Wiki
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Release Date
30 January 2009
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Length
10 tracks
The Fray is the second studio album by American alternative rock band The Fray. Released on February 3, 2009, through Epic Records, the album debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200 chart, and became a top 5 hit in Australia and Canada.
The album was preceded by the single "You Found Me," which charted in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the number-one spot in Australia. The second single from the album, "Never Say Never," was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 2010. "Never Say Never" was also included on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – The Album.
Critical reception was mixed, and less positive than the band's debut album, How to Save a Life, with critics pointing out that the album was too similar to its predecessor. However, positive reviews also noted that despite the similarities, The Fray was "more focused" and "consistent" than the debut album. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album and has been certified gold in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Following the success of their debut album, How to Save a Life in 2005 and an extensive tour which ended by mid-2007, The Fray began work on their second album. The band occasionally took breaks from recording, and performed some of their new songs on a few high-profile shows, most notably the song "You Found Me", which was then titled "Amistad". The band finished recording the self-titled album at the end of July 2008 for an early 2009 release. The album was produced by Aaron Johnson and Mike Flynn (the same production duo from the band's debut album) and recorded by Warren Huart. The song "Amistad" went through several changes and finally evolved into "You Found Me", which was chosen as the album's lead single. The band filmed a music video in Chicago for the song, which was directed by Josh Forbes.
The single debuted on November 20, during a commercial break of the show Grey's Anatomy. It was a one-minute promo with scenes from the then-upcoming season of ABC's Lost. "You Found Me" received heavy airplay in the United States, and became their third song to chart in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became a success internationally, most notably in Australia where it reached number-one. The band performed the song live at the 2008 American Music Awards on November 23, and began touring in support of their second album.
On November 21, 2008, the album was made available for pre-order in standard, vinyl and deluxe versions. The deluxe version contains the CD in a Digipack case, a bonus DVD, an extended booklet and a set of postcards. The deluxe version of the album was only available for order in the United States. A documentary, titled Fair Fight, was sold with the first 300,000 copies of the album.
The band shot acoustic video performances of some of the songs from the album which were circulated on the internet before the album's release. Some songs of the album were also featured on a few TV shows: "Never Say Never" was on an episode of One Tree Hill as well as on the season five finale of Grey's Anatomy. The song "Happiness" was played on an episode of Brothers and Sisters. The second track on the album, "Absolute", charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 70, on the strength of a large number of digital downloads, despite not being released as a single.
The Fray was released on February 3, 2009. Following the success of "You Found Me", the album debuted at number 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 179,000 copies in its first week of release. It then dropped to number 4 the next week selling 75,000 copies. The album re-entered the Billboard 200 at No. 96 chart on the week ending March 7, 2010, and dropped out in the following week. According to Soundscan, as of February 2012, the album has sold 897,000 copies in the U.S.
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