Wildheart (album)

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This article is about the Miguel album. For similar uses, see Wild Heart § Albums.
Wildheart
Studio album by
Miguel
ReleasedJune 29, 2015
Studio
Genre
Length46:25
Label
  • Black Ice
  • ByStorm
  • RCA
Producer
Miguel chronology
Kaleidoscope Dream
(2012) 		Wildheart
(2015) 		War & Leisure
(2017)
Singles from Wildheart
  1. "Coffee"
    Released: May 4, 2015

Wildheart is the third studio album by American R&B singer Miguel. It was released on June 29, 2015, by Black Ice Records, ByStorm Entertainment, and RCA Records.

The album was produced by Miguel with Benny Cassette, Cashmere Cat, Benny Blanco, and Salaam Remi, among others. Certain songs found him collaborating with fellow singer Lenny Kravitz and rapper Kurupt. The music departed further from Miguel's R&B roots with rock styles such as psychedelic and new wave, as well as lyrical themes that explore morality, normalcy, and sexuality.

Wildheart charted at number two on the Billboard 200 while selling 40,000 copies in its first week. It was a widespread critical success and earned Miguel two Grammy Award nominations, including one in the category of Best Urban Contemporary Album.

Background[edit]

In an interview with MTV, RCA Records executive Mark Pitts discussed Miguel's recording of Wildheart. "He's more confident, and it's going to show in the music, his look and in the videos", Pitts said. "Miguel is ready to push the button. His first album was about trials and tribulations. The second was OK, we’re here; I wasn't bugging. And now it's here we go. He wants people to understand who he is. He's tired of people asking who are you, what's that, 'do you like girls?' He tells me, 'I want everyone to know I am wild, funny, edgy and love women. I need this album to connect'".[1]

Music and lyrics[edit]

Throughout [Wildheart], Miguel comes off as a seeker lost in a world where dreams, religion, sex and art are tangled up with their own dark, addictive mirror images.

—Rolling Stone[2]

According to AllMusic's Andy Kellman, Wildheart's music is defined less by melody than by the presence of "grinding guitars and mechanical beats", played in the style of contemporary R&B and new wave rock.[3] The Music magazine deems it an exploration into progressive soul,[4] while Sheldon Pearce from Consequence says the album's neo soul music ranges from "psychedelic to interstellar" sounds and defies the "traditional sensibilities in modern R&B".[5]

According to Robert Christgau, Wildheart shares more with rock music's recurring theme of struggles with normalcy and human contradiction than it does with R&B's "sin-versus-salvation struggles".[6] Jon Pareles from The New York Times says the alluring but amoral environment of California is a recurring setting throughout the record, which explores Miguel's "clashing impulses further" than Kaleidoscope Dream (2012), "toward love and death, raunch and exaltation, doubt and confidence, salvation and damnation, cynicism and hope";[7] "Gonna Die Young" was written about the dangers of leading a risky lifestyle, while "...Goingtohell" explores themes of human mortality and romance. Sex-themed songs range from the wholesome narrative of "Coffee" to the pornographic "The Valley",[6] which makes reference to the San Fernando Valley's adult entertainment industry.[7] According to Pareles, the rock ballad "What's Normal Anyway" serves as the crux of Wildheart, as it finds Miguel contemplating his biracial heritage and feeling of rootlessness,[7] while Christgau surmises that the song's "straightforwardly confused" lyrics properly outline Miguel's character: "He is normal—because he ain't."[6]

Marketing and sales[edit]

In 2014, Miguel released an EP, titled Wild, in promotion of Wildheart, featuring the songs "NWA", "Hollywood Dreams", and "Coffee".[8] The lead single from the album was a re-worked version of the EP's track "Coffee", renamed as "Coffee (Fucking)", featuring guest vocals from American rapper Wale;[9] it was released on May 4, 2015.[10] Wildheart was released on June 29 by RCA Records and ByStorm Entertainment.[11] In its first week, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and sold 40,000 copies in the United States.[12]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[13]
Metacritic84/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The A.V. ClubB[15]
The Daily Telegraph[16]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[17]
The Guardian[18]
NME8/10[19]
Pitchfork8.9/10[20]
Rolling Stone[21]
Spin8/10[22]
Vice (Expert Witness)A−[6]

Wildheart was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 27 reviews.[14] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.6 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[13]

