Is There Anybody Out There? (album)

Is There Anybody Out There? is the debut album from American pop duo A Great Big World. Its single "Say Something" achieved considerable success after Christina Aguilera heard the song, decided to collaborate and a re-recorded version was released.^[1]

Is There Anybody Out There?
Studio album by A Great Big World
Released	January 21, 2014
Recorded	2011–13
Genre	Pop pop rock
Length	44:30
Label	Black Magnetic Epic
Producer	Dan Romer Chris Kuffner John Alagía
A Great Big World chronology
Is There Anybody Out There? (2014) When the Morning Comes (2015)
Singles from Is There Anybody Out There?
"This Is the New Year" Released: May 21, 2013 "Say Something" Released: September 3, 2013 "Already Home" Released: April 21, 2014

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
New York Daily News	[3]
Newsday	(B+)[4]
USA Today	[5]

The reception to the album has been mixed.^[6] Timothy Monger of AllMusic thought that the duo Ian Axel and Chad King tackled "some classic pop territory with a wide-eyed sincerity that is ultimately appealing if occasionally trite," that the production is "concise and full of punch," but there are moments that could "benefit from some subtlety."^[2] Jason Lipschutz of Billboard said that the album is "as uniformly earnest as the sombre lead" single "Say Something," but also has songs that offered "quirky optimism and snappy tempo."^[7] Glenn Gamboa of Newsday found the album filled with surprises and thought it musically and lyrically "eclectic." He judged the duo to have approached the album "with such passion and joyfulness on "Is There Anyone Out There?" (sic) that you end up going along for the wild ride and enjoying it."^[4] Elysa Gardner of USA Today was equally positive and thought the tunes in the album "smartly crafted," the singing of the duo blended "seamlessly," and that their more driving tracks "establish this pair as pop contenders."^[5]

Among the more negative reviews, Jim Farber of New York Daily News castigated the album, calling it the "latest, and clumsiest, example" of "the geekiest elements of modern show tunes into the musical mainstream," one that "pivots on the kind of reedy, sexually unsure, and over-articulated vocals that scream 'bad Broadway.'"^[3] Jon Caramanica of the New York Times considered the album to be "gentle and plain-spoken and free of any artifice," but also "dull" and "painfully executed." He also found Axel's voice to be "grating," have "no color" and to be "almost digital in its simplicity."^[8]

Commercial performance

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 3 with sales of 48,000.^[9] It dropped to No. 33 the following week with sale of 11,000.^[10] The album has sold 165,000 copies as of October 2015.^[11]

Singles

• "This Is the New Year" (released May 21, 2013)
• "Say Something" (September 3, 2013)
• "I Really Want It" (promotional single; December 10, 2013) and (May 2, 2014 released as a single)
• "Rockstar" (promotional single; March 3, 2014)
• "Already Home" (radio single; April 21, 2014)

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Rockstar"	Dan Romer	3:56
2.	"Land of Opportunity"	Romer	3:25
3.	"Already Home"	Romer	3:50
4.	"I Really Want It"	Romer	3:22
5.	"Say Something"	Romer	3:53
6.	"You'll Be Okay"	Romer	3:58
7.	"Everyone Is Gay"	Chris Kuffner	2:10
8.	"There Is an Answer"	Romer	3:42
9.	"I Don't Wanna Love Somebody Else"	Romer	2:44
10.	"This Is the New Year"	Romer John Alagía	3:15
11.	"Shorty Don't Wait"	Romer	4:11
12.	"Cheer Up!"	Romer	2:11
13.	"Say Something" (with Christina Aguilera)	Romer	3:49

All tracks are written by Ian Axel and Chad King, except "Already Home" written by Axel, King and Honey LaRochelle; "Say Something" written by Axel, King and Mike Campbell; "I Don't Wanna Love Somebody Else" written by Axel, King and Allie Moss

Personnel

A Great Big World

• Ian Axel- piano, synthesizer, percussion, lead vocals
• Chad King- acoustic guitar, triangle, trumpet, lead vocals, background vocals

Additional Musicians

• Christina Aguilera- duet vocals on track 13
• Chris Anderson- bass guitar
• Mike Campbell- acoustic guitar
• Andrew Duckles- viola
• Vanessa Freebairn-Smith- cello
• Rich Hinman- electric guitar
• Sean Hurley- bass guitar
• Elliot Jacobson- drums
• Zach Jones- drums, percussion
• Chris Kuffner- acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Pete McNeal- drums
• Matt Musselman- trombone
• Zac Rae- keyboards
• Mark Robertson- violin
• Oscar Albis Rodriguez- electric guitar
• Dan Romer- bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, organ, percussion, string arrangements

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2014) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 36 Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 33 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[14] 3 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] 55 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 25 UK Albums (OCC)[17] 16 US Billboard 200[18] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2014) Position US Billboard 200[19] 161

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, label, format and edition(s)

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label	Edition(s)
United States	January 21, 2014 (2014-01-21)	CD digital download	Epic	Standard
Canada	March 3, 2014 (2014-03-03)		RCA

References

1. Jodi Walker (January 16, 2014). "A Great Big World talks Christina Aguilera, their new album, and the spectrum of sexuality". Entertainment Weekly.
2. Timothy Monger. "review". Allmusic.com.
3. Jim Farber (January 14, 2014). "A Great Big World, 'Is There Anybody Out There?': Album review". New York Daily News.
4. Glenn Gamboa (January 20, 2014). "A Great Big World's debut album review: Pop surprises". Newsday.
5. Elysa Gardner (January 20, 2014). "Review: Great Big World's 'Is There Anybody Out There?'". USA Today.
6. Kyle Jaeger (January 21, 2014). "A Great Big World's 'Is There Anybody Out There?': What the Critics Are Saying". The Hollywood Reporter.
7. Jason Lipschutz (January 21, 2014). "Album Reviews: A Great Big World, Young the Giant, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, The Crystal Method, Von Grey". Billboard.
8. Jon Caramanica (January 20, 2014). "A Great Big World and Linnea Olsson Release Albums". The New York Times.
9. Grein, Paul (January 29, 2014). "Chart Watch: And The Grammy Sales Bump Goes To…". Chart Watch. Yahoo.
10. Keith Caulfield (February 7, 2014). "Chart Moves: Michael Jackson's 'Number Ones' Hits 5 Million in Sales, OneRepublic Moves a Half-Million of 'Native'". Billboard.
11. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015.
12. "Austriancharts.at – A Great Big World – Is There Anybody Out There?" (in German). Hung Medien.
13. "Australiancharts.com – A Great Big World – Is There Anybody Out There?". Hung Medien.
14. "A Great Big World Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – A Great Big World – Is There Anybody Out There?" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
16. "Swedishcharts.com – A Great Big World – Is There Anybody Out There?". Hung Medien.
17. "A Great Big World | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
18. "A Great Big World Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
19. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2020.