That Girl (album)

That Girl is the debut solo album by American country music artist Jennifer Nettles, lead vocalist of the country duo Sugarland. It was released on January 14, 2014, by Mercury Nashville.[1][2] The album features 10 songs written or co-written by Nettles and a cover of Bob Seger's "Like a Rock".[3][4] Nettles collaborated with songwriters Butch Walker, Richard Marx and Sara Bareilles, among others.[5][6] The album was produced by Rick Rubin at his Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, California.[7][8]

That Girl
Studio album by
Jennifer Nettles
ReleasedJanuary 14, 2014 (2014-01-14)
Recorded2013
GenreCountry
Length41:23
LabelMercury Nashville
ProducerRick Rubin
Jennifer Nettles chronology
That Girl
(2014)		 Playing with Fire
(2016)
Singles from That Girl
  1. "That Girl"
    Released: August 19, 2013
  2. "Me Without You"
    Released: February 10, 2014

The album's lead single, the title track, was released in August 2013.[9][10]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic71/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Country WeeklyB+[13]
Got Country Online[14]
The Oakland Press[15]
Rolling Stone[16]
Roughstock[17]
USA Today[18]

That Girl garnered generally positive reception from music critics. At Metacritic, they assign a weighted average Metascore to the album based upon selected independent rating and review, which based upon six reviews, the album holds a rating of a 71 indicating "generally favorable" reviews. At The New York Times, Jon Caramanica gave a positive review, and highlighted that "Only rarely does this album capture Ms. Nettles’s remarkable voice, a twang-thick burr with real soul-music depth."[19] Brian Mansfield at USA Today rated the album four out of four stars, and affirmed that she "shows off her breathtaking voice."[18] At The Oakland Press, Gary Graff rated the album three out of four stars, and evoked that "We certainly don't want to see Nettles abandon Sugarland, but here’s hoping that she's not done exploring these other musical terrains, either."[15] Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times gave a positive review, and affirmed that "Her loss sounds liberating."[20] At The Boston Globe, Sarah Rodman gave a positive review, and stated that "While several tunes could appear on a Sugarland album, it is a less commercial, contemporary country-sounding release and there is a sense of individuality stamped on the songs."[21]

Jon Freeman of Country Weekly graded the album a B+, and commented that "The resulting album is earthy, warm and spacious, not sounding too fussed over or suffocated with studio tricks."[13] At Roughstock, Matt Bjorke rated the album four-and-a-half stars, and felt that the release may not contain the country hits like some would expect; however, he wrote that it was "long on charming vocal performances, stellar lyrics and some of the most timeless feeling new songs" he could think of over the past two years.[17] Got Country Online rated it four stars, and commented on that it took many listens to become appreciative of the material, but "when you listen closely you will find an album full of touching, relatable stories told by a strong, emotive voice."[14] However, Allmusic's Thom Jurek rated it three stars, and cautioned that "some of these songs feel too calculated or require more subtlety to completely pull off."[12] At Rolling Stone, Christopher R. Weingarten rated the album three stars out of five, noted how "That Girl doesn't have much of a through line", but "What it does have is plenty to love."[16]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Falling"Jennifer Nettles3:22
2."Me Without You"Nettles, Tim Owens, Derek George3:37
3."Moneyball"Nettles, Scott Patton3:13
4."That Girl"Nettles, Butch Walker4:00
5."This Angel"Nettles, Mike Reid3:31
6."Jealousy"Nettles, Kevin Griffin3:51
7."This One's for You"Nettles, Sara Bareilles3:44
8."Know You Wanna Know"Nettles, Richard Marx3:05
9."Thank You"Nettles, Phillip Sweet4:11
10."Good Time to Cry"Nettles, Reid4:26
11."Like a Rock"Bob Seger4:23
Exclusive bonus tracks for iTunes and Target Editions
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."His Hands"Nettles, Hillary Lindsey, Ashley Gorley4:14
13."Every Little Thing"Nettles, Marx4:15

