Head or Heart

Head or Heart is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Christina Perri, released on April 1, 2014, via Atlantic Records.[4][5][6][7] It was originally expected to be released on March 11, 2014, but was pushed back to April 1, 2014.[8]

"The Words (song)" redirects here. For other songs, see Word (disambiguation) and The Word (disambiguation).

Head or Heart
Studio album by
Christina Perri
ReleasedApril 1, 2014 (2014-04-01)
Recorded2013
StudioSticky Studios (Los Angeles, California)[1]
Genre
Length49:52
LabelAtlantic
Producer
Christina Perri chronology
Lovestrong
(2011)		 Head or Heart
(2014)		 Songs for Carmella: Lullabies & Sing-a-Longs[2]
(2019)
Singles from Head or Heart
  1. "Human"
    Released: November 18, 2013
  2. "Burning Gold"
    Released: June 9, 2014[3]
  3. "The Words"
    Released: January 26, 2015

Background

In an interview with Pollstar's Sarah Marie Pittman published on April 25, 2014, Perri described the pressure surrounding the writing of her second album as unavoidable, stating: "I had to completely trick myself, to be quite honest, and pretend that absolutely nobody was going to listen."[1]

The first song that she wrote for the album was "Trust", according to Perri, which inspired the rest of the album.[1] She wrote it by herself for three months and then along with other songwriters for another three months, and recorded a total of 49 songs that she had to choose from for the album by May 2013. Perri says that these 13 songs that she has chosen for the album "were what I think are pure songs, where I wasn't trying."[1]

Perri began tweeting and posting pictures on Instagram about the progress of her second studio album using the hashtag "#albumtwo", and on June 21, 2013, announced that the second album was coming together.[9] On November 11, 2013, Perri announced that her first single from her new album, called "Human", would be released on iTunes on November 18, 2013.[10] On November 28, 2013, Perri revealed that her second album would be titled Head or Heart and is due to be released in March 2014.[11] Perri confessed during an interview with Radio.com that she felt burnt out after promoting her last album, Lovestrong (2011). She revealed, "I didn't want to do anything that wasn't genuine, and I was afraid of phoning it in or forcing anything. [...] I remember laying on the floor of my house just crying. Good crying and sad crying at the same time. I was just trying to believe the things that had happened."[12]

Recording and production

The album was recorded in 2013 with producers Martin Johnson, Jake Gosling, John Hill and Butch Walker.[4] She recorded nine of the album's songs with Gosling near London over an eight-week period before returning to Los Angeles to record the remaining four tracks.[1]

In a December 2013 interview with Radio.com, Perri revealed she had worked with Ed Sheeran on a track called "Be My Forever". She stated:

I was the most in love I may have ever been in my whole life, which is awesome because I knew I had a happy song in me. ... As much as I love the heart-wrenching stuff, I didn't want to force a happy song, and I think you can always tell when a song is fake. I remember going in the studio with this guy and him looking at me and I was glowing. And I'm like, "I'm so sorry. I'm in love. This is going to be awful. We're never going to write a song."[12]

Promotion

In support of the album, Perri embarked on a two-month tour across North America. The Head or Heart Tour took place in the spring of 2014, from April 4 through May 26: it began in Denver, Colorado, and ended in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[4][5]

Singles

"Human" was released as the first single from the album on November 18, 2013.[10] As of June 2014, the single has sold over a million digital copies in the US.[13] "Burning Gold" was released as the second single in the United Kingdom on June 9, 2014. The accompanying music video premiered on August 1, 2014.

Her third single off the album, "The Words" was released on January 26, 2015 along with the music video, starring Colin O'Donoghue and directed by Iouri Philippe Paillé.

Reception

Commercial performance

Head or Heart debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200, selling 40,000 copies in its first week.[14]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Newsday(B-)[16]
The Observer[17]

Upon its release, Head or Heart was met with generally mixed reviews from music critics. James Christopher Monger of AllMusic awarded the album 3 and a half out of 5 stars, and described the album as "more confident than her debut, yet retaining much of its vulnerability".[15] In a 2 out of 5 stars review for The Guardian, Phil Mongredien stated that the album is "heavy on big, earnest ballads that – with the exception of the soaring 'Sea of Lovers' – are more technically proficient than engaging."[17]

Track listing

Credits adapted from booklet.

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Trust"Christina PerriJake Gosling3:32
2."Burning Gold"
3:45
3."Be My Forever" (featuring Ed Sheeran)
Gosling3:20
4."Human"
  • Perri
  • Martin Johnson
Johnson4:10
5."One Night"
Gosling3:06
6."I Don't Wanna Break"
  • Antonoff
  • Hill
3:53
7."Sea of Lovers"
  • Perri
  • Jim Eliot
Gosling3:37
8."The Words"
Walker4:14
9."Lonely Child"
  • Perri
  • Griffin
Gosling3:45
10."Run"PerriGosling4:20
11."Butterfly"PerriGosling3:47
12."Shot Me in the Heart"
  • Perri
  • Scott
Gosling3:43
13."I Believe"
  • Perri
  • Hodges
Gosling4:41
Total length:49:53
Google Play bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Human" (uncovered version)Christina Perri4:19
Total length:54:12

Charts
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 23
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 41
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 80
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 130
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22] 6
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23] 44
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 72
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[25] 27
Irish Albums (IRMA)[26] 14
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 9
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 16
UK Albums (OCC)[29] 8
US Billboard 200[30] 4

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[31] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Country Date Format(s) Label Ref
United States April 1, 2014
  • CD
  • digital download
 Atlantic [32]

Credits

Credits are adapted from AllMusic.[33]

References
  1. Pittman, Sarah Marie (April 25, 2014). "What Christina Perri Believes". Pollstar. Archived from the original on April 27, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  2. Sands, Nicole (December 14, 2018). "Christina Perri Announces Lullaby Album Dedicated to Daughter Carmella". People. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  3. "Christina Perri Releases Second Single 'Burning Gold' Released In The UK 9th June 2014". Contact Music. May 9, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  4. Lipshutz, Jason. "Christina Perri Announces 'Head or Heart' Album, Spring Tour Dates". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  5. Daw, Robbie (December 9, 2013). "Christina Perri Announces 'Head Or Heart' Album, Two-Month Spring 2014 Tour". Idolator. Spin Media. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  6. "Christina Perri Announces Second Album, Tour". The Hollywood Reporter. December 10, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  7. Carlin, Shannon (December 9, 2013). "Christina Perri Announces New Album 'Head or Heart'". Radio.com. CBS Radio. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  8. "Head or Heart by Christina Perri". iTunes. April 2014.
  9. Perri, Christina. "Twitter / christinaperri: album two is finally coming ..." Twitter. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  10. Atlantic Records. "Christina Perri Unveils Long Awaited New Single "Human", Acclaimed Singer/Songwriter Set for Release Day Visit to Nationally Syndicated Queen Latifah Show; Single Heralds Massively Anticipated Sophomore Album, Due Spring 2014 – Yahoo Finance". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  11. "Twitter / christinaperri: thanksgiving day surprise ..." Twitter. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  12. Reuter, Annie (December 23, 2013). "Christina Perri & Ed Sheeran Team Up On 'Be My Forever'". Radio.com. CBS Radio. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  13. Paul Grein (June 11, 2014). "Chart Watch: Sam Smith Zooms Into Top 10". Yahoo Music.
  14. Caulfield, Keith (April 9, 2014). "5 Seconds Of Summer Debuts At No. 2 on Billboard 200; 'Frozen' Still No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  15. Monger, James Christopher. "Head or Heart – Christina Perri". AllMusic. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  16. Gamboa, Glenn (March 31, 2014). "Christina Perri's 'Head or Heart' review: Balancing thoughts, feelings". Newsday. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  17. Mongredien, Phil. "Head or Heart review – Christina Perri sticks to the big-ballad template". The Guardian. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  18. "Australiancharts.com – Christina Perri – Head Or Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  19. "Austriancharts.at – Christina Perri – Head Or Heart" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  20. "Ultratop.be – Christina Perri – Head Or Heart" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  21. "Ultratop.be – Christina Perri – Head Or Heart" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  22. "Christina Perri Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Christina Perri – Head Or Heart" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  24. "Offiziellecharts.de – Christina Perri – Head Or Heart" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  25. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2014. 19. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  26. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 14, 2014". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  27. 6, 2014/40/ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  28. "Swisscharts.com – Christina Perri – Head Or Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  29. "Christina Perri | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  30. "Christina Perri Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  31. "American single certifications – Christina Perri – Head or Heart". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  32. "Head or Heart: Music". Amazon. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  33. "Head or Heart – Christina Perri". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
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