Love on the Inside is the third album by the American country music duo Sugarland, released in 2008 (see 2008 in country music) on Mercury Nashville Records. It was first released on July 22, 2008 as a Deluxe Fan Edition, including five bonus tracks, with the regular edition following one week later. The album has produced three chart singles in "All I Want to Do", "Already Gone" and "It Happens", all Number One hits on the Billboard country singles charts. The fourth single, "Joey", reached Top 20. The release of the fifth single "Keep You" was cancelled. It is also the first album of the duo's career to reach Number One on Top Country Albums and The Billboard Top 200.

The album has been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA with sales of over 2 million copies in the U.S. http

Release

The deluxe fan edition of Love on the Inside was released on July 22, 2008, which included 17 tracks in special packaging with an expanded CD booklet and access to download exclusive music video and behind the scenes footage. The deluxe fan edition was also released on vinyl record. Love on the Inside regular edition consisted of 12 songs and a regular CD booklet and was released on July 29.

Content

"All I Want to Do", the album's lead-off single, debuted on the Hot Country Songs charts at #27 for the chart week of June 7, 2008 and became the duo's third Number One hit on that chart. Following it was "Already Gone" and "It Happens", which also went to Number One on the same chart in January and May 2009, respectively. All three of these singles were co-written by Sugarland's members (Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles) along with Bobby Pinson, with whom the duo also co-wrote their 2006 single "Want To". "Joey", which Sugarland wrote with Bill Anderson, was released in July 2009 as the fourth single.

Originally instead of "It Happens", "Love" was scheduled to be the third single from the album. A live music video was made to promote this song and was ranked #46 on GAC's Top 50 Videos of 2009 list. The song "Keep You" was planned as the fifth single from the album; although a music video was made for the song, its release to radio was cancelled.

Of the five bonus tracks included on the Deluxe Fan Edition, two are live recordings of cover songs: "Life in a Northern Town", originally by The Dream Academy, and "Come On Get Higher", originally by Matt Nathanson. The former, which features guest vocals from Little Big Town and Jake Owen, had charted earlier in 2008 (before the release of "All I Want to Do") based on unsolicited airplay that brought the live recording to #28 on the country charts. Footage of the live performance also aired as a music video on CMT.

Chart performance

The album debuted at #2 on US Billboard 200 chart as well as #1 on Top Country Albums chart, with 313,734 copies sold in its first week. The album was held off the top spot by Miley Cyrus' album Breakout which sold 371,660 in its first week. The second week, the album climbed to #1 on US Billboard 200, becoming the duo's first #1 album.

The album has been certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America with sales of over 2 million copies in the United States.

Reception

Love on the Inside has received mostly favorable reviews from music critics, with many reviews focusing on the song selection and Nettles' vocal performance, as well as the production of Byron Gallimore, who also produced the duo's 2006 album Enjoy the Ride. Thom Jurek of Allmusic gave the album four stars out of five, commends the use of minimal overdubs in the production. Of the song choices, he said, "While this set is saturated with hunger and ambition, it's also confident and sophisticated — the album sounds as if they meant every word but had a great time making it." He cited "We Run", "Joey" and "Love" as standout tracks. Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly gave it an A- rating, saying that the album's ballads recalled Mary Chapin Carpenter and Rodney Crowell, while other tracks such as "All I want to Do" were "goofy, areana-ready crowd-pleasers". Billboard critic Ken Tucker also gave a positive review, saying that Gallimore's production was "finely crafted" and that "All I Want to Do" was a "tantalizing tease" of the album's breadth.

Chuck Eddy of Blender magazine gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that the album recalled 1980s rock bands such as The Bangles, and that by doing so, it kept "their more tepid tendencies in check." The album received a three-star rating (out of five) from Slant Magazine reviewer Jonathan Keefe, who said that the songs recalled rock acts such as Def Leppard, R.E.M. and Concrete Blonde, and called "All I Want to Do" the "most grotesque thing shipped to radio since Jessica Simpson's cover of 'These Boots Are Made for Walkin''." He also said that "Genevieve", "Keep You" and "Already Gone" were the best songs of the duo's career and described the "Life in a Northern Town" cover favorably.

Matt C. was less favorable in his review for The 9513, giving Love on the Inside a two-and-a-half star rating out of five. He considered the album's melodies, themes and instrumentations to be largely homogenous, and criticized the ballads for containing underdeveloped choruses, but cited "Steve Earle" and "Very Last Country Song" as standout tracks.

Personnel

As listed in liner notes.

