Platinum (Miranda Lambert album)

Platinum
Studio album by Miranda Lambert
Released	June 3, 2014
Genre	Country pop
Length	58:15
Label	RCA Nashville
Producer	Frank Liddell Chuck Ainlay Glenn Worf
Miranda Lambert chronology
Four the Record (2011) Platinum (2014) The Weight of These Wings (2016)
Singles from Platinum
"Automatic" Released: February 17, 2014 "Somethin' Bad" Released: May 19, 2014 "Little Red Wagon" Released: January 12, 2015 "Smokin' and Drinkin'" Released: June 22, 2015

Platinum is the fifth studio album by American country recording artist Miranda Lambert, released on June 3, 2014, by RCA Nashville. Lambert wrote or co-wrote eight of the album's 16 tracks while working with a host of session musicians and songwriters, as well as guest performers Little Big Town, The Time Jumpers, and Carrie Underwood. The album was produced by Frank Liddell, Chuck Ainlay, and Glenn Worf.

Platnium debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming Lambert's first to top the chart, while selling 180,000 copies in its first week. It received widespread critical acclaim and earned Lambert a Grammy Award for Best Country Album as well as a CMA Award and ACM Award in the same category. The album was certified platinum for sales of one million copies in the United States.

Background

Lambert wrote or co-wrote eight of the album's 16 tracks. The album features collaborations with Little Big Town ("Smokin' and Drinkin'") and The Time Jumpers ("All That's Left"), as well as a duet with Carrie Underwood on "Somethin' Bad".^[1] Lambert and Underwood debuted the song at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on May 18, 2014,^[2] and performed it again on June 4, during the CMT Music Awards.^[3] In support of Platinum, Lambert embarked on a concert tour of North America in mid 2014, featuring Justin Moore and Thomas Rhett as her opening acts.^[4]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
American Songwriter	[6]
Cuepoint	A[7]
Entertainment Weekly	A[8]
The Guardian	[9]
Los Angeles Times	[10]
PopMatters	7/10[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]
Spin	7/10[13]
USA Today	[14]

Platinum was released by RCA Nashville on June 3, 2014.^[11] It debuted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums charts while selling 180,000 copies in the United States, which was the highest first-sales week of Lambert's career.^[15] It was also her first album to reach the top of the Billboard 200,^[15] and marked her fifth consecutive number-one debut on the Top Country Albums, making her the first artist in the history of the chart to start her career with five number-one albums.^[15] It debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart with first-week sales of 9,300 copies.^[16] By November 2015, the album had sold 762,000 copies in the US.^[17] On February 1, 2016, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), having sold one million copies in the US.^[18]

Platinum received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 86, based on 11 reviews.^[19] Writing in Cuepoint, Robert Christgau hailed Platinum as the year's most daring and consummate big-budget record, featuring "apolitical de facto feminism at its countriest".^[7] New York Times critic Jon Caramanica found it "vivacious, clever and slickly rowdy", showing Lambert had finally become "a sophisticated radical, a wry country feminist and an artist learning to experiment widely but also with less abrasion".^[20] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic said the record was shrewdly produced with Lambert's attempts at modern pop songs sequenced ahead of the more authentic country material,^[5] while Will Hermes wrote in Rolling Stone that Lambert incorporated both traditional and alternative elements from country into her homespun, feminine perspective.^[12] Spin magazine's Dan Hyman was less enthusiastic, singling out the collaborations on "Smokin' and Drinkin'" and "Something Bad" as contrived appeals to pop audiences on what was an otherwise consistent and carefully crafted record.^[13]

At the end of 2014, Platinum was voted the 12th best album of the year in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics published by The Village Voice.^[21] Christgau, the poll's creator, named it the year's second best record in his year-end list for The Barnes & Noble Review.^[22] The album was also ranked fifth and nineteenth best by Rolling Stone and Spin, respectively.^[21] At the 2014 CMA Awards, it won in the "Album of the Year" category.^[23] It also earned Lambert the Best Country Album award at the 57th Grammy Awards in 2015.^[24]

