| Hotel Cabana | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 23 August 2013 (2013-08-23) |
| Recorded | 2011–2013 |
| Studio |
|
| Genre | |
| Length | 36:39 |
| Label |
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| Producer |
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| Singles from Hotel Cabana | |
| |
Hotel Cabana is the debut studio album by British record producer Shahid "Naughty Boy" Khan, released on 23 August 2013 through Naughty Boy Recordings andVirgin EMI. Khan set up his Naughty Boy Productions record and production company. He would find his break by producingChipmunk's 2009 top-ten single "Diamond Rings", featuring a then unknownEmeli Sandé. Naughty Boy released his own debut single as a signed artist in 2010. "Never Be Your Woman" samplesWhite Town's 1997 number-one single "Your Woman" and featured Britishgrime artistWiley and Sandé on the chorus; it reached the top ten in the UK and is included as a bonus track onHotel Cabana.
The collaboration marked the start of a partnership between Naughty Boy and Sandé which is seen throughoutHotel Cabana and Sandé's debut set,Our Version of Events (2012).Hotel Cabana isR&B,soul,garage,pop andhip hop music productions record, with influences fromorchestral andBollywood music. Naughty Boy describes it as an "audio-visual experience" and aconcept album based on a luxury hotel where musicians come to perform.Hotel Cabana reunites Naughty Boy with Sandé on eight collaborations, as well as features from other British artists suchGeorge the Poet,Sam Smith,Bastille,Tinie Tempah,Ella Eyre,Gabrielle,Wretch 32, Mic Righteous,Maiday, Chasing Grace,Ed Sheeran, and AmericanrapperWiz Khalifa, who appears on the album's fourth single overall, "Think About It", with Eyre. Ava Stokes, Tanika, Thabo andRomans make additional appearances on the US version of the album which was released by Virgin Records on 6 May 2014.
Prior to release,Hotel Cabana was promoted with several video trailers which included the collaborating artists arriving at the fictional hotel. It was also preceded by the release of three singles, including the two top-ten Sandé collaborations: "Wonder" and "Lifted", as well as theUK Singles Chart-topper "La La La" which featured Sam Smith. Upon release, the album received generally favourable reviews frommusic critics, who praised the production, but with some criticism towards the concept, execution and some collaborations.Hotel Cabana made its chart debuts at number two in the UK, number five in Scotland and twenty-five in Ireland.
Hotel Cabana is apop,R&B,soul andhip hop music record, containing "orchestral flourishes" and "Bollywood inflections".[1] Naughty Boy calledHotel Cabana more than an album, it was an audio-visual concept. "I want it to be an album for our time; it has a concept to it, so it's more like a film in some respects." Speaking about putting together the album, he said "I view it like I'm not just a producer – I'm a director too."[2] During an interview with theWatford Observer, Naughty Boy said "It's a very diverse, musically organic album. There's a lot of dance-future music that's going on now." Explaining the "hotel" concept, he said "the album is like a hotel, and just like guests coming to stay, musicians appear on the album. Each song does stand alone, but all together, the album tells a story, it's one guy's journey, a bit like the song "Hotel California", it's a twisted journey. You can visit, but you can never leave, you can listen to the album, but you won't be able to stop."[3]
Hotel Cabana was recorded at Cabana Studios, a recording block located atEaling Studios inLondon; Naughty Boy toldSound on Sound magazine that the studio was always called "Cabana" and that naming his debut albumHotel Cabana was in part inspired by the studio.[4] The entire album was produced usingLogic Pro andReason.[5] The album centres predominately around the themes of fame, "involving debates about the tenuous nature of virtue and fidelity."[6] Speaking on how the album was composed, Naughty Boy usedpiano and live instruments, adding that it was "just the basics. What they would have had in the 70s."[1] While making the album, Naughty Boy was influenced byM.I.A.,Tracy Chapman, Joe Goddard, Woodkid andMajor Lazer.[2] On 19 August, Naughty Boy appeared on MistaJam's BBC Radio 1Xtra show to talk about the album track-by-track. "Hotel Cabana where the sleepless kids live" was created following several days Naughty Boy and Sandé spent in the studio together.[7]
George the Poet helps to establish the album's hotel concept through, starting with amonologue at the beginning of the set.[8] This is followed by the album's opener, "Welcome to Cabana" withEmeli Sandé andTinie Tempah which describesHotel Cabana as a mysterious place "full of drama" and haunted by "sleepless kids".[8] Meanwhile, "Wonder" and "Lifted", both two of eight collaborations with Sandé, experiment withgospel music.[8][9] The latter collaboration contains elements ofdrum and bass andstadium music.[10]The Independent's Andy Gill also described the production on "Lifted" as a "[Naughty Boy] trademark Funky Drummer variant" with "quirkily looped strings andbacking vocals".[6] It was the Sandé andWretch 32 collaboration, "Pluto", that garnered some of the most positive comments, Gill said "Pluto" best exemplified Naughty Boy's signature sound, which was a "blend of vaunting synthesised strings and shuffling groove carries a two-way argument between Sandé and Wretch 32",[6] while Aizlewood called all of the Sandé collaborations "stellar".[11]
When conceiving the song "Hollywood", Naughty Boy originally considered askingDame Shirley Bassey to sing the vocals, describing the situation as "epic", but in the end he thought it "would be too much". Upon hearingGabrielle's song "Out of Reach" on the radio he said "her voice is so unique. It's not technically the best voice, but it stands on its own. It's incredible."[12]Digital Spy's Robert Copsey described the collaboration as "the spookiest of them all", centering on "how fame can be fleeting".[8] "No One's Here to Sleep", a collaboration withBastille, combinesindie music anddance-pop, withsoulful vocals from Bastille's lead vocalist Dan Smith.[6] The lyrics center around the paranoia of fame.[8]
Hotel Cabana was first released on 23 August 2013 in Germany,[9] Ireland[13] and Spain[14] byEMI andUniversal Music. Its UK release came on 26 August 2013 through Naughty Boy's own production company Naughty Boy Recordings andVirgin EMI,[15] with the producer's official website selling 500 limited edition signed copies of the album.[16] In the following week,Hotel Cabana was released in Spain on 30 August[17] and in Italy on 3 September 2013.[18] It was released in Japan on 9 October throughEMI Records Japan,[19] whileAbout.com's Bill Lamb confirmed thatCapitol Records would be distributing the album at a later date in the United States.[20]
With the absorption of EMI byUniversal Music, and the subsequent reorganisation of record labels,Virgin Records and Capitol Records then releasedHotel Cabana in the United States. According to theiTunes store, it was released on 6 May 2014, and includes three new songs: "Never Been the Same", featuring Thabo, "Pardon Me", featuring Tanika and Ava Stokes, and "Home", featuring Romans[21] with the deluxe edition containing the bonus tracks from the international standard edition.[22] "La La La" and "Pardon Me" were available as instant downloads upon pre-ordering the album.[21]
On 20 September 2012, Naughty Boy uploaded the first visual trailer forHotel Cabana to hisVevo account.[23] To celebrate the success of single "La La La", in May 2013, Naughty Boy uploaded amixtape of his inspirations for the album to hisSoundCloud page.[2] On 17 July 2013, Naughty Boy premiered a second visual trailer forHotel Cabana. The video features Sandé,Bastille's Dan Smith,Professor Green,Wretch 32,Gabrielle and Sam Smith all arriving at the fictionalHotel Cabana, where Naughty Boy watches the arrivals on a TV screen.[24] Additionally, on 14 August 2013, "Think About It" featuringWiz Khalifa andElla Eyre, received its first play onBBC Radio 1Xtra's MistaJam radio show,[25] while "No One's Here to Sleep" featuringBastille was released for free as apromotional single as part ofiTunes "Single of the Week" in the UK, for the week beginning 26 August 2013.[26] On 18 August 2013, Sandé performed "Lifted" at the mainstage during her set at the2013 V Festival inChelmsford, England and reprised the song this time with Naughty Boy later that same day for his set at "Future Stage".[27] Sandé has also performed "Pluto" (withoutWretch 32 or Naughty Boy) during her Our Version of Events Tour, the song is included on the DVD of herLive at the Royal Albert Hall concert album.[28]
"No One's Here to Sleep" single was performed in TV seriesHow to Get Away with Murder (season 1) episode 4 "Let's Get to Scooping" starting from 38:06 running time.
On 3 September, Naughty Boy announced he was going on a UK tour in support ofHotel Cabana. He played for five dates, beginning with Brighton Concorde on 12 November 2013 and finishingO2 ABC inGlasgow on 17 November.[29]
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 November 2013 | Brighton | United Kingdom | Concorde 2 |
| 13 November 2013 | London | Brixton Electric | |
| 15 November 2013 | Birmingham | The Institute | |
| 16 November 2013 | Manchester | Club Academy | |
| 17 November 2013 | Glasgow | O2 ABC |
On 12 August 2012,Music Week magazine confirmed that Naughty Boy's debut single would be titled "Wonder", and would feature frequent collaboratorEmeli Sandé. A video directed by Nadia Otzen was produced for the song and it was scheduled to be released 30 September 2012.[31] However, the release of "Wonder" was delayed and the single was released 21 October 2012 instead.[32] Upon release, "Wonder" reached number six in Scotland,[33] eight in Ireland[34] and number ten on theUK Singles Chart.[35] Then over six months later, on 17 May 2013, Naughty Boy released "La La La", featuring British vocalistSam Smith, was released as the album's second single.[36] Upon release, "La La La" became Naughty Boy's biggest hit to date, topping the UK Singles chart andUK Dance Chart.[37] It also reached number three in Ireland,[38] Italy[39] and Scotland[40] and five in the Netherlands.[41] It serves as the album's lead single in the US, where it has peaked at number nineteen, on theBillboard Hot 100, as of 8 April 2014. "Lifted", another collaboration with Sandé, was released as the album's third single on 18 August 2013, preceding the album by a week.[42][43] "Lifted" became Naughty Boy's third top-ten single in Scotland and the UK, reaching number eight in both countries.[44][45] In Ireland, it was slightly less successful, reaching only number twenty-one.[46] "Think About It" featuringWiz Khalifa andElla Eyre was released as the album's fourth single on 17 November 2013.[47] "Home", featuringRomans, was released on 20 July 2014 as a single from the US edition of the album.[48]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [49] |
| Digital Spy | [8] |
| Gigwise |  [50] |
| The Guardian | [51] |
| The Independent | [6] |
| London Evening Standard | [11] |
| musicOMH | [52] |
| The Observer | [53] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[54] |
The album received generally favourable reviews from music critics.Digital Spy's Robert Copsey gave the album four out of five stars, commenting that "Hotel Cabana succeeds in a task previously thought impossible: giving personality and depth to a features album." In his review, Copsey praised the opening section of the album, but noted that some of theurban-pop was generic and "the concept starts to lose its footing around the halfway mark".[8]
John Aizlewood from theLondon Evening Standard was confused about whatHotel Cabana was conceptualising but called Naughty Boy's collaborations with Sandé "stellar", praising "Pluto" (also featuringWretch 32) and "Wonder". Aizlewood said "the result sounds like a compilation album, but a filler-free one where almost every song is capable of standing alone."[11]The Independent's Andy Gill awarded it the "Album of the Week", praising Sandé's performance on the album, described as "an impassioned lead".[6]AllMusic rated it 3.5 out of 5 stars, calling it "unapologetically ostentatious, skillfully constructed pop."[49]The Times rated it 3 out of 5 stars, saying it "proves far more interesting than you might imagine" but was critical of the album's reliance on Sandé and described Ed Sheeran as "her twin in tedium, bleating away".[55]
