We Are (Jon Batiste album)
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| We Are | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Jon Batiste - We Are.png | ||||
| Studio album by Jon Batiste | ||||
| Released | March 19, 2021 | |||
| Recorded | 2019–2020 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:01 | |||
| Label | Verve | |||
| Producer |
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| Jon Batiste chronology | ||||
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| Singles from We Are (Jon Batiste album) | ||||
| We Are ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Albumism |   [1] |
| AllMusic |  [2] |
| Rolling Stone | [3] |
| The Spill Magazine | [4] |
We Are (stylized in all caps) is the sixth studio album by Jon Batiste. It was released on Verve Records on March 19, 2021.[5] In April 2022, We Are won Album of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards; it earned Batiste nine nominations in total, with five wins.[6]
Following the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, We Are reached its peak at number 25 on the US Billboard 200 with 18,000 album equivalent units.[7]
Contents
Background
Batiste began working on the album in late 2019, making it in his dressing room over six days in September and finishing it by mid-2020. While largely written and recorded prior to the events of 2020, the album's lyrical and thematic content reflects such events as the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and his involvement in 2020, leading Black Lives Matter protests in New York after the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.[5][8]
On June 12, 2020, he released the single "We Are", featuring the band from his New Orleans alma mater, the St. Augustine High School Marching 100.[9]
As part of Record Store Day 2020, Batiste released a limited edition EP titled We Are: Roots & Traditions.[10]
The album also features Mavis Staples, Zadie Smith, PJ Morton, and Trombone Shorty.[11][5]
Speaking to Atwood Magazine, Batiste described We Are as "a representation of genreless music that's just about the story" and "a culmination of my life to this point".[5]
Batiste released a deluxe edition of the album on October 15, 2021.[12]
Awards and nominations
Grammy Awards
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Album of the Year | We Are | Won | [13] |
| Best R&B Album | Nominated | |||
| Record of the Year | "Freedom" | Nominated | ||
| Best Music Video | Won | |||
| Best Traditional R&B Performance | "I Need You" | Nominated | ||
| Best American Roots Performance | "Cry" | Won | ||
| Best American Roots Song | Won | |||
| Best Contemporary Classical Composition | Batiste: Movement 11' | Nominated |
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Jon Batiste, except where noted.
| We Are track listing | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "We Are" (featuring St. Augustine High School Marching 100, David Gauthier, Gospel Soul Children, Craig Adams, Braedon Gautier, Brennan Gautier, Autumn Rowe) | 4:24 |
| 2. | "Tell the Truth" | 3:21 |
| 3. | "Cry" | 3:57 |
| 4. | "I Need You" | 2:37 |
| 5. | "Whatchutalkinbout" | 2:21 |
| 6. | "Boy Hood" (featuring PJ Morton, Trombone Shorty) | 4:26 |
| 7. | "Movement 11'" | 2:01 |
| 8. | "Adulthood" (featuring Hot 8 Brass Band) | 3:41 |
| 9. | "Mavis" | 0:20 |
| 10. | "Freedom" | 2:58 |
| 11. | "Show Me the Way" (featuring Zadie Smith) | 3:40 |
| 12. | "Sing" | 3:07 |
| 13. | "Until" | 1:03 |
|
Total length:
|
37:56 | |
All songs written and composed by Jon Batiste, except where noted.
