Wildfire (Rachel Platten album)

Wildfire is the third studio album and the first major record label debut album by American singer and songwriter Rachel Platten. It was released on January 1, 2016, by Columbia Records and Sony Music Entertainment.[2]

Wildfire
Studio album by
Rachel Platten
ReleasedJanuary 1, 2016 (2016-01-01)
Recorded2015
GenrePop[1]
Length40:48
Label
Producer
Rachel Platten chronology
Fight Song
(2015)		 Wildfire
(2016)		 Waves
(2017)
Singles from Wildfire
  1. "Fight Song"
    Released: February 19, 2015
  2. "Stand by You"
    Released: September 11, 2015
  3. "Better Place"
    Released: May 9, 2016

The album was a commercial success. It debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, with 45,000 album-equivalent units (29,000 from pure album sales) in its first week. On March 9, 2016, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and streaming equivalent units of 500,000 units.

The album includes "Fight Song", released in February 2015, which peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the charts in Scotland and the United Kingdom. The album's second single, "Stand by You", was released on September 11, 2015.[3] The album's third single, "Better Place", was released on March 24, 2016. The album was promoted by Platten's first Headline tour "The Wildfire tour".

Promotion

Singles

On February 19, 2015, "Fight Song" was released as the lead single from Platten's Fight Song EP. "Fight Song" peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the UK Singles Chart. "Stand by You" was released as the lead single from Wildfire on September 11, 2015.[3] It has since peaked at number thirty seven on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] The songs "Lone Ranger", "Beating Me Up", and "Congratulations" were available as pre-order singles (previously released as part of the Fight Song EP), as well as "Better Place". On March 24, 2016, "Better Place" was released as the third single from the album.

Tour

To promote the album, Platten embarked on her first headlining concert tour, entitled The Wildfire Tour. The tour began on February 26, 2016, in Dallas, Texas[5] and ended in November 2016 in Los Angeles.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic52/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The Boston GlobePositive[8]
Digital JournalA[9]
The Guardian[10]
The Herald-StandardPositive[11]
The Irish Times[1]
Starpulse[12]
The Red and BlackPositive[13]

Wildfire received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 52 out of 100, which indicates "mixed or average reviews" based on four reviews.[6] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album three out of five stars and states: "Platten specializes in skyscraping melodies and big, bombastic surfaces and these are the elements that not only fuel Wildfire, they distinguish it from the singer/songwriter's clear antecedents."[7] At Digital Journal, Markos Papadatos rated the album an "A", affirming that "Rachel Platten has set the bar high already with her brand new album, Wildfire. There are no filler tracks on this release. It garners an A rating."[9] Tony Clayton-Lea of The Irish Times rated the album three stars out of five and states the songs are "Pop songs built to withstand a wrecking ball."[1] In a positive review for The Red and Black, Emma Korstanje writes the album "is made memorable by her juxtaposition of sassy, confident songs with others featuring raw emotion."[13]

Track listing
Standard edition[2]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Stand by You"
Levine3:39
2."Hey Hey Hallelujah" (featuring Andy Grammer)
Levine2:56
3."Speechless"
Levine3:19
4."Beating Me Up"
Levine3:09
5."Fight Song"
Levine3:24
6."Better Place"
Levine2:56
7."Lone Ranger"
West3:10
8."You Don't Know My Heart"
  • Platten
  • Robert Hawkins
Levine3:34
9."Angels in Chelsea"
  • Levine
  • West
3:56
10."Astronauts"
  • Platten
  • Bassett
Levine3:37
11."Congratulations"
Levine3:46
12."Superman"
Levine3:22
Total length:40:48
Target bonus tracks[14]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Lonely Planet"
Levine3:09
14."Stand by You" (Acoustic)
  • Platten
  • Levine
  • Antonoff
  • Williams
  • Morris
Levine3:53
15."Speechless" (Acoustic)
  • Platten
  • Lambroza
  • McDonald
Levine3:31
Total length:51:21
Japan bonus tracks[15]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
16."Fight Song" (Dave Aude Remix)
  • Platten
  • Bassett
Levine3:21
17."Stand By You" (DJ Mike D Remix)
  • Platten
  • Antonoff
  • Williams
  • Levine
  • Morris
Levine3:22
Total length:58:04