However, not all of the reception was positive, withThe Observer's Kitty Empire describing the album as predictable and "Naughty? Hardly." During her review, Empire said "Hotel Cabana sounds as you would expect: homegrown, high-end urban pop that over-conceptualises the dangers of fame." She praised theElla Eyre andWiz Khalifa collaboration "Think About It" but said the remainder of the album was full of "disparate voices [that] give this album the disjointed feel of a showreel."[53]musicOMH noted the album had "a fair few missteps", specifically mentioning Ed Sheeran's contribution as "dull as dishwater – and even that maybe going to [sic] easy on it", concluding that the album was not "coherent".[52]
On 28 August 2013, in the mid-week charts update, theOfficial Charts Company revealed thatHotel Cabana was a contender to top theUK Albums Chart. At the half-way mark, it was just 3,600 copies behind the mid-week leaderHail to the King by US rock bandAvenged Sevenfold.[56] On 1 September 2013,Hotel Cabana made itsScottish Albums Chart debut at number five and itsUK Albums Chart debut at number two.[57][58] On theIrish Albums Chart it debuted at number twenty-five.[59] In Switzerland, the album debuted at number thirty-four but rose to a new peak of number eight in its second week on the chart.[60] Similarly in Belgium, on theFlanders Album Chart it debuted and number eighty-five and 120 on theWallonia Albums Chart; in its second week it rose to number seventy-four and number seventy on the Flanders and Wallonia album charts respectively.[61][62]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Act I" (featuringGeorge the Poet) | Naughty Boy | 0:24 | |
| 2. | "Welcome to Cabana" (featuringEmeli Sandé andTinie Tempah) |
|
| 1:51 |
| 3. | "Wonder" (featuring Emeli Sandé) |
|
| 3:27 |
| 4. | "Think About It" (featuringWiz Khalifa andElla Eyre) |
|
| 3:05 |
| 5. | "Hollywood" (featuringGabrielle) |
|
| 4:05 |
| 6. | "Act II" (featuring George the Poet) |
| Naughty Boy | 0:20 |
| 7. | "La La La" (featuringSam Smith) |
|
| 3:42 |
| 8. | "One Way" (featuring Mic Righteous andMaiday) |
| Naughty Boy | 3:26 |
| 9. | "Pluto" (featuring Emeli Sandé andWretch 32) |
|
| 3:57 |
| 10. | "So Strong" (featuring Chasing Grace) |
| Naughty Boy | 3:36 |
| 11. | "No One's Here to Sleep" (featuringBastille) |
| Naughty Boy | 3:25 |
| 12. | "Lifted" (featuring Emeli Sandé) |
| 3:17 | |
| 13. | "Top Floor (Cabana)" (featuringEd Sheeran) |
| Naughty Boy | 2:09 |
| 14. | "Epilogue" (featuring George the Poet) |
| Naughty Boy | 1:28 |
| Total length: | 36:39 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Never Be Your Woman" (Naughty Boy presentsWiley featuring Emeli Sandé) |
| Naughty Boy | 3:31 |
| 16. | "Daddy (Ifan Dafydd Remix)" (Emeli Sandé featuring Naughty Boy) |
| 5:00 | |
| 17. | "Get Lucky" (featuring Tanika) |
| 4:17 | |
| 18. | "Lifted" (featuring Emeli Sandé andProfessor Green) |
| 4:16 | |
| Total length: | 53:43 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19. | "Wonder (Kidnap Kid Remix)" (featuring Emeli Sandé) |
| 3:54 | |
| 20. | "La La La (Kaos Remix)" (featuring Sam Smith) |
| 3:54 | |
| 21. | "Wonder" (featuring Emeli Sandé) (music video) |
| Nadia Otzen | 3:27 |
| 22. | "La La La" (featuring Sam Smith) (music video) |
| Ian Pons Jewell | 4:04 |
| Total length: | 68:12 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19. | "Wonder (Kidnap Kid Remix)" (featuring Emeli Sandé) |
| 3:54 |
| 20. | "La La La (Kaos Remix)" (featuring Sam Smith) |
| 3:54 |
| 21. | "F**kery (Out of Order)" (featuringDot Rotten,Sneakbo, Griminal and Mic Righteous) | 3:07 | |
| 22. | "Lifted (Mojam Remix)" (featuring Emeli Sandé) |
