Neon (Chris Young album)

2011 album by Chris Young

Neon

Studio album by

Chris Young

Released| July 12, 2011 (2011-07-12)
Recorded| 2010–11
Genre|

* Neotraditional country[1][2]
* honky-tonk[1][2]

Length| 32:23
Label| RCA Nashville
Producer| James Stroud
Chris Young chronology
| The Man I Want to Be
(2009)  | Neon
(2011)  | A.M.
(2013)

|
|

Singles from  Neon

1. "Tomorrow"
Released: February 21, 2011[3]
2. "You"
Released: September 12, 2011
3. "Neon"
Released: March 26, 2012
4. "I Can Take It from There"
Released: October 15, 2012

Neon is the third studio album by American country music artist Chris Young. It was released on July 12, 2011 via RCA Nashville.[4] The album produced four singles with "Tomorrow", "You", the title track, and "I Can Take It from There". The album sold 72,830 copies its first week.[5] Young co-wrote seven of the album's ten tracks.[6]

## Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]
Country Weekly| [2]
Slant Magazine| [7]

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the album for being able to deliver tracks that straddle the line between country and country pop, and allows Young to perform them with convincing delivery, concluding that "If Neon does anything, it proves that Young can manage this delicate balance all the while seeming like it's no trouble at all."[1] Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine was mixed towards the album, saying that despite some interesting tracks and Young's vocal delivery, it consists of filler that lacks a viewpoint and could've been performed by anyone, calling it "committee-based songwriting at its worst." He concluding that "It's a shame, then, that most of the set finds Young fighting an uphill battle against some lackluster material."[7] In 2017, Billboard contributor Chuck Dauphin placed three tracks from the album on his top 10 list of Young's best songs: "Neon" at number three, "You" at number five and "Tomorrow" at number nine.[8]

## Track listing

[edit]

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "I Can Take It from There"|

* Chris Young
* Rhett Akins
* Ben Hayslip

| 2:38
2.| "Lost"|

* Young
* Chris DuBois
* Ashley Gorley

| 3:12
3.| "Tomorrow"|

* Young
* Frank J. Myers
* Anthony L. Smith

| 3:40
4.| "Save Water, Drink Beer"|

* Megan Connor
* Ross Copperman
* Jon Nite

| 2:47
5.| "Neon"|

* Shane McAnally
* Josh Osborne
* Trevor Rosen

| 3:45
6.| "Old Love Feels New"|

* Young
* Brett James
* Tim Nichols

| 4:01
7.| "You"|

* Young
* Luke Laird

| 2:44
8.| "Flashlight"|

* Young
* Robert Arthur
* Johnny Bulford

| 3:24
9.| "When She's On"|

* Monty Criswell
* Shane Minor

| 3:09
10.| "She's Got This Thing About Her"|

* Young
* Cory Batten
* Kent Blazy

| 3:02

iTunes bonus tracksNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

11.| "I'm Gonna Change That"|

* Young
* Tia Sillers

| 3:10
12.| "Don't Leave Her (If You Can't Let Her Go)"|

* Young
* Brice Long

| 3:13

## Chart performance

[edit]

### Album

[edit]

#### Weekly charts

[edit]

| Chart (2011)  | Peak
position

|

UK Country Albums (OCC)[9] | 16
US Billboard 200[10] | 4
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[11] | 2

#### Year end charts

[edit]

| Chart (2011)  | Position

|

US Billboard 200[12] | 144
US Country Albums (Billboard)[13] | 33
Chart (2012)  | Position
US Country Albums (Billboard)[14] | 32

### Singles

[edit]

Year  | Single  | Peak chart positions

|
|

US Country | US Country Airplay | US | CAN Country
[15] | CAN
2011  | "Tomorrow"[16] | 1  | —  | 36  | —  | 95
"You"  | 1  | —  | 34  | —  | 66
2012  | "Neon"  | 23  | —  | 92  | —  | —
"I Can Take It from There"  | 16  | 4  | 63  | 4  | 76
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

United States (RIAA)[17] | Platinum  | 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

## Personnel

[edit]

Adapted from the Neon liner notes.[18]

Musicians

* David Angell – violin
* Mike Brignardello – bass guitar
* David Davidson – violin
* Conni Ellisor – violin
* Shannon Forrest – drums
* Paul Franklin – dobro, steel guitar
* Kenny Greenberg – electric guitar
* Jim Grosjean – viola
* Aubrey Haynie – fiddle, mandolin
* Wes Hightower – background vocals
* Mark Hill – bass guitar
* Anthony LaMarchina – cello
* Betsy Lamb – viola
* Brent Mason – electric guitar
* Steve Nathan – organ, piano
* Mary K. Van Osdale – violin
* Carole Rabinowitz-Neuen – cello
* Pamela Sixfin – violin
* Alan Umstead – violin
* Catherine Umstead – violin
* Biff Watson – acoustic guitar
* Kristin Wilkinson – string arrangements, string conductor, viola
* Chris Young – lead vocals

Production

* David Bryant – assistant
* Jake Burns – assistant
* Rich Hanson – assistant
* Julian King – engineer, mixing
* Bob Ludwig – mastering
* Tammy Luker – production assistant
* Doug Rich – production assistant

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Neon \- Chris Young". AllMusic. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
2. ^ a b c Phillips, Jessica (June 13, 2011). "Neon by Chris Young". Country Weekly. American Media, Inc. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
3. ^ "R&R: Going for Adds: Country". Retrieved July 28, 2011.
4. ^ Wyland, Sarah (May 12, 2011). "Chris Young to Release Neon on July 12". Great American Country. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
5. ^ Bjorke, Matt (July 20, 2011). "Blake Shelton Scores Career First This Week With "Red River Blue"". Roughstock. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
6. ^ Haislop, Neil (June 29, 2011). "Chris Young Gives Fans A Sneak Peek Of New Album, Neon". All Access. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
7. ^ a b Keefe, Jonathan (July 12, 2011). "Chris Young: "Neon" - Music Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
8. ^ Dauphin, Chuck (July 24, 2017). "Chris Young's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
9. ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
10. ^ "Chris Young Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
11. ^ "Chris Young Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
12. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums : Year End 2011". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
13. ^ "Country Albums : Year End 2011". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
14. ^ "Country Albums : Year End 2012". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
15. ^ "Chris Young Album & Song Chart History – Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
16. ^ "Chart listing for "Tomorrow"". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
17. ^ "American album certifications – Chris Young – Neon". Recording Industry Association of America.
18. ^ Neon (liner notes). Chris Young. RCA Records. 2011. 88697-85497-2.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

* v
* t
* e

Chris Young

Discography

Studio albums|

* Chris Young (2006)
* The Man I Want to Be (2009)
* Neon (2011)
* A.M. (2013)
* I'm Comin' Over (2015)
* It Must Be Christmas (2016)
* Losing Sleep (2017)
* Famous Friends (2021)
* Young Love & Saturday Nights (2024)

Singles|

* "Drinkin' Me Lonely"
* "Voices"
* "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)"
* "The Man I Want to Be"
* "Tomorrow"
* "You"
* "Neon"
* "I Can Take It from There"
* "Aw Naw"
* "Who I Am with You"
* "Lonely Eyes"
* "I'm Comin' Over"
* "Think of You"
* "Sober Saturday Night"
* "Losing Sleep"
* "Hangin' On"
* "Raised on Country"
* "Drowning"
* "Famous Friends"
* "At the End of a Bar"
* "Looking for You"
* "Young Love & Saturday Nights"

Other songs|

"Flowers"
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