Sugarland

*Kristian Bush – background vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitar, harmonica; second lead vocals on "Love", "Life in a Northern Town" and "Come On Get Higher"

*Jennifer Nettles – lead vocals, background vocals, percussion, 12-string guitar

Additional musicians

*David Angell – violin

*Thad Beaty – acoustic guitar, background vocals

*Brandon Bush – clavinet, Hammond B-3 organ, accordion, synthesizer, piano, background vocals

*Paul Bushnell – bass guitar

*John Catchings – cello

*Matt Chamberlain – drums, percussion

*Annie Clements – bass guitar, background vocals

*David Davidson – violin

*Dan Dugmore – acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, electric guitar, banjo, steel guitar, Dobro

*Shannon Forrest – drums, percussion

*Michael Landau – electric guitar

*Greg Morrow – drums

*Travis McNabb – drums, percussion

*Scott Patton – electric guitar, background vocals

*Kristin Wilkinson – viola

*"The Sugarland Family Singers" – background vocals on "All I Want to Do"

String orchestration on "Keep You" by Kristin Wilkinson, strings arranged by Brandon Bush.

Chart performance

Album

End of year charts

Singles

Other charted songs

References

Category:2008 albums

Category:Sugarland albums

Category:Albums produced by Byron Gallimore

Category:Mercury Records albums

pt:Love on the Inside

Artist/Band Information

Sugarland, an American country music duo, is composed of singer–songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (background vocals, lead vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitar, and harmonica). Sugarland was founded in 2002 by Kristen Hall with Bush and ultimately became a trio after hiring Jennifer Nettles as lead singer. After three years, Hall left the group.

Signed to Mercury Nashville Records in 2004, Sugarland broke through that year with the release of their debut single "Baby Girl", the first single from their multi-platinum debut album Twice the Speed of Life. The trio became a duo in 2006, when they also released their second album, Enjoy the Ride. This album produced their first two #1 singles (in the U.S.), "Want To" and "Settlin'", and won the duo a Grammy for "Stay". In 2008 they released their third album, titled Love on the Inside. This album produced three more #1 singles with "All I Want to Do", "Already Gone"and "It Happens". Their fourth album, The Incredible Machine was released on October 19, 2010 in both a standard and deluxe edition. Upon "The Incredible Machine" being certified platinum, Sugarland's physical album sales exceed 9 million copies, with an additional 5 million digital tracks sold.

Career

2004–2005, Twice the Speed of Life

Jennifer Nettles grew up in the small town of Douglas, Georgia. Nettles, Bush, and Hall were regulars in Atlanta's folk-rock scene in the 1990s and early 2000s before Sugarland was formed, playing frequently at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, Georgia, which Nettles' ex-husband owned for a time.

Sugarland's debut album, Twice the Speed of Life, was released Oct. 26, 2004. Serving as its lead-off single was the song "Baby Girl", which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and set a record for the longest chart run since the inception of Nielsen SoundScan in 1990; it was also the highest-peaking debut single for a group in 13 years. Also released from the album were the singles "Something More", "Just Might (Make Me Believe)", and "Down in Mississippi (Up to No Good)", which peaked on the country charts at #2, #7, and #17, respectively. The album received Multi-Platinum certification for sales of three million copies, becoming their first album to achieve that status. In late 2005, the trio performed with Bon Jovi on Country Music Television's musical fusion show, Crossroads. Nettles sang with Bon Jovi on their single "Who Says You Can't Go Home". The song later went on to become a #1 hit on the country charts. They toured the U.S. and Canada performing with Brad Paisley in 2005 and in 2006–2007 with Kenny Chesney on his Flip Flop Summer Tour.

2006-2007, Enjoy the Ride

Kristen Hall left the group in December 2005. According to a statement released on January 17, 2006, by Nettles and Bush, Hall left the group to "stay home and write songs."

Sugarland was nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy and performed the song "Something More" at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2006. They also performed at the 2006 CMT Music Awards, where they received multiple nominations including Group/Duo Video of the Year for Just Might (Make Me Believe), Breakthrough Video of the Year for Something More, and Collaborative Video of the Year for Who Says You Can't Go Home. On November 7, 2006, the duo released their second album Enjoy the Ride. It sold 211,000 during its first week and opened at #4 on the US Top 200 and at #2 on the Top Country Albums charts. It went on to become their second album to achieve multi-platinum status for selling three million copies. The first two singles from this album — "Want To" and "Settlin'" — both reached Number One on the country music charts, while "Everyday America" and "Stay" were both Top Ten hits. A limited edition of the CD, sold exclusively at Wal-Mart, was released in late 2007 and included a 5-song Christmas EP. The EP contained one original song – "Little Wood Guitar" – written by Bush and Ellis Paul. USA Today included the song in a list of new Christmas songs released in 2007 "that might have some staying power."

