powerful "Ghosts On The Stereo," as well as the bluesy and sultry "Low."
She displays her exceptional storytelling ability on "Backsliding" thanks to her moving vocals, and she shows her fun side on the upbeat and mid-tempo "Southbound."
Other noteworthy songs include the soulful "Drinking Alone," the emotional ballad "The Bullet," as well as the piano-driven "Spinning Bottles," where her voice is pure as the driven snow. The control Underwood maintains over her voice throughout the album is impeccable.
Her inspirational song "Love Wins" stands out by a mile. It is an important tune about the times that we are living in.
After the sassy "End Up With You," her album closes on a powerhouse note with "Kingdom," and her smash collaboration with Ludacris, "The Champion," is offered as a bonus track.
Today, Underwood also performed at Opry City Stage in Times Square as part of NASH FM 94.7's "Up Close and Country." Radio personality Katie Neal interviewed Underwood at Opry City Stage.
The Verdict
Overall, Carrie Underwood excels on this album as a singer, songwriter, and producer. Cry Pretty is a superb studio effort, and it garners an A rating.
Review: Carrie Underwood flawless on new 'Cry Pretty' country album SPECIAL
BY MARKOS PAPADATOS
On September 14, country superstar Carrie Underwood released her latest studio offering, "Cry Pretty," via Capitol Records Nashville.
Her album opens with the title track, "Cry Pretty," and it is followed by the powerful "Ghosts On The Stereo," as well as the bluesy and sultry "Low."
She displays her exceptional storytelling ability on "Backsliding" thanks to her moving vocals, and she shows her fun side on the upbeat and mid-tempo "Southbound."
Other noteworthy songs include the soulful "Drinking Alone," the emotional ballad "The Bullet," as well as the piano-driven "Spinning Bottles," where her voice is pure as the driven snow. The control Underwood maintains over her voice throughout the album is impeccable.
Her inspirational song "Love Wins" stands out by a mile. It is an important tune about the times that we are living in.
After the sassy "End Up With You," her album closes on a powerhouse note with "Kingdom," and her smash collaboration with Ludacris, "The Champion," is offered as a bonus track.
Today, Underwood also performed at Opry City Stage in Times Square as part of NASH FM 94.7's "Up Close and Country." Radio personality Katie Neal interviewed Underwood at Opry City Stage.
The Verdict
Overall, Carrie Underwood excels on this album as a singer, songwriter, and producer. Cry Pretty is a superb studio effort, and it garners an A rating.
Definitely don't think the voters care too much, but as this is her best album, it should be reflected as such. Should be at least a 75 on metacritic. And maybe it will get there, definitely still time.
https://ew.com/music/2018/09/14/carrie-underwood-cry-pretty-ew-review/
Carrie Underwood lays (some) cards on the table with Cry Pretty
Capitol Nashville
MARISSA R. MOSS
At this point in Carrie Underwood‘s career, there’s little variance in our public perception of the country superstar: vocal powerhouse of the highest order, fitness guru, dedicated Grand Old Opry member, and one of American Idol‘s proudest, most successful exports. But Underwood’s always been adept at shrouding herself in her songs, making her stories, and her beliefs, second fiddle to whatever she was aiming to express. From a vindictive lover on “Before He Cheats” to the murderer (or murdered) multiple tracks over, Underwood’s at her best in the shoes of others, keeping her private life, for the most part, pretty private.
So when Underwood released “Cry Pretty” after a tumultuous year that left her scarred from a terrible fall, it felt unusually personal — from the first words uttered (“I’m sorry,” she sings in a tender warble) to an image of a woman in pain that seemed to mirror so adeptly her own state of being. And Cry Pretty, her sixth album and her first to co-produce (alongside David Garcia), is a meeting of the two Carries: a new, more forward artist, willing to put her beliefs on the line, and the chameleon. At its best, she’s never sounded more vulnerable, or more willing to play within the definitions of country music. But it also means that when she pulls back, and falls into the costumes of others, it’s a little harder to accept the veil.