| We Are (The Deluxe Edition) track listing | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "I Need You" | 2:35 |
| 2. | "Freedom" | 2:57 |
| 3. | "Cry" | 3:55 |
| 4. | "Boy Hood" (featuring PJ Morton, Trombone Shorty) | 4:25 |
| 5. | "Sing" (featuring Tori Kelly) | 3:11 |
| 6. | "We Are" (featuring St. Augustine High School Marching 100, David Gauthier, Gospel Soul Children, Craig Adams, Braedon Gautier, Brennan Gautier, Autumn Rowe) | 4:24 |
| 7. | "Tell the Truth" | 3:22 |
| 8. | "Adulthood" (featuring BJ the Chicago Kid) | 3:43 |
| 9. | "Whatchutalkinbout" | 2:19 |
| 10. | "Mavis" | |
| 11. | "Freedom" (Big Freedia Remix) | 2:52 |
| 12. | "Tell the Truth" (Uptown Remix - featuring Big Chief Romeo Bougere of the Mardi Gras Indian Show, Michael Batiste) | 3:15 |
| 13. | "Movement 11'" | 2:01 |
| 14. | "Work It Out" | 3:04 |
| 15. | "Adulthood" (featuring Hot 8 Brass Band) | 3:42 |
| 16. | "Show Me the Way" (featuring Zadie Smith) | 3:40 |
| 17. | "Sing" | 3:09 |
| 18. | "We Are" (Montmartre Remix - featuring Abi Bernadoth) | 3:19 |
| 19. | "Until" | 1:04 |
|
Total length:
|
57:27 | |
Personnel
Musicians
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- Jon Batiste – vocals, piano, upright piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, keyboards, organ, barrel organ, clavinet, Mellotron, 8 bit synth, Kawai synth, synth strings, guitar, alto saxophone, bass, Moog bass, synth bass, drums, drum machine, drum programming, cowbell, tambourine, bongos, theremin, producer, arranger, composer
- Craig Adams – conductor, organ
- David Gauthier – vocals
- Braedon Gautier – vocals
- Brennan Gautier – vocals
- Gospel Soul Children – vocals
- Tori Kelly – vocals
- David Pimentel – drums, producer, recording
- Autumn Rowe – composer, vocals
- Nate Smith – drums
- St. Augustine High School Marching 100 – brass band
- Cory Wong – guitar
- Sam Yahel – organ
- Mavis Staples – spoken word
- Zadie Smith – vocals
- PJ Morton – vocals
- Trombone Shorty – trombone
- Robert Randolph – pedal steel guitar[14]
- Steve Jordan – drums[14]
- Steve McEwan – acoustic guitar, composer[14]
- Endea Owens – double bass[15]
- Jahaan Sweet – composer
- Michelle Ross – violinist
- Louis Cato – guitar[16]
- Joe Saylor – tambourine[16]
- Emily King – vocals[17]
- Roberta Freeman – vocals[18]
- Carol Hatchett – vocals[19]
- Zach Cooper – composer
- Vic Dimotsis – composer
- Eric Frederic – composer
- Sunny Levine – composer
- Hot 8 Brass Band – brass band
- Nick Waterhouse - producer, guitar[20]
Technical
- Russell Elevado – recording
- Misha Kachkachishvili – recording
- Kizzo – composer, producer, recording
- Emerson Mancini – mastering engineer
- Manny Marroquin – mixing
- Marc Whitmore – recording, mixing
- Alex Williams – recording
- Karla Cordova – album art
- Suleika Jaouad – photography
- Quincy Jones – liner notes
- Ricky Reed – mixing
- Ryan Lynn – co executive producer
- Ken Oriole - recording
- John Muller – engineer
- Gavin Paddock - engineer, mix engineer[20]
- David Andersen - second engineer[20]
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (2021–2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Jazz and Blues Albums (ARIA)[21] | 1 |
| Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA)[22] | 5 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[23] | 35 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] | 191 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25] | 175 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[26] | 81 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[27] | 61 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28] | 66 |
| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[29] | 92 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] | 39 |
| UK Digital Albums (OCC)[31] | 25 |
| US Billboard 200[32] | 25 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[33] | 14 |
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| 9 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2021) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Jazz and Blues Albums (ARIA)[34] | 28 |
References
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- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Jon Batiste – We Are" (in German). Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Jon Batiste – We Are" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Jon Batiste – We Are" (in French). Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Illegal name entered Jon Batiste/Template:BillboardEncode/J/chart?f=309 Jon Batiste – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Jon Batiste.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Jon Batiste – We Are". Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jon Batiste – We Are" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Jon Batiste – We Are". Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ↑ Illegal name entered Jon Batiste/Template:BillboardEncode/J/chart?f=305 "Jon Batiste – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Jon Batiste.
- ↑ "Illegal name entered Jon Batiste/Template:BillboardEncode/J/chart?f=333 Jon Batiste – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Jon Batiste.
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