In 2007, Sugarland performed at multiple award ceremonies, including the 2007 CMT Music Awards and the 2007 ACM awards. They performed a cover of Beyoncé Knowles' "Irreplaceable" at the American Music Awards. Knowles joined Sugarland on stage starting with the second verse. The performance drew some poor reviews with The Village Voice calling it "a well-intentioned mess," although other critics also noted that the crowd enjoyed the performance.

They appeared on The Tonight Show, and late in the year they headlined their first concert tour: the Change for Change Tour along with opening acts Little Big Town and Jake Owen. At the 41st CMA Awards, the group won the award for Vocal Duo of the Year.Country Music Association. Retrieved September 10, 2010.

Sugarland also appeared on a Sesame Street episode that first aired during Season 38 on September 14, 2007. During the segment they performed "Songs" with Elmo.MuppetWiki. September 14, 2007. Retrieved August 31, 2009. On November 26, 2007 they made a guest appearance in the "Car" episode of "Yo Gabba Gabba!".

2008–2009, Love on the Inside

In February 2007, Nettles and Bush began recording Love on the Inside as a follow up to Enjoy the Ride. The Deluxe Fan Edition was released on July 22, 2008, with the regular edition released one week later. The fan edition includes the duo's collaboration with Little Big Town and Jake Owen, a cover of The Dream Academy's 1985 hit "Life in a Northern Town". It also introduces four other bonus tracks, including "Fall Into Me", "Operation: Working Vacation", "Wishing", and a cover of Matt Nathanson's "Come On Get Higher".

The lead-off single was "All I Want to Do" which debuted at #27 on the country charts, the highest debut for the duo. In August 2008 the song became their third #1 single. The following single, "Already Gone", released on September 8, 2008, became their fourth #1 in January 2009.

Sugarland started the Love on the Inside Tour on September 13, 2008 in Asheville, North Carolina. It was their second headining tour. They were supported by Ashton Shepherd and Kellie Pickler and the tour concluded after 25 performances on November 16, 2008 in Bossier City, Louisiana.

In early December 2008, Sugarland received three Grammy Award nominations and performed on the 51st Annual Grammy Awards show on February 8, 2009. They won awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group.Grammy.com. (See Category 38 and Category 41.) Retrieved February 9, 2009.

On February 11, 2009, Sugarland received two nominations from the Academy of Country Music. They were nominated for Top Vocal Duo and Vocal Event of the Year for "Life in a Northern Town".Academy of Country Music. February 11, 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2009. During the broadcast of the April 5, 2009 awards show, Sugarland was presented with the Vocal Duo of the Year award, ending Brooks & Dunn's nine-year run.DeDekker, Jeff. Leader-Post, April 5, 2009. Retrieved April 6, 2009. Nettles also received a Milestone award, presented to her by Reba McEntire.McDonnell, Brandy (BAM's Blog). The Oklahoman, April 5, 2009. Retrieved April 6, 2009.

In March 2009, Sugarland toured in Europe starting with performances at military stations in Italy. They were scheduled to perform in France, the Netherlands, Germany, England, Scotland, and Ireland. Later in 2009 they joined Keith Urban in select cities as part of his Escape Together World Tour and joined Kenny Chesney on his Sun City Carnival Tour.NashvilleGab.com. February 10, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2009.

The third single from Love on the Inside, and 11th single overall, "It Happens", was released in February 2009 and became their fifth #1 in May 2009. The album's fourth single, "Joey" is a warning about drunkdriving, encouraging those sober to "take the keys," and thematically is heavily influenced by Concrete Blonde's 1990 single of the same name. It peaked at #17 on the US country charts.

On May 19, 2009, Sugarland received five CMT Award nominations including a nomination for Video of the Year.Gerome, John. . Associated Press, May 19, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009. They were presented the award for Video Duo of the Year at the award show that broadcasted on June 16, 2009.CMT.com . Retrieved June 17, 2009. During the awards show, they also performed "Love Shack" with a surprise appearance by the B-52's.CMT.com. . June 16, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2009.

On July 2, 2009 a performance that Sugarland recorded for Soundstage debuted on many PBS channels.Public Braodcasting Service. Retrieved July 3, 2009.

Sugarland's first live DVD/CD Live on the Inside was released exclusively through Wal-Mart stores on August 4, 2009.Country On Demand. June 16, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2009.

Sugarland released their first holiday album, Gold and Green on October 13, 2009. The album features five original songs and five traditional carols.Morran, Chris. Oklahoma Magazine, August 31, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.

Country Universe, a country music blog website, published a list of the top 32 selling country albums of 2009. Sugarland had four albums on the list with Love on the Inside (#10), Gold and Green (#26), Love on the Inside (#28), and Enjoy the Ride (#29).Country Universe. January 4, 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2011.