Sonically, Cry Pretty isn’t meant to please the purists — it has moments, like “Ghosts on the Stereo,” a tribute to the legends of the genre where she’s richly twangy — but it also plays heavily in the R&B nuances that artists like Sam Hunt have solidified. But Underwood doesn’t just focus on ripping pages from the Drake playbook. Instead, she works on bending her vowels and syllables in a more modern and sensual way than ever before, particularly on the album’s side A. “Backsliding,” about falling into the arms of old lovers, rests more on a percussive, snapping rhythm, and the phrasing of “The Song That We Used to Make Love To” nearly borrows from Beyoncé. Neither of them is the same Underwood pouring her soul into the confessional of “Cry Pretty,” but she wears them well.
One of Cry Pretty‘s strangest surprises is a Florida Georgia Line-style party song called “Southbound” that finds her singing about tan lines and “redneck margaritas.” It’s probably the most casual Underwood’s ever been, and, sung by a male artist, it would have felt almost impossibly unoriginal. Recorded by a woman who doesn’t exactly make pontoon day drinking a part of her personal brand, it’s pleasingly contrarian: perhaps it’s Underwood trying to reclaim a style of music that’s been co-opted and ridden high on the charts by the genre’s leading men.
It’s the second half of Cry Pretty where Underwood starts to truly lay her cards on the table — and where she soars the most. First, it’s on “The Bullet,” a heartbreaking ballad dedicated to the epidemic of gun violence, a potent topic for country artists in the wake of the Route 91 Harvest tragedy. While it’s not taking a particular side, it doesn’t give a pass, either: “you can blame it on hate, or blame it on guns, but mamas ain’t supposed to bury their sons.” In a genre where the Second Amendment is so deeply ingrained into the culture, it’s daring to even suggest that weapons are at fault.
Underwood goes even deeper with “Love Wins,” which she co-wrote with Garcia and Brett James. It’s a huge vocal moment with shades of gospel, accompanied by a video that depicts love from all angles — women holding hands with women, men embracing. It’s hard to find a spin that doesn’t say that this is Underwood fully throwing her support behind love (and marriage) for all, though she’s maintained its neutrality. That veil, ya know.
The biggest clue into the new era of Underwood, though, might come with the last song, “Kingdom.” An intimate look into the home she keeps with her husband and son (with another baby on the way), her choice of language feels quietly inclusive. “This is our kingdom,” she sings, opening up into those big and bombastic notes only she can hit. And, for the first time, it feels like that that “our” might finally include the listener, too.
B+
Carrie Underwood lays (some) cards on the table with Cry Pretty
Capitol Nashville
MARISSA R. MOSS
At this point in Carrie Underwood‘s career, there’s little variance in our public perception of the country superstar: vocal powerhouse of the highest order, fitness guru, dedicated Grand Old Opry member, and one of American Idol‘s proudest, most successful exports. But Underwood’s always been adept at shrouding herself in her songs, making her stories, and her beliefs, second fiddle to whatever she was aiming to express. From a vindictive lover on “Before He Cheats” to the murderer (or murdered) multiple tracks over, Underwood’s at her best in the shoes of others, keeping her private life, for the most part, pretty private.
So when Underwood released “Cry Pretty” after a tumultuous year that left her scarred from a terrible fall, it felt unusually personal — from the first words uttered (“I’m sorry,” she sings in a tender warble) to an image of a woman in pain that seemed to mirror so adeptly her own state of being. And Cry Pretty, her sixth album and her first to co-produce (alongside David Garcia), is a meeting of the two Carries: a new, more forward artist, willing to put her beliefs on the line, and the chameleon. At its best, she’s never sounded more vulnerable, or more willing to play within the definitions of country music. But it also means that when she pulls back, and falls into the costumes of others, it’s a little harder to accept the veil.
Sonically, Cry Pretty isn’t meant to please the purists — it has moments, like “Ghosts on the Stereo,” a tribute to the legends of the genre where she’s richly twangy — but it also plays heavily in the R&B nuances that artists like Sam Hunt have solidified. But Underwood doesn’t just focus on ripping pages from the Drake playbook. Instead, she works on bending her vowels and syllables in a more modern and sensual way than ever before, particularly on the album’s side A. “Backsliding,” about falling into the arms of old lovers, rests more on a percussive, snapping rhythm, and the phrasing of “The Song That We Used to Make Love To” nearly borrows from Beyoncé. Neither of them is the same Underwood pouring her soul into the confessional of “Cry Pretty,” but she wears them well.