Track listing

Source: Sony Music Nashville^[1]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Girls"	Nicolle Galyon Natalie Hemby Jimmy Robbins	3:35
2.	"Platinum"	Miranda Lambert Galyon Hemby	3:11
3.	"Little Red Wagon"	Audra Mae Joe Ginsberg	3:24
4.	"Smokin' and Drinkin'" (featuring Little Big Town)	Hemby Luke Laird Shane McAnally	5:30
5.	"Priscilla"	Galyon Hemby Robbins	3:26
6.	"Automatic"	Lambert Galyon Hemby	4:07
7.	"Bathroom Sink"	Lambert	4:05
8.	"Old Shit"	Brent Cobb Neil Mason	2:45
9.	"All That's Left" (featuring The Time Jumpers)	Dixie Hall Tom T. Hall	3:11
10.	"Gravity Is a Bitch"	Lambert Scotty Wray	3:08
11.	"Babies Makin' Babies"	Galyon Hemby Robbins	2:56
12.	"Somethin' Bad" (duet with Carrie Underwood)	Chris DeStefano Brett James Priscilla Renea	2:49
13.	"Holding on to You"	Lambert Jessi Alexander Ashley Monroe	4:32
14.	"Two Rings Shy"	Lambert Brandy Clark Heather Little	3:18
15.	"Hard Staying Sober"	Lambert	4:28
16.	"Another Sunday in the South"	Lambert	3:50
Total length:			58:15

Personnel

Musicians

• Brad Albin – upright bass on "All That's Left"
• Jessi Alexander – background vocals
• Richard Bennett – banjo, bouzouki, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, tiple
• Jams Byous – background vocals
• Matt Chamberlain – drums, percussion
• Dr. G.K. Drakoulias – background vocals
• Glen Duncan – fiddle, acoustic guitar, mandolin
• Fred Eltringham – percussion
• Karen Fairchild – background vocals on "Smokin' and Drinkin'"
• Larry Franklin – fiddle and background vocals on "All That's Left"
• Paul Franklin – steel guitar on "All That's Left"
• Nicole Galyon – background vocals
• Vince Gill – electric guitar and background vocals on "All That's Left"
• Warren Givins – background vocals
• Ranger Doug Green – acoustic guitar and background vocals on "All That's Left"
• Mallary Hope Whitener – background vocals
• Jedd Hughes – electric guitar, baritone guitar
• John Barlow Jarvis – keyboards, piano, synthesizer
• Carolyn Dawn Johnson – background vocals
• Jay Joyce – dobro, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, mandolin, Hammond organ, synthesizer
• Miranda Lambert – lead vocals
• Stephanie Lambring – background vocals
• Greg Leisz – acoustic guitar, steel guitar
• Heather Little – background vocals
• Audra Mae – background vocals
• Gene Miller – background vocals
• Ashley Monroe – background vocals
• Eddie "Scarlito" Perez – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Marty Raybon – background vocals
• Andy Reiss – electric guitar on "All That's Left"
• Mike Rojas – piano, synthesizer
• Mando Saenz – harmonica
• Kimberly Schlapman – background vocals on "Smokin' and Drinkin'"
• Randy Scruggs – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, national steel guitar, slide guitar
• Dawn Sears – vocals on "All That's Left"
• Kenny Sears – fiddle and background vocals on "All That's Left"
• Aubrie Sellers – background vocals
• Gwen Sebastian – background vocals
• Joe Spivey – fiddle and background vocals on "All That's Left"
• Chris Stapleton – background vocals
• Harry Stinson – background vocals
• Phillip Sweet – background vocals on "Smokin' and Drinkin'"
• Jeff Taylor – accordion, piano, and background vocals on "All That's Left"
• Billy Thomas – drums on "All That's Left"
• Carrie Underwood – vocals on "Somethin' Bad"
• Jimi Westbrook – background vocals on "Smokin' and Drinkin'"
• Glenn Worf – bass guitar, upright bass