Reviewing the album for Rolling Stone, Will Hermes found it "even bolder" sonically than Kaleidoscope Dream,[21] while Q deemed Miguel's take on R&B and rock "quixotic".[23] In Entertainment Weekly, Kyle Anderson called Miguel's lyrics about romance and thrill in Los Angeles both exciting and balanced,[17] while Pitchfork's Anupa Mistry felt he had improved his songwriting with a sex-positive perspective that was distinct from the lustfulness of most other R&B music: "Languorous and detailed, it transcends the genre's established narratives with a focus on pleasure and partnership instead of one-sided pursuit".[20] Jesse Cataldo of Slant Magazine compared it to D'Angelo's socially conscious album Black Messiah (2014), finding Wildheart to be "just as relevant, acknowledging the complicated realities of modern sexuality while pushing to expand its horizons".[24] In a less enthusiastic review, NME critic Ben Cardew lamented some of the guitar elements, writing that they occasionally sounded heavy handed in the manner of arena rock.[19] Kyle Fowle from The A.V. Club deemed "Face the Sun" a failed attempt at rock and "What's Normal Anyway" too blunt of a "self-love message" amidst the more subtle songs,[15] while Spin's Andrew Unterberger found the album somewhat inferior to Kaleidoscope Dream, even though he said it broadened that record's musical variety.[22]

At the end of 2015, Wildheart was named the year's best album by Time magazine.[25] On other year-end lists, it was ranked 11th best by The Guardian,[26] 8th best by Pitchfork,[27] and 28th best by Rolling Stone, who said it was both one of 2015's best R&B and psychedelic rock albums.[2] Wildheart was also nominated for the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album, while "Coffee" was nominated in the category of Best R&B Song.[28]

Track listing[edit]

Wildheart standard edition[29]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."A Beautiful Exit"
  • Miguel
  • Happy Perez
3:04
2."Deal"
4:17
3."The Valley"
  • Pimentel
  • Brian Warfield
  • Maclean Robinson
  • Miguel
  • Fisticuffs
3:05
4."Coffee"
Miguel4:46
5."NWA" (featuring Kurupt)
3:34
6."Waves"
  • Pimentel
  • Perez
  • Miguel
  • Happy Perez
3:22
7."What's Normal Anyway"
  • Pimentel
  • Felder
  • Mostyn
  • Colson
  • Oakwud
  • Mostyn
  • Flippa
3:13
8."Hollywood Dreams"
  • Pimentel
  • Warfield
  • Robinson
  • Miguel
  • Fisticuffs
3:16
9."Destinado a Morir (Enter.lewd)"PimentelMiguel1:19
10."...Goingtohell"
4:04
11."Flesh"
  • Miguel
  • Paul
  • Saadiq[a]
4:29
12."Leaves"
  • Oakwud
  • Mostyn
  • Pop Wansel
  • Flippa
3:22
13."Face the Sun" (featuring Lenny Kravitz)
Remi4:32
Total length:46:25
Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)[30]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
9."...Goingtohell"
  • Pimentel
  • Levin
  • Høiberg
  • Kelly
  • DeCaro
  • Silverstein
  • Rae
  • Miguel
  • Benny Blanco
  • Cashmere Cat
4:04
10."Flesh"
  • Pimentel
  • Saadiq
  • Paul
  • Miguel
  • Paul
  • Saadiq[a]
4:29
11."Leaves"
  • Pimentel
  • Felder
  • Wansel
  • Mostyn
  • Colson
  • Corgan
  • Oakwud
  • Mostyn
  • Pop Wansel
  • Flippa
3:22
12."Face the Sun" (featuring Lenny Kravitz)
  • Pimentel
  • Remi
Remi4:32
13."GFG"
  • Pimentel
  • Davis
  • Brianna Cartwright
3:39
14."Destinado a Morir"PimentelMiguel3:01
15."Simple Things"
  • Pimentel
  • Davis
  • Miguel
  • Brook D'Leau
3:16
16."Damned"
  • Pimentel
  • Kelly
  • DeCaro
  • Silverstein
  • Rae
Miguel3:26
Total length:59:47
Japanese bonus track[31]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
17."Coffee (Fucking)" (featuring Wale)
Miguel5:13

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • "Deal", "NWA" and "Flesh" are stylized in all upper-case letters. All other tracks, except "Hollywood Dreams" and "Simple Things", are stylized in all lower-case letters.
  • "Leaves" contains a portion of the composition "1979", written by William Corgan, as performed by the Smashing Pumpkins.

Personnel[edit]

Credits are adapted from AllMusic.[32]

Charts[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Miguel's New Album Tentatively Called Wild Heart". Pitchfork. February 10, 2015. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Miguel, 'Wildheart' – 50 Best Albums of 2015". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 9, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Wildheart – Miguel". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 29, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  4. ^ "OG Flavas". The Music. No. 118. p. 42. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2021 – via Issuu.
  5. ^ Pearce, Sheldon (June 29, 2015). "Miguel – Wildheart". Consequence. Archived from the original on June 14, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d Christgau, Robert (August 14, 2015). "Welcome to Expert Witness, a New Weekly Column by the Dean of American Rock Critics". Vice. New York. Archived from the original on August 15, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c Pareles, Jon (June 29, 2015). "Review: Miguel's 'Wildheart' Features R&B and Clashing Impulses". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  8. ^ Adumere, Irede (July 15, 2015). "The musings of a 'Wildheart' called Miguel". Pulse Niagara. Archived from the original on January 28, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  9. ^ "New Music: Miguel "Coffee (Fing)" Featuring Wale". YouKnowIGotSoul.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  10. ^ "iTunes Music – Coffee (F***ing) [feat. Wale] – Single by Miguel". iTunes Store. May 4, 2015. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  11. ^ Gordon, Jeremy (June 16, 2015). "Miguel Shares Wildheart Tracks "...goingtohell", "FLESH", "face the sun"". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  12. ^ Hernandez, Victoria (July 8, 2015). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Meek Mill, Kendrick Lamar & Vince Staples". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on August 10, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  13. ^ a b "Wildheart by Miguel reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on May 15, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Reviews for Wildheart by Miguel". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  15. ^ a b Fowle, Kyle (June 30, 2015). "Miguel seduces and soothes on Wildheart". The A.V. Club. Chicago. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  16. ^ Brown, Helen (June 27, 2015). "Miguel, Wildheart, review: 'a journey in texture and tempo'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on June 29, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  17. ^ a b Anderson, Kyle (June 30, 2015). "'Wildheart' by Miguel: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. New York. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  18. ^ Petridis, Alexis (June 25, 2015). "Miguel: Wildheart review – a genuine one-off finds his signature style". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  19. ^ a b Cardew, Ben (June 19, 2015). "Miguel – 'Wildheart'". NME. London. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  20. ^ a b Mistry, Anupa (July 1, 2015). "Miguel: Wildheart". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  21. ^ a b Hermes, Will (June 30, 2015). "Wildheart". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on August 10, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  22. ^ a b Unterberger, Andrew (June 30, 2015). "Review: Miguel's 'WILDHEART' Is a Grower, Not a Shower". Spin. New York. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  23. ^ Q (September). London: 113. 2015.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
  24. ^ Cataldo, Jesse (June 26, 2015). "Miguel: Wildheart". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on June 28, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  25. ^ "Top 10 Best Albums". Time. December 1, 2015. Archived from the original on December 15, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  26. ^ "The Best Albums of 2015". The Guardian. December 2, 2015. Archived from the original on December 13, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  27. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Pitchfork. December 16, 2015. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  28. ^ "Grammys 2016 Preview: The Weeknd, D'Angelo and More Soulful Singers Nominated for Best R&B Song and Best Urban Contemporary Album". Billboard. February 13, 2016. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  29. ^ Wildheart (CD liner). Miguel. Black Ice Records, ByStorm Entertainment and RCA Records. 2015. 88875-10299-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  30. ^ "iTunes Music – Wildheart (Deluxe) by Miguel". iTunes Store. June 26, 2015. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  31. ^ "Miguel/ワイルドハート" (in Japanese). Tower Records. Archived from the original on March 20, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  32. ^ "Wildheart – Miguel : Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  33. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Miguel %5BUS%5D – Wildheart". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  34. ^ "Miguel Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  35. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Miguel %5BUS%5D – Wildheart" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  36. ^ "Charts.nz – Miguel %5BUS%5D – Wildheart". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  37. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Miguel %5BUS%5D – Wildheart". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  38. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  39. ^ "Miguel Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  40. ^ "Miguel Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  41. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 22, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  42. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2020.

External links[edit]

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