2010, The Incredible Machine

Sugarland's "It Happens" was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals when nominees for 52nd Annual Grammy Awards were announced on December 2, 2009.Gilbert, Calvin. CMT News. December 3, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2010. They lost to Lady Antebellum's "I Run To You". During the awards show, Jennifer Nettles teamed with Jon Bon Jovi for "Who Says You Can't Go Home".Suddath, Claire. Time, February 1, 2010. Retrieved October 25, 2010.

On February 1, 2010, Sugarland appeared with many other artists in the making of "We Are the World: 25 for Haiti" to benefit the Haitian earthquake relief efforts and the rebuilding of Haiti.We Are The World Foundation. Retrieved October 25, 2010.

On September 10, 2010, Sugarland appeared on The Today ShowAOL Music. September 10, 2010. Retrieved October 25, 2010. and performed "Stuck Like Glue" - the first single from their album The Incredible Machine, which was released on October 19, 2010 in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.Willman, Cris. Entertainment Weekly, October 13, 2010. Retrieved October 25, 2010. The album is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2011.

The American Express concert series Unstaged pairs Sugarland with director Kenny Ortega for a performance from New York City streamed live on October 18, 2010.Mansfield, Brian. USA Today, October 12, 2010. Retrieved October 13, 2010."I'm a complete geek," says Sugarland's Kristian Bush, "and I've been dreaming of how awesome it's going to be to play a show and stream it to people for a long time. Now, you can sit and reach a kid in Sevierville, Tenn., like I used to be, that might not ever get to New York. They'll be able to see a show like that and have the excitement of it being live and happening right now."

On November 29, 2010 Jennifer Nettles hosted the first CMA Country Christmas during which Sugarland also performed two holiday songs from their Christmas CD, Gold and Green.Country Music Association. PRNewsWire, October, 21 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2010.

On December 5, 2010, Sugarland performed at "The VH1 Divas Salute The Troops" show, hosted by Kathy Griffin, which aired on VH1. Other performers included Katy Perry, Keri Hilson, Nicki Minaj, Paramore and Grace Potter. Sugarland performed their country crossover single "Stuck Like Glue", after an introduction by supermodel Marisa Miller and Jennifer Nettles' brother, a member of the Air Force.Newsday.com. December 4, 2010. Retrieved December 9, 2010.

It was announced on January 11 that Sugarland was the #5 selling country album of 2010 with The Incredible Machine and the #3 selling digital country track of 2010 with their single "Stuck Like Glue".Roughstock January 11, 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2011.

On April 3, 2011 Sugarland will host and perform at the first annual ACM Fan Jam during the ACM awards show.The Boot January 17, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2011. Sugarland was also nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year and Video of the Year for "Stuck Like Glue" at the 46th annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

"Tonight" is set to be the second single released in the U.K. from "The Incredible Machine".

Touring

As opening act

* Time Well Wasted Tour (Brad Paisley, 2005)

* Long Haul Tour (Brooks & Dunn, 2006)

* Flip Flop Summer Tour (Kenny Chesney, 2006–2007)

* Escape Together World Tour (Keith Urban, 2009)

* Sun City Carnival Tour (Kenny Chesney, 2009)

* Lilith Fair Festival (Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair, 2010)

As headliner

* Change for Change Tour (with Little Big Town and Jake Owen, 2007)

* Love on the Inside Tour (with Kellie Pickler and Ashton Shepherd, 2008–2009)

* The Incredible Machine Tour (with Danny Gokey, Jake Owen, Luke Bryan, Little Big Town, Vonda Shepard, Randy Montana and Julianne Hough, 2010)

* The Incredible Machine Tour (with Sara Bareilles, Little Big Town, Matt Nathanson, and Casey James 2011).Smith, Jay. . Pollstar, January 5, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2010.

Lawsuit

In July 2008, Kristen Hall filed a lawsuit for $1.5 million against Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles stating that she was being excluded from sharing profits as had been agreed upon after her departure in 2005 to pursue a solo career.USA Today. August 8, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2009. Hall claims to have coined the name of the band and allowed Bush and Nettles "to obtain equal co-ownership of the trademark and service mark".Harrison, Shane. . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 8, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2009. Hall's name is listed on the trademark for "Sugarland". The lawsuit was eventually settled outside of court in November 2010. Details regarding the settlement agreement were not disclosed.Bluestein, Greg. . Associated Press via Yahoo! News, November 14, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2010.

Discography

;Albums

*2004: Twice the Speed of Life

*2006: Enjoy the Ride

*2008: Love on the Inside

*2010: The Incredible Machine

;U.S. #1 Country Singles

*"Want To" (2006) (2 weeks)

*"Settlin'" (2007)

*"All I Want To Do" (2008)

*"Already Gone" (2009)

*"It Happens" (2009) (2 weeks)

Awards

Sugarland has been nominated for 58 major music awards, winning 15 of those awards as noted below.

References