Production

• Chuck Ainlay – Engineer, Mixing
• Dave Bianco – Engineer
• Paul Cossette – Assistant
• Brittany Hamlin – Production coordination
• Kam Luchterhand – Assistant
• Gavin Lurssen – Mastering
• Randee St. Nicholas – Photography
• Matt Rausch – Engineer
• Leslie Richter – Assistant
• Brandon Schexnayder – Assistant
• Matt Wheeler – Engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2014–15)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[25]	8
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[26]	1
UK Country Albums Chart[27]	2
US Billboard 200[28]	1
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[29]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2014)	Position
US Billboard 200[30]	30
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[31]	8

Chart (2015)	Position
US Billboard 200[32]	76
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[33]	15

References

1. "Miranda Lambert Sets ACM Record With 5 Consecutive Female Vocalist Of The Year Wins". April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
2. "Miranda to Perform with Carrie Underwood on 2014 Billboard Music Awards". mirandalambert.com. May 7, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
3. "Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood Ace "Something Bad"". CMT. June 4, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
4. "Miranda Announces Crystal Light Presents Platinum Tour". mirandalambert.com. May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
5. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (June 2, 2014). "Platinum - Miranda Lambert | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
6. Bernstein, Jonathan (June 10, 2014). "Miranda Lambert: Platinum". American Songwriter. ForASong Media, LLC. ISSN 0896-8993. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
7. Christgau, Robert (December 12, 2014). "Expert Witness". Cuepoint. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
8. Maerz, Melissa (June 4, 2014). "Platinum Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. ISSN 1049-0434. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
9. Macpherson, Alex (June 12, 2014). "Miranda Lambert: Platinum review – righteous swagger from country star". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
10. Wood, Mikael (June 3, 2014). "Miranda Lambert catches a spark on exuberant 'Platinum'". Los Angeles Times. Eddy Hartenstein for the Tribune Company. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
11. Sweeney, Joe (June 4, 2014). "Miranda Lambert: Platinum". PopMatters. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
12. Hermes, Will (June 1, 2014). "Miranda Lambert 'Platinum' Album Review". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
13. Hyman, Dan (June 1, 2014). "Miranda Lambert, 'Platinum' Review". Spin. SpinMedia. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
14. Shriver, Jerry (June 1, 2014). "Miranda Lambert's 'Platinum' sounds golden". USA Today. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
15. Caulfield, Keith (11 June 2014). "Miranda Lambert Earns First No. 1 Album On Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
16. "Weekly Music Sales Report and Analysis for June 11, 2014". ajournalofmusicalthings.com. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
17. Bjorke, Matt (November 30, 2015). "Top 10 Country Albums Chart: November 30, 2015". Roughstock. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
18. "American album certifications – Miranda Lambert – Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 1, 2016. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.
19. "Reviews for Platinum". Metacritic. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
20. Caramanica, Jon (June 2, 2014). "Miranda Lambert, Country's Sophisticated Radical". The New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
21. "Platinum". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
22. Christgau, Robert (March 10, 2015). "Excuses, Excuses: The 2014 Dean's List". The Barnes & Noble Review. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
23. Stephen L. Betts (November 5, 2014). "Miranda Lambert's 'Platinum' Wins CMA Album of the Year". RollingStone.
24. "57th Grammy Nominees". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
25. "Australiancharts.com – Miranda Lambert – Platinum". Hung Medien.
26. "Miranda Lambert – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Miranda Lambert.
27. "Archive Chart". UK Albums Chart. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
28. "Miranda Lambert – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Miranda Lambert.
29. "Miranda Lambert – Chart history" Billboard Top Country Albums for Miranda Lambert.
30. "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard.
31. "Top Country Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
32. "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
33. "Top Country Albums: 2015 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2015.

External links

• Platinum at Discogs (list of releases)