Know-It-All is the debut studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Alessia Cara. It was released on November 13, 2015 through Def Jam Recordings. The album followed the release of her debut extended play (EP) Four Pink Walls (2015), which Cara regarded as a preview of the album. Know-It-All contains the five original songs from Four Pink Walls as well as five new songs recording for the album. Cara co-wrote all the tracks and worked closely with Pop & Oak and Sebastian Kole amongst others. The album led Cara to receive the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2018.

Know-It-All
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 13, 2015 (2015-11-13)
Recorded2014–2015
Genre
Length35:34
Label
Producer
Alessia Cara chronology
Four Pink Walls
(2015)
Know-It-All
(2015)
The Pains of Growing
(2018)
Singles from Know-It-All
  1. "Here"
    Released: April 30, 2015
  2. "Wild Things"
    Released: February 2, 2016
  3. "Scars to Your Beautiful"
    Released: July 26, 2016

Writing and recording

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Preliminary work on the album began in 2013,[1] with recording taking place in 2014 in New York into 2015.[2][3] Cara worked with several producers including Kuya, Malay, Alan Nglish, Fredro, Pop & Oak and Sebastian Kole. The latter helped in the conception of the opening track "Seventeen". The song was written when Cara was about eighteen: "It was a whole bunch of feelings. We got to talking in the studio with my dad and Sebastian — we all came up with this thing, like, let’s write about how life goes by really fast. My dad brought up that idea, and that’s why the first line is, ’My daddy says that life comes at you fast’.".[4]

Singles

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"Here" was released on April 30, 2015, as the lead single[5] from Cara's extended play (EP) Four Pink Walls. The song became Cara's first top-5 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, upon reaching the peak position of five for the week of January 27, 2016[6] and Cara performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon with their house band The Roots.[7][8] The song received an official video, which was directed by Aaron A.[9]

"Wild Things" was initially released on October 27, 2015 as a promotional single[10] but the song was later sent to US contemporary hit radio on February 2, 2016, as the album's second single, and has since achieved moderate success peaking at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100.[11]

Cara announced that "Scars to Your Beautiful" would be released as the third single. It was sent to contemporary hit radio on July 26, 2016. It peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.[12]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.7/10[13]
Metacritic70/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [15]
Billboard     [16]
Exclaim!8/10[17]
Idolator4/5[18]
NewsdayB[19]
NME     [20]
Now     [21]
Pitchfork5.5/10[22]
Rolling Stone     [23]
Sputnikmusic3.7/5[24]

Know-It-All received generally positive reviews from music critics, receiving a 70 out of 100 on the review aggregate website Metacritic based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[25] AllMusic reacted positively towards the album, writing "Going by the level of potential shown here, it's evident that Cara will eventually need a lot less creative assistance."[15] Billboard was also positive in its review of the album: "As first impressions go, Know-It-All is a charismatic balance between dreams and reality that makes its author stick out in the most impressive way."[16] Exclaim!'s, Ryan B. Patrick wrote that "while [Know-It-All] is a tad formulaic, it's terrifically executed and solidly produced...Cara's debut is a striking standout pop record that portends career longevity."[17] Pitchfork Media was more mixed: "Writing from the heart does not automatically imbue lyrics with depth. Never is it more apparent that the factory approach is not allowing Cara to fulfill her potential than on 'Scars to Your Beautiful.'"[22]

Commercial performance

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Know-It-All debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200[26] with first week sales of 36,000 equivalent album units (22,000 pure album sales).[27] On May 22, 2017, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over a million units in the United States.

Tour

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To promote the album, Cara embarked on her first headlining concert tour, the Know-It-All Tour. Tickets went on sale and quickly sold-out, with the first leg running from January 15 through April 1, 2016. A second leg was scheduled for September 29 through November 2, 2016.[28]

