Hot Chelle Rae will never be mistaken for serious artists.
Their second album, Whatever, sports a sound slicker than Turtle Wax and is light enough to blow away in a gentle breeze.
The guitars sound as real as Velveeta, the vocals are seriously smooth and grit-free, and the songs are about as deep as a kiddie pool.
These sound like criticisms, and they are if you are looking for “real” music played by guys who “mean it." However, these can be considered points in HCR's favor, considering they are a band that combines the strut of Maroon 5 with the easy swagger of old-school lunkheads like Smash Mouth and Sugar Ray; adds a tiny, tiny bit of emo emotion; uses every production trick available to even the least schooled producer; and packs every song with a huge singalong hook that even the strongest pop haters might find imprinted on their brains after hearing it twice in a mall.
You don’t need grit or reality if that’s the kind of band you are; it would just get in the way.
Instead, HCR unleash an album’s worth of poppy jams like “Tonight Tonight,” “Radio,” and “Downtown Girl” that will please the sing-into-your-hairbrush crowd, the bedroom dancers, the mall rats, and the occasional nostalgic old-timers who remember the age of “All Star” and “Every Morning” with fondness.
It may not be a formula designed for critical acclaim or longevity, but pop music has always been exactly like this and HCR would make Bobby Vee, the Archies, and the New Radicals proud.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Like It Like ThatEvan "Kidd" Bogart, Dan Book, Ryan K. Follesé, Andrew Goldstein, Emanuel Kiriakou, Alexei Misoul, Nash Overstreet | Hot Chelle Rae | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 2 | Tonight TonightEvan "Kidd" Bogart, Ryan K. Follesé, Emanuel Kiriakou, Nash Overstreet | Hot Chelle Rae | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | HonestlyRyan K. Follesé, Sam Hollander, Dave Katz, Ian Keaggy, Nash Overstreet | Hot Chelle Rae | Play | 03:21 | 7 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | Keep You with MeDan Book, Ryan K. Follesé, Andrew Goldstein, Alexei Misoul, Nash Overstreet | Hot Chelle Rae | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 5 | RadioEvan "Kidd" Bogart, Ryan K. Follesé, Brandon Green, Emanuel Kiriakou, Nash Overstreet | Hot Chelle Rae | Play | 03:03 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 6 | WhateverDan Book, Ryan K. Follesé, Andrew Goldstein, Alexei Misoul, Nash Overstreet | Hot Chelle Rae | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| 7 | Forever UnstoppableDan Book, Ryan K. Follesé, Andrew Goldstein, Alexei Misoul, Nash Overstreet | Hot Chelle Rae | Play | 04:02 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 8 | Why Don't You Love MeMartin Johnson, Nash Overstreet | Hot Chelle Rae | Play | 03:31 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 9 | Downtown GirlDan Book, Ryan K. Follesé, Andrew Goldstein, Alexei Misoul, Nash Overstreet | Hot Chelle Rae | Play | 02:56 | 6 MB | 21 MB |
| 10 | Beautiful FreaksEvan "Kidd" Bogart, Ryan K. Follesé, Emanuel Kiriakou, Nash Overstreet | Hot Chelle Rae | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 11 | The Only OneRyan K. Follesé, Ian Keaggy, Nash Overstreet | Hot Chelle Rae | Play | 02:49 | 6 MB | 19 MB |
| 36 mins | 82 MB | |||||
| 36 mins | 263 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evan "Kidd" Bogart | Composer |
| 2 | Dan Book | Composer, Editing, Engineer, Keyboards, Producer, Programming |
| 3 | Pierre Eiras | Assistant |
| 4 | Leland Elliott | Assistant Engineer, Engineer |
| 5 | Layla Ellis | Hair Stylist |
| 6 | Robyn Fernandes | Stylist |
| 7 | Jamie Follesé | Drums, Group Member |
| 8 | Ryan K. Follesé | Composer, Group Member, Kazoo, Vocals |
| 9 | Serban Ghenea | Mixing |
| 10 | Andrew Goldstein | Additional Production, Composer, Editing, Engineer, Keyboards, Mixing, Producer, Programming |
| 11 | Brandon Green | Composer |
| 12 | Matty Green | Mixing |
| 13 | Sean Hagwell | Cover Photo |
| 14 | John Hamlin | Management |
| 15 | John Hanes | Engineer |
| 16 | Kelly Henderson | Groomer |
| 17 | Sam Hollander | Composer, Programming |
| 18 | Michelle Holme | Art Direction, Design |
| 19 | Hot Chelle Rae | Primary Artist |
| 20 | Ryan Hughes | Editing, Pro-Tools |
| 21 | Don Ienner | Management |
| 22 | Jason Ienner | Management |
| 23 | Martin Johnson | Composer |
| 24 | Dave Katz | Composer, Programming |
| 25 | Ian Keaggy | Bass, Composer, Group Member, Vocals (Background) |
| 26 | Emanuel Kiriakou | Additional Production, Arranger, Composer, Keyboards, Producer, Programming |
| 27 | Jens Koerkemier | Additional Production, Editing, Engineer, Programming |
| 28 | Sarah Kraus | Photography |
| 29 | Demi Lovato | Featured Artist |
| 30 | Bei Maejor | Featured Artist, Vocal Engineer |
| 31 | Scott Mann | Engineer, Producer, Programming |
| 32 | Alexei Misoul | Composer, Editing, Engineer, Keyboards, Producer, Programming |
| 33 | Leann Mueller | Cover Photo, Photography |
| 34 | Keith Naftaly | A&R |
| 35 | New Boyz | Featured Artist |
| 36 | Nash Overstreet | Additional Production, Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Keyboards, Piano, Vocals (Background) |
| 37 | Chad Royce | Engineer, Producer, Programming |
| 38 | S*A*M | Producer |
| 39 | Phil Seaford | Mixing Assistant |
| 40 | Sluggo | Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |