We the Kings (album)
We the Kings is the self-titled debut studio album by American rock band We the Kings.
Background
We the Kings formed in 2005 while its member attended Manatee High School. The band's line-up consisted of vocalist Travis Clark, guitarist Hunter Thomsen, bassist Drew Thomsen. and drummer Danny Duncan. In summer, the group toured with Don't Die Cindy. PureVolume, a place where people could upload their music, helped the band's popularity.According to Travis Clark, the album was "really guitar driven, with those poppy catchy choruses".
Release
In September, the group went on the School's for Fools tour across the US, alongside Valencia, Just Surrender and Metro Station. However, partway through the tour Valencia had to drop off the tour due to their vocalist Shane Henderson having strep throat. As a result, Just Surrender headlined the rest of the dates. The group supported Boys Like Girls on their US headlining tour, dubbed Tourzilla, from late September to late October. It was released on October 2, 2007. From mid-January to early March 2008, the band supported Cobra Starship on their North America tour. In April, the band appeared at the Bamboozle Left festival. In June, the band supported Cobra Starship on their US tour, dubbed Really Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour Out to Warped Tour Tour.Between June and August, the band performed on the Warped Tour. In October and November, the band supported the Academy Is... on their headlining tour of the US. In October, a re-recorded version of "Check Yes Juliet" was posted online. The re-recording's lyrics were altered to include a reference to Tampa Bay Rays. On December 12, a music video was released for "Secret Valentine" through the band's Myspace profile. In February and March 2009, the group went on a headlining US tour, dubbed The Secret Valentine Tour, with support from the Maine, the Cab, There for Tomorrow and VersaEmerge. In April, the band performed on the Bamboozle Roadshow and appeared at The Bamboozle festival in early May. At the end of May, the band performed at the Slam Dunk Festival. In July, the band supported All Time Low on their US east coast tour.
Reception
The album peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart, and at No. 151 on the Billboard 200. We the Kings was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for the shipment of 75,000 copies. Three singles were released from the album. The album's second single "Check Yes Juliet", gained commercial success. It was featured as "The iTunes Single of the Week" in early 2008, and it peaked at No. 84 on the Pop 100 and No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and No. 26 in Australia where it was certified platinum by the ARIA.Track listing
All lyrics written by Travis Clark, all music composed by Clark, Sam Hollander and Dave Katz, except "Headlines Read Out..." by Clark- "Secret Valentine" – 3:28
- "Skyway Avenue" – 3:26
- "Check Yes Juliet" – 3:40
- "Stay Young" – 2:49
- "Whoa" – 2:37
- "August Is Over" – 3:16
- "The Quiet" – 3:12
- "Don't Speak Liar" – 3:01
- "Headlines Read Out..." – 3:14
- "All Again for You" – 3:06
- "This Is Our Town" – 2:29
- "Check Yes Juliet " – 3:56
- "Skyway Avenue " – 3:50
Personnel
- Travis Clark – Lead vocals, piano, rhythm guitar
- Hunter Thomsen – Lead guitar, backing vocals
- Drew Thomsen – Bass, backing vocals
- Danny Duncan – Drums, percussion
- Shane McCauley – Photography
- Zach Nicodemo – Graphic design and layout
- Mike Ski – Art direction
- S*A*M and Sluggo – Producers
- Sean Gould and Scott Riebling – Engineers
- Lou Giordano, Tom Lord-Alge, and Femio Hernandez – Mixing
- Steve Yegelwel – A&R
- Chris Gehringer – Mastering
- Bret Disend – Management
- Mike Mckoy – Legal
- Nick Storch – Booking
Charts
Chart | Peak position |
U.S. Billboard 200 | 151 |
U.S. Billboard Heatseekers Albums | 3 |
Singles
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
2008 | "Check Yes Juliet" | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 70 |
2008 | "Check Yes Juliet" | U.S. Billboard Pop 100 | 26 |
2008 | "Check Yes Juliet" | Australian Single Charts | 26 |
2008 | "Secret Valentine" | Mainstream Top 40 | 40 |