What's Inside: Songs from Waitress

What's Inside: Songs from Waitress is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, released on November 6, 2015, through Epic Records.[1] The lead single from the album, "She Used to Be Mine", was released digitally on September 25, 2015.[2] It features songs from the musical Waitress, for which Bareilles wrote the music and lyrics.

What's Inside: Songs from Waitress
What's Inside album cover
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 6, 2015 (2015-11-06)
Recorded2015
Genre
Length36:45
LabelEpic
Producer
Sara Bareilles chronology
Brave Enough: Live at the Variety Playhouse
(2013)
What's Inside: Songs from Waitress
(2015)
Amidst the Chaos
(2019)
Singles from What's Inside: Songs from Waitress
  1. "She Used to Be Mine"
    Released: September 25, 2015

Background

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In June 2013, it was reported that Bareilles was to score Waitress, a musical adaptation of the 2007 film of the same name.[3] The musical opened on August 20, 2015, at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[4][5] The production was directed by Diane Paulus and starred Jessie Mueller in the leading role.[6] Bareilles debuted one song from the musical called "She Used to be Mine" during some shows on her Little Black Dress Tour.[7] The show closed on September 27, 2015, and after the successful run at A.R.T., it moved to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway in April 2016. Previews began in March 2016 with Mueller retaining the lead.[1] Bareilles took over the lead from Mueller for a 10-week limited run, which began on March 31, 2017, and returned from January 16 to March 11, 2018, with an overlap with Jason Mraz.[8][9]

While writing the musical, Bareilles "fell more deeply in love with the writing of the musical Waitress than I had ever imagined."[1] Her decision to record an album of the songs came because it "proved impossible for me to imagine handing over the songs to the show before selfishly finding a way to sing them myself."[1] She confirmed during a Google Hangout Q & A session in June 2015 that the musical's songs would be reworked "to sound like Sara Bareilles songs."

Recording

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Bareilles began work on the album in April 2015 at New York City's Electric Lady Studios with producer Neal Avron, who previously worked with Bareilles on Kaleidoscope Heart.[10][11]

Promotion

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On June 27, 2015, Bareilles and Nadia DiGiallonardo performed "She Used to Be Mine" with Rich Dworsky and The Berkshire Boys on A Prairie Home Companion.[12] The album's title was revealed in September 2015.[1]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [13]
The Boston GlobePositive[14]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album four out of five stars and writes that the songs are "lively, clever, and bold, and further evidence of Bareilles' versatility, elegance, and wit."[13] Additionally, The Boston Globe's Sarah Rodman calls it "a great pop album."[14]

Commercial performance

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What's Inside: Songs from Waitress debuted at number ten on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 30,000 album-equivalent units, (including pure album sales of 27,000 copies) in its first week.[15] This became Barellies' fifth US top-ten album.[15]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Sara Bareilles

No.TitleLength
1."What's Inside"1:16
2."Opening Up"3:19
3."Door Number Three"2:54
4."When He Sees Me"3:51
5."Soft Place to Land"2:58
6."Never Ever Getting Rid of Me"2:26
7."I Didn't Plan It"3:25
8."Bad Idea" (featuring Jason Mraz)3:26
9."You Matter to Me" (featuring Jason Mraz)4:11
10."She Used to Be Mine"4:10
11."Everything Changes"3:38
12."Lulu's Pie Song"1:11
Total length:36:45

Personnel

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Credits adapted from AllMusic.[16]

Charts

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Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 90
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 156
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] 63
US Billboard 200[20] 10

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Gans, Andrew; Viagas, Robert (25 September 2015). "Make it "Mine": Listen to Sara Bareilles Single from "What's Inside: Songs from Waitress"". Playbill.com. Playbill. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  2. ^ "She Used to Be Mine: Sara Bareilles: MP3 Downloads". ASIN B015RP4XAK. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  3. ^ "Sara Bareilles to Score New Musical Adaptation of Waitress, Directed by Diane Paulus". Broadway.com. 9 June 2013.
  4. ^ "Sara Bareilles' 'Waitress' Musical To Debut In August". Billboard. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  5. ^ Manly, Lorne (13 August 2015). "'Waitress' Musical Sets the Table for Broadway". Retrieved 2016-07-05.
  6. ^ "Jessie Mueller to star in Sara Bareilles's 'Waitress'". Gulf News. Al Nisr Publishing LLC. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Sara Bareilles - "She Used To Be Mine" from Waitress - Berkeley, CA 8/14/14". YouTube. Just Jared. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Sara Bareilles to Star in 'Waitress' on Broadway". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  9. ^ "Sara Bareilles Extends Run in Broadway's Waitress".
  10. ^ Bareilles, Sara. "This is happening". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  11. ^ Scharff, Jared. "My home last week at Electric Lady Studios..." Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  12. ^ "She Used To Be Mine - Sara Bareilles and Nadia DiGiallonardo - 6/27/2015". YouTube. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  13. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "What's Inside: Songs from Waitress - Sara Bareilles — Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  14. ^ a b Rodman, Sarah (5 November 2015). "Album review: Sara Bareilles, 'What's Inside: Songs from Waitress'". The Boston Globe. John W. Henry. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  15. ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (15 November 2015). "Chris Stapleton Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  16. ^ "What's Inside: Songs from Waitress - Sara Bareilles - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  17. ^ Ryan, Gavin (November 14, 2015). "ARIA Albums: Elvis Presley Has the No 1 Album in Australia Again". Noise11. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  18. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sara Bareilles – What's Inside: Songs from Waitress" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  19. ^ "Sara Bareilles Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  20. ^ "Sara Bareilles Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2015.