| 4:37 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Act I" (featuringGeorge the Poet) | Naughty Boy | 0:24 | |
| 2. | "Welcome to Cabana" (featuringEmeli Sandé andTinie Tempah) |
|
| 1:51 |
| 3. | "Wonder" (featuring Emeli Sandé) |
|
| 3:27 |
| 4. | "Think About It" (featuringWiz Khalifa andElla Eyre) |
|
| 3:05 |
| 5. | "Never Been The Same" (featuring Thabo) | Khan | Naughty Boy | 3:29 |
| 6. | "Hollywood" (featuringGabrielle) |
|
| 4:05 |
| 7. | "Act II" (featuring George the Poet) |
| Naughty Boy | 0:20 |
| 8. | "La La La" (featuringSam Smith) |
|
| 3:42 |
| 9. | "Pardon Me" (featuring Tanika and Ava Stokes) |
| Naughty Boy | 2:50 |
| 10. | "One Way" (featuring Mic Righteous andMaiday) |
| Naughty Boy | 3:26 |
| 11. | "Pluto" (featuring Emeli Sandé andWretch 32) |
|
| 3:57 |
| 12. | "So Strong" (featuring Chasing Grace) |
| Naughty Boy | 3:36 |
| 13. | "No One's Here to Sleep" (featuringBastille) |
| Naughty Boy | 3:25 |
| 14. | "Lifted" (featuring Emeli Sandé) |
| 3:17 | |
| 15. | "Top Floor (Cabana)" (featuringEd Sheeran) |
| Naughty Boy | 2:09 |
| 16. | "Home" (featuringRomans) | Khan | Naughty Boy | 3:26 |
| 17. | "Epilogue" (featuring George the Poet) |
| Naughty Boy | 1:28 |
| Total length: | 68:12 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18. | "Never Be Your Woman" (Naughty Boy presentsWiley featuring Emeli Sandé) |
| Naughty Boy | 3:31 |
| 19. | "Daddy (Ifan Dafydd Remix)" (Emeli Sandé featuring Naughty Boy) |
| 5:00 | |
| 20. | "Get Lucky" (featuring Tanika) |
| 4:17 | |
| 21. | "Lifted" (featuring Emeli Sandé andProfessor Green) |
| 4:16 | |
| Total length: | 53:43 | |||
Notes
Adapted from album liner.[64][4]
Recording
Vocals
Musicians and technicians
| Chart (2013–2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[65] | 30 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[66] | 33 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[61] | 74 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[62] | 70 |
| Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[67] | 46 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[68] | 193 |
| German Albums (Media Control)[69] | 30 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[59] | 25 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[70] | 78 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[57] | 5 |
| South Korean International Albums (Gaon)[71] | 39 |
| Swiss Albums (Hitparade)[60] | 8 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[58] | 2 |
| USHeatseekers Albums (Billboard)[72] | 6 |
| Chart (2013) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[73] | 193 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Poland (ZPAV)[74] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[75] | Silver | 60,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Version | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 23 August 2013 | Standard edition[76] | Digital download | Universal Music |
| Germany | Standard edition[9][77] |
|
| |
| Deluxe edition[78] | Digital download | |||
| Ireland | Standard edition[13] | |||
| Deluxe edition[79] | ||||
| Netherlands | Standard edition[80] | Universal Music | ||
| Spain | Standard edition[14] | |||
| Deluxe edition[81] | ||||
| United Kingdom | 26 August 2013 | Standard edition[43][82] |
|
|
| Deluxe edition[15] | Digital download | |||
| Australia | 30 August 2013 | Standard edition[17][83] |
| Universal Music |
| Italy | 3 September 2013 | Standard edition[18][84] |
| |
| Deluxe edition[85] | Digital download | |||
| Japan | 9 October 2013 | — | CD[19] | EMI Records Japan |
| United States | 6 May 2014 | Standard edition[21][86] |
| |
| Deluxe edition[22][87] |
|