Personnel

Musicians

  • Rachel Platten – vocals (all tracks), piano (5, 7), acoustic guitar (7)
  • Jon Levine – bass, keyboards (1–6, 8, 10–12); drum programming (1), piano (1, 3, 4, 6, 8–12), guitar (2, 5, 11), organ (2, 7, 9), programming (2–5, 8, 10–12), strings (4)
  • Aaron Sterling – drums (1, 3, 4, 8, 10)
  • Jon Sosin – guitar (1, 3, 4, 6, 11), ukulele (4)
  • Donald Hayes – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone (2)
  • Jacob Sceney – baritone saxophone (2)
  • Lemar Guillary – trombone (2)
  • Cameron Johnson – trumpet (2)
  • Andy Grammer – vocals (2)
  • Evan Kidd Bogart – vocals (2)
  • Simon Huber – cello (3, 6, 11)
  • Andrew Wells – guitar (3)
  • Sonia Rao – violin (3)
  • The International Agape Choir – background vocals (7)
  • Marc Rogers – bass (7)
  • Dash Hutton – drums (7, 9)
  • Brian West – programming (7, 9), synthesizer (7); guitar, vocals (9)
  • Aubrey Cleland – background vocals (9)
  • Donnie Anderson – background vocals (9)
  • Nash Overstreet – background vocals, electric guitar, percussion (9)
  • Maxwell Roach – drums (12)

Technical

  • Tom Coyne – mastering
  • Eric Boulanger – mastering (7, 11)
  • Joe Zook – mixing (1–6, 8–12)
  • Nick Radovanovic – mixing (7)
  • Dan Piscina – engineering
  • Brian West – engineering (7, 9)
  • Scott Elgin – engineering (7, 9)
  • Jeremy Miller – engineering assistance (2)

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[32] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Version Format Label Ref.
Worldwide January 1, 2016 Standard
Sony Music [2]
United States Deluxe CD Columbia [14]
Japan April 13, 2016
  • Digital download
  • CD
 Sony Music Japan [15]

References
  1. Clayton-Lea, Tony (December 31, 2015). "Rachel Platten - Wildfire: Pop songs built to withstand a wrecking ball". The Irish Times. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  2. Worldwide release of the standard edition of Wildfire:
  3. "Rachel Platten Premieres New Single "Stand By You": Listen Now!". directlyrics.com.
  4. "Rachel Platten - Chart history | Billboard". Billboard. United States. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  5. Gracie, Bianca (December 3, 2015). "Rachel Platten Unveils Wildfire Album Cover Art & Tracklist". Idolator. United States: SpinMedia. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  6. "Reviews for Wildfire by Rachel Platten". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  7. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Wildfire - Rachel Platten — Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  8. Johnston, Maura (January 7, 2016). "Album review: Rachel Platten, 'Wildfire'". Boston Globe. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  9. Papadatos, Markos (December 31, 2015). "Review: Rachel Platten amazing on new 'Wildfire' studio album". Digital Journal. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  10. Gibsone, Harriet (January 7, 2016). "Rachel Platten: Wildfire review – the soundtrack to a thousand teen dramas". The Guardian. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  11. "Music review: Rachel Platten- 'Wildfire'". The Herald-Standard. January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  12. Faulkner, Brent M (January 4, 2016). "Rachel Platten Warms Up January With Her Empowering 'Wildfire'". Starpulse.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  13. Korstanje, Emma (January 6, 2016). "Rachel Platten on the cusp of greatness with new album 'Wildfire'". The Red and Black. Natalie McClure. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  14. "Rachel Platten - Wildfire - Target Exclusive : Target". Target. January 1, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  15. "Wildfire (Japan Version) by Rachel Platten on Apple Music". iTunes Store (JP) (in Japanese). April 13, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  16. "Australiancharts.com – Rachel Platten – Wildfire". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  17. "Ultratop.be – Rachel Platten – Wildfire" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  18. "Rachel Platten Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  19. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 1, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  20. "ワイルドファイア | Rachel Platten | ORICON STYLE". Oricon.co.jp. 2016-05-16. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
  21. "Charts.nz – Rachel Platten – Wildfire". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  22. "Norwegiancharts.com – Rachel Platten – Wildfire". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  23. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  24. "2016년 02주차 Album Chart". gaon chart. 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  25. "Swedishcharts.com – Rachel Platten – Wildfire". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  26. "Swisscharts.com – Rachel Platten – Wildfire". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  27. "Weekly Top 20 – Five Music Chart 2016/05/27 – 2016/06/2" (in Chinese). Five Music. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  28. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  29. "Rachel Platten Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  30. "Årslista Album – År 2016" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  31. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  32. "American album certifications – Rachel Platten – Wildfire". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
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