One of Cry Pretty‘s strangest surprises is a Florida Georgia Line-style party song called “Southbound” that finds her singing about tan lines and “redneck margaritas.” It’s probably the most casual Underwood’s ever been, and, sung by a male artist, it would have felt almost impossibly unoriginal. Recorded by a woman who doesn’t exactly make pontoon day drinking a part of her personal brand, it’s pleasingly contrarian: perhaps it’s Underwood trying to reclaim a style of music that’s been co-opted and ridden high on the charts by the genre’s leading men.
It’s the second half of Cry Pretty where Underwood starts to truly lay her cards on the table — and where she soars the most. First, it’s on “The Bullet,” a heartbreaking ballad dedicated to the epidemic of gun violence, a potent topic for country artists in the wake of the Route 91 Harvest tragedy. While it’s not taking a particular side, it doesn’t give a pass, either: “you can blame it on hate, or blame it on guns, but mamas ain’t supposed to bury their sons.” In a genre where the Second Amendment is so deeply ingrained into the culture, it’s daring to even suggest that weapons are at fault.
Underwood goes even deeper with “Love Wins,” which she co-wrote with Garcia and Brett James. It’s a huge vocal moment with shades of gospel, accompanied by a video that depicts love from all angles — women holding hands with women, men embracing. It’s hard to find a spin that doesn’t say that this is Underwood fully throwing her support behind love (and marriage) for all, though she’s maintained its neutrality. That veil, ya know.
The biggest clue into the new era of Underwood, though, might come with the last song, “Kingdom.” An intimate look into the home she keeps with her husband and son (with another baby on the way), her choice of language feels quietly inclusive. “This is our kingdom,” she sings, opening up into those big and bombastic notes only she can hit. And, for the first time, it feels like that that “our” might finally include the listener, too.
B+
Claire2004
Active member
^^ What the equivalent metacritic score for that EW grade? Thanks.
83/100
FanSince04
Well-known member
Looking at it strictly from a numerical standpoint it’s be 89/100.
I hope you’re right. I looked at the score that ew gave BA and it’s the same rating (B+) but the score in metacritic is 83.
Claire2004
Active member
Six of the reviews will be counted at metacritic - RS, All Music, EW, Exclaim, LA Times, The Guardian. Average is 65.5. Will that score be classified as positive, or mixed?
It's classified as "Generally Favorable Reviews" at the moment.
https://www.metacritic.com/about-metascores
Farawayhills
Well-known member
Although I'm still awaiting delivery of my CD (likely, tomorrow), on what I have heard, the top quote from Kristin's review above strikes me as a pretty fair summary of the way many people outside the immediate fan base are likely to view the album.
The bolded part in the second quote interests me, as Stapleton comes much more to my mind, in the case of Carrie's stronger, more Bluesy songs (rather than making me think of the likes of Hunt, Urban or Rhett). It's probably worth stressing that many purists do not regard Chris as a traditional Country singer, but do tend to admire him as an innovator, drawing on more general forms of Southern Roots Music. If Carrie's new album does succeed in encouraging a broader stylistic view of her work (which I think it deserves to), it is broadly in that general direction that I think the appreciation might rise.
As for the possibility of a duet, it's worth pointing out that Chris typically does work with female voices. I can't speak for his early Southern Rock phase, as I'm not familiar with it - but in his Bluegrass phase, in the Steeldrivers, he sang with Tammy Rogers (who has been described as sounding like Alison Krauss' "less tradition-bound older sister"), while in his current Mainstream phase, he sings with his wife Morgane (who plays a very prominent part in the performance style). Morgane wrote one of Carrie's early hit singles - though I don't know if they have remained in touch.
FanSince04
Well-known member
Oh. I standby corrected then.
Carrieroxmysox2011
Active member
I don't know how to post a review on Metacritic.
Carrieroxmysox2011
Active member
Hopefully it doesn't go lower than 70.
harry_potter_211
New member
Very positive reaction/review video of the album!