Track listing

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Standard edition[29]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Seventeen"3:32
2."Here"
3:19
3."Outlaws"
  • Caracciolo
  • Wansel
  • Felder
  • Tillman
  • S. Gerongco
  • R. Gerongco
  • Pop & Oak
  • Sebastian Kole
3:23
4."I'm Yours"
  • Caracciolo
  • Wansel
  • Felder
  • Tillman
  • Pop & Oak
  • Sebastian Kole
3:48
5."Four Pink Walls"Caracciolo
  • Alan Nglish
3:31
6."Wild Things"
  • Caracciolo
  • James Ho
  • Tillman
  • Thabiso "Tab" Nkhereanye
3:08
7."Stone" (featuring Sebastian Kole)
  • Caracciolo
  • Ho
  • Tillman
  • Malay
  • Sebastian Kole
3:47
8."Overdose"
  • Caracciolo
  • Wansel
  • Felder
  • Tillman
  • S. Gerongco
  • R. Gerongco
  • Pop & Oak
  • Sebastian Kole
3:28
9."Stars"
  • Caracciolo
  • Tillman
  • S. Gerongco
  • R. Gerongco
  • Lam
3:40
10."Scars to Your Beautiful"
  • Pop & Oak
  • Sebastian Kole
3:50
Total length:35:34
Target exclusive CD and digital deluxe edition bonus tracks[30][31]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
11."Here" (2:00 AM Version)
  • Caracciolo
  • Wansel
  • Felder
  • Tillman
  • S. Gerongco
  • R. Gerongco
  • Lam
  • Hayes
  • Caracciolo
  • Sebastian Kole
3:45
12."River of Tears"
  • Caracciolo
  • Tillman
  • Sebastian Kole
4:14
13."My Song"
  • Caracciolo
  • Tillman
  • Fredrik "Fredro" Ödesjö
  • Per Eklund
  • Björn Hallberg
  • Fredro
  • Sebastian Kole
4:02
Total length:47:38
International deluxe edition bonus tracks[32]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."I'm Yours" (Demo)
  • Caracciolo
  • Wansel
  • Felder
  • Tillman
3:56
15."Wild Things" (Acoustic Version)
  • Caracciolo
  • Ho
  • Tillman
  • Nkhereanye
3:11
Total length:54:45
Japanese bonus tracks[33]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
11."Here" (2:00 AM Version)
  • Caracciolo
  • Wansel
  • Felder
  • Tillman
  • S. Gerongco
  • R. Gerongco
  • Lam
  • Hayes
  • Caracciolo
  • Sebastian Kole
3:45
12."River of Tears"
  • Caracciolo
  • Tillman
  • Sebastian Kole
4:14
13."My Song"
  • Caracciolo
  • Tillman
  • Fredrik "Fredro" Ödesjö
  • Per Eklund
  • Björn Hallberg
  • Fredro
  • Sebastian Kole
4:02
14."I'm Yours" (Demo)
  • Caracciolo
  • Wansel
  • Felder
  • Tillman
 3:56
15."Wild Things" (Acoustic Version)
  • Caracciolo
  • Ho
  • Tillman
  • Nkhereanye
 3:11
16."Wild Things" (featuring G-Eazy)
  • Caracciolo
  • Ho
  • Tillman
  • Nkhereanye
  • Malay
  • Sebastian Kole
3:44
17."Here" (Logic Remix)
  • Caracciolo
  • Wansel
  • Felder
  • Tillman
  • S. Gerongco
  • R. Gerongco
  • Lam
  • Hayes
  • Pop & Oak
  • Kole
3:20
18."Here" (Jaden Smith Remix)
  • Caracciolo
  • Wansel
  • Felder
  • Tillman
  • S. Gerongco
  • R. Gerongco
  • Lam
  • Hayes
  • Pop & Oak
  • Sebastian Kole
3:44
19."Scars to Your Beautiful" (NOTD Remix)
  • Caracciolo
  • Wansel
  • Felder
  • Tillman
  • Pop & Oak
  • Sebastian Kole
3:19
20."How Far I'll Go"Lin-Manuel Miranda
2:56
Notes
  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • "Seventeen" contains an interpolation of "My Girl" by The Temptations, written by William Robinson, Jr. and Ronald White.
  • "Here" contains a sample from "Ike's Rap II", written and performed by Isaac Hayes.

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[57] Gold 35,000
Canada (Music Canada)[58] 2× Platinum 160,000
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[59] Platinum 20,000
Norway (IFPI Norway)[60] Platinum 20,000*
Poland (ZPAV)[61] Gold 10,000
Singapore (RIAS)[62] Gold 5,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[63] Gold 100,000
United States (RIAA)[64] Platinum 1,000,000

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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List of release dates, showing region, formats, label, editions and reference
Region Date Format(s) Label Edition(s) Ref.
Canada 13 November 2015 Universal Music
  • Standard
  • deluxe
[65][66]
United States Def Jam [29][30]
United Kingdom 11 March 2016 Virgin EMI Deluxe
Australia Universal Music Australia

References

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