Personnel
  • Alex Acuña - percussion
  • Wayne Bergeron - flugelhorn, trumpet
  • Charlie Bisharat - violin
  • Chris Bleth - bass clarinet, alto flute, bass flute, oboe
  • Jacqueline Brand - violin
  • David Campbell - string arrangements, conductor
  • Lenny Castro - percussion
  • Andrew Duckles - viola
  • Dan Fornero - flugelhorn, trumpet
  • Cochemea Gastelum - baritone saxophone
  • Chris Gray - trumpet
  • Steve Holtman - trombone
  • Smokey Hormel - acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  • Suzie Katayama - cello, string contractor
  • Marty Krystall - clarinet
  • Steve Kujala - alto flute, bass flute
  • Jason Lader - bass guitar
  • Ian McLagen - keyboards
  • Joe Meyer - french horn
  • Jennifer Nettles - lead vocals, background vocals
  • Alyssa Park - violin
  • Sara Parkins - violin
  • Joel Peskin - baritone saxophone
  • Michele Richards - violin
  • Steve Richards - cello
  • Brian Scanlon - tenor saxophone
  • Chad Smith - drums
  • David Stout - trombone
  • Neal Sugarman - tenor saxophone
  • Matt Sweeney - acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  • Lee Thornburg - trumpet
  • Doug Tornquist - tuba
  • Josefina Vergara - violin

Chart performance

The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 54,046 copies sold.[22] In the following weeks the album sold 19,559, 15,012, and 12,754 respectively for a total of 101,461. The album has sold 200,000 copies in the U.S. as of April 2016.[23]

Weekly charts
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[24] 22
US Billboard 200[25] 5
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[26] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (2014) Position
US Billboard 200[27] 134
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[28] 21

Singles
Year Single Peak chart
positions
US Country US Country Airplay
2013 "That Girl" 37 37
2014 "Me Without You" — 50
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
gollark: Which is *simple*, but not *easy*.
gollark: You can write an interpreter for that in a few hundred lines of high-level language.
gollark: If you want "simple", how about, I don't know, lisp?
gollark: "Costless" how?
gollark: I'd partly agree, but that doesn't mean ALL ABSTRACTION is hard to use.

References
  1. Talbott, Chris (November 5, 2013). "Jennifer Nettles talks new solo album, motherhood". Boston Herald. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  2. Parton, Chris (November 5, 2013). "Eric Church, Jennifer Nettles Set Album Release Dates". Country Music Television. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  3. Bjorke, Matt (November 13, 2013). "Jennifer Nettles "That Girl" Tracklist and Cover Art". Roughstock. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  4. Nicholson, Jessica (November 13, 2013). "Jennifer Nettles' Solo Project 'That Girl' To Release in January". MusicRow. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  5. Whitaker, Sterling (November 13, 2013). "Jennifer Nettles Reveals Cover Art, Track Listing for 'That Girl'". The Boot. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  6. Vinson, Christina (November 14, 2013). "Jennifer Nettles' 'That Girl' Album Art, Track Listing Revealed". Taste of Country. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  7. Ayers, Mike (November 13, 2013). "Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles Going Solo in 2014". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  8. Wyland, Sarah (November 14, 2013). "Jennifer Nettles to Release Solo Album January 14". Great American Country. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  9. Dauphin, Chuck (July 23, 2013). "Jennifer Nettles Previews Solo Album: 'I Wanted There to Be Space, Nuances, Emotion'". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  10. Howell, Coti (November 9, 2013). "Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles Announces Release Date for Solo Album". Taste of Country. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  11. Metacritic (January 14, 2014). "Critic Reviews for That Girl". CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  12. Jurek, Thom (January 13, 2014). "That Girl by Jennifer Nettles". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  13. Freeman, Jon (January 6, 2014). "Album Name by Artist". Country Weekly. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  14. staff (January 13, 2014). "Album Review: Artist - "Album Name"". Roughstock. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  15. Graff, Gary (January 13, 2014). "Morello raises Springsteen's 'High Hopes' along with surprise gems". The Oakland Press. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  16. Weingarten, Christopher R. (February 7, 2014). "Jennifer Nettles, 'That Girl' Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  17. Bjorke, Matt (January 13, 2014). "Album Review: Artist - Album Name". Roughstock. Archived from the original on January 16, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  18. Mansfield, Brian (January 13, 2014). "Listen Up: Notable new releases". USA Today. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  19. Caramanica, Jon (January 13, 2014). "Albums From Bruce Springsteen and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland". The New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  20. Wood, Mikael (January 15, 2014). "Review: Jennifer Nettles searches for herself on 'That Girl'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  21. Rodman, Sarah (January 14, 2014). "Album review: Jennifer Nettles, 'That Girl'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  22. Matt Bjorke (January 23, 2014). "Country Album Chart News: The Week of January 22, 2013: Jennifer Nettles, Jon Pardi, Rosanne Cash Debut In Top 5". Roughstock. Archived from the original on January 27, 2014.
  23. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016.
  24. "Jennifer Nettles Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  25. "Jennifer Nettles Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  26. "Jennifer Nettles Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
  27. "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard.
  28. "Top Country Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
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