| Welcome to the Madhouse | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 16 July 2021 | |||
| Genre | Pop[1] | |||
| Length | 46:29 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Tones and I chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Welcome to the Madhouse | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Arts Desk | [1] |
| The AU Review |  [3] |
| The Guardian | [4] |
| The Sydney Morning Herald | [5] |
| Sputnikmusic | 0.5/5[6] |
Welcome to the Madhouse is the debut studio album by Australian singer and songwriterTones and I, released on 16 July 2021 through Bad Batch Records. The album debuted at number 1 on the ARIA Charts.
At the2021 ARIA Music Awards, the album was nominated forAlbum of the Year andBest Artist, while Giulia Giannini McGauran & Mitchell Eaton were nominated forBest Cover Art for their work on this album.[7] At theJ Awards of 2021, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year.[8]
Welcome to the Madhouse is Watson's debut album,[9] and her first body of work since her debut EPThe Kids Are Coming (2019), which featured the commercially successful single "Dance Monkey".[10] In an interview withMTV News, she said the album would be predominantly self-produced, saying: "These songs are completely me and my own production. It's not swayed by other songwriters or by anyone that's trying to help me get a hit, because that's never been important to me."[10]
Watson chose to add five additional songs to the record as a result of having spare time to do so. She stated: "I've taken the time to just really make sure it's what I want. And I want to add more music to the album. It will be my first ever album, so I really want to make sure I'm proud of it."[11]
Watson began recording for her debut album in early 2020, before suffering delays as a result of the Stage Four lockdown inMelbourne, which was enforced due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[12] Elaborating in an interview about the recording sessions, Watson stated:
"I couldn't record a lot of the time in Melbourne; I wasn't allowed to leave the house. The music I wrote before I had to stop, because of the really intense lockdown, was really weird!I wrote this song called "Welcome to the Madhouse"; I just wrote three or four really weird songs, that I'd never written like that before. I explained it like trying to pull inspiration from livingGroundhog Day over and over again!"[12]
She went on to finish recording for the album following the end of the lockdown.[9]
On 25 February 2020,Billboard revealed that Watson was finalising her debut album.[13]
On 1 September 2020, Watson revealed details of her forthcoming album on an onlinepress conference, stating that she planned to release the album sometime in the forthcoming two to three months. She'd initially intended to release the album in August of that year.[14]
On 13 November 2020, in an interview accompanying thepremiere of "Fly Away" onTriple J'sBreakfast withBryce Mills, Watson revealed that the single was the first from her debut album.[12]
On 13 May 2021, alongside the worldwide premiere of "Won't Sleep" on Triple J'sHobba & Hing, Watson confirmed the album and shared its title.[9] She revealed the album's release date on 7 June 2021.[15]
Welcome to the Madhouse was preceded by three singles. "Fly Away" was released as the album'slead single on 13 November 2020[16][17] and peaked at number 4 on theARIA Singles Chart.[18] "Won't Sleep" was released as the album's second single on 14 May 2021[19] and peaked at number 77 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[20] "Cloudy Day" was released as the album's third single on 10 June 2021[21] and peaked at number 31 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[22]
All tracks are written byToni Watson.
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Welcome to the Madhouse" |
| 2:36 |
| 2. | "Lonely" |
| 3:44 |
| 3. | "Won't Sleep" |
| 3:17 |
| 4. | "Westside Lobby" |
| 3:39 |
| 5. | "Fly Away" |
| 2:58 |
| 6. | "Sad Songs" |
| 3:14 |
| 7. | "Just a Mess" |
| 3:51 |
| 8. | "Child's Play" |
| 3:39 |
| 9. | "Not Going Home" |
| 3:31 |
| 10. | "Dark Waters" |
| 3:34 |
| 11. | "Cloudy Day" |
| 3:05 |
| 12. | "You Don't Know My Name" |
| 3:14 |
| 13. | "Fall Apart" |
| 4:08 |
| 14. | "Bars (RIP T)" |
| 1:59 |
| Total length: | 46:29 | ||
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Fly Away" (Jonas Blue Remix) |
| 3:13 |
| 16. | "Ur So F**king Cool" (Top of the Pops Radio Edit 2021) |
| 2:53 |
| Total length: | 52:47 | ||
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "The Kids Are Coming" | Watson | 3:24 |
| 16. | "Dance Monkey" | Kersting | 3:29 |
| 17. | "Colourblind" | Watson | 3:26 |
| 18. | "Johnny Run Away" | Kersting | 3:12 |
| 19. | "Jimmy" | Kersting | 3:43 |
| 20. | "Never Seen the Rain" | Kersting | 3:20 |
Credits are based on the deluxe version track listing.
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[24] | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25] | 124 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] | 140 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[27] | 36 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[28] | 107 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29] | 81 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30] | 38 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[31] | 39 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] | 87 |
| USBillboard 200[33] | 144 |
| Chart (2021) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Artist Albums (ARIA)[34] | 27 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[35] | 2× Platinum | 160,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Catalogue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | 16 July 2021 |
| Not applicable | [36] | |
| Australia | CD | 19439888152 | [37] | ||
| LP | 19439888151 | [38] | |||
| LP(JB Hi-Fi exclusive orange edition) | 19439888171 | [39] | |||
| New Zealand | CD | Bad Batch | 19439888152 | [40] | |
| LP | 19439888151 | [41] | |||
| LP(JB Hi-Fi exclusive orange edition) | 19439888171 | [42] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
