Own the Night

Own the Night is the third studio album by the American country music trio Lady Antebellum. It was released on September 13, 2011 through Capitol Nashville. It was produced by Paul Worley. It topped the Billboard 200, selling more than 347,000 copies in its first week, making it their second number-one album in the United States and one of the most successful country albums of 2011. It also topped the Billboard Top Country Albums as well as the Canadian Albums Chart, selling more than 21,000 copies in its first week in Canada alone. Critically, the album received mixed to positive reviews, with some critics praising its production and Hillary Scott's and Charles Kelley's vocals, calling it an improvement over their previous two albums, while others criticized its lyrical content and lack of personality, saying that it is a step downward from their previous albums. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album at the 54th Grammy Awards.
The album has spawned four singles to date: "Just a Kiss" "We Owned the Night" "Dancin' Away with My Heart" and "Wanted You More". "Just a Kiss" was released for digital download on May 2, 2011. It was a commercial and critical success, debuting and peaking at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it their highest debut on the chart. It also topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs, making it their fifth number-one single on the chart. "We Owned the Night" was released for digital download on August 15, 2011 and was also a commercial success, peaking at number 13 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Prior to the album's release, "Dancin' Away with My Heart" and "Wanted You More" served as promotional singles and peaked at numbers 50 and 34 on the Hot 100 each.
Upon its release, Own the Night received mixed-to-favourable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 63, based on eight reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". The New York Times was very positive about Own the Night and wrote this third album "elevates this group's fecklessness to high art. It makes no apologies for its blunt-force tactics. It owns its shamelessness. That cocksure stance helps to make it one of the most convincing albums of the year, a huge leap forward for a group that threatened to become famous without leaving a true mark." Giving it a four stars rating out of five, Country Weekly's Jessica Phillips appreciated that "For the most part, Lady Antebellum strikes a nice balance between the two -creating something different while replicating some elements of the previous album, keeping the penchant for bighearted ballads and the vocal chemistry between Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott intact". Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave the album a 3.5 stars out of 5 commenting "In an effort to break new ground on their just released album, Own the Night, Lady Antebellum occasionally forget their strengths and weaknesses. Not every courageous step they take lands on solid ground, but it’s difficult to criticize a band for taking artistic chances." Entertainment Weekly gave the album a "B" grade commenting "With their easy pop-country tempos and ingratiating white-soul harmonies, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Dave Haywood are masters of the soft sell, an approach they employ here with characteristically genteel results." Randy Lewis of The Los Angeles Times found that "everything sounds bigger, brighter and shinier than on Lady A's first two albums. That'll probably go over well with fans of grandiose country pop" but he noted that "the all-stops-out production gradually loses impact. However, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic was less enthusiastic about the album. He gave it a three stars rating and described it as "mood music but the aim isn't amorous; it's nothing more than a spot of relaxation, which doesn't quite amount to compelling listening no matter how immaculate the execution." American Songwriter found Own the Night not "high art" and despised the "clichéd country images" but did appreciate the singing "with the band stacking its harmonies three voices deep at every twist and turn" and that's why the album received a three stars rating.Nevertheless, Rolling Stone's Will Hermes was not convinced by the new album and gave it a two stars rating out of five. Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine negatively reviewed Own the Night: "In the past, the trio has been able to elevate their unremarkable songwriting with spirited performances, but that isn't the case on Own the Night". He found the band "across-the-board amateurish and anonymous".
The album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number one, selling 347,000 according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album is the largest start for any country release since Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" (2010). Since its release, "Own the Night" has topped the US "Country Album" Chart for 13 weeks. It is also their second number-one album. In Canada, the album sold 21,000 copies in its first week, ranking at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart.
As of June 13, 2012, Own the Night has sold 1,631,000 copies.