Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (album) explained

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording) is the cast album for the 2014 Broadway musical . Released digitally on April 1, 2014 and physically on May 13, through Ghostlight Records, it featured the cast members performing the songs of Carole King in the Broadway show. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2015.

Background

Beautiful: The Carol King Musical is based on the songs performed by Carole King and produced for Sony/ATV Music Publishing.^[1] The album was announced by Ghostlight Records on February 13, which served as its publisher, and the songs were recorded at the MSR Studios in New York during period between February 27 and March 3, 2014.^[2] The cast album featured 25 songs—"Oh Carol", "Be-Bop-A-Lula", "Who Put the Bomp" and the reprised version of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", were excluded from the track list.^{[3] [4]} Five songs from the album—Some Kind of Wonderful", "Walking in the Rain", "You've Got a Friend", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and "Beautiful"—were released exclusively through Entertainment Weekly on March 27, 2014. The album was digitally released through ITunes and other digital formats on April 1, 2014 and in CDs on May 13, 2014.

Commercial performance

Upon its digital release, the album debuted as the number 1 cast recording on iTunes and ranked at 41st position overall.^{[5] [6]} At the Billboard 200 charts, the album debuted at number 60 and topped the Cast Albums chart, post the release of its physical versions.^{[7] [8]}

Time Out ranked this recording at 22nd place on the "best original Broadway cast recordings of the 21st century" list. Further, Chief Drama Critic and Theater Editor David Cote wrote, "The arrangements are lush and soaring, the sound is crisp, and superstar Jessie Mueller, as King, will break your heart."^[9]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (2014)! scope="col"

Peak position
US Billboard 200[10]	60
US Cast Albums (Billboard)[11]	1

Year-end charts

Chart! scope="col"

Year	Position
US Cast Albums (Billboard)[12]	2014	6
US Cast Albums (Billboard)[13]	2015	5
US Cast Albums (Billboard)[14]	2016	3
US Cast Albums (Billboard)[15]	2017	7
US Cast Albums (Billboard)[16]	2018	10

Accolades

Award! scope="col"

Date of ceremony	Category	Result
Grammy Awards	February 8, 2015	Best Musical Theater Album		[17] [18] [19]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Lunden . Jeff . 2014-03-27 . Jukebox Heroes? How Broadway Musicals Add Up for Sony/ATV . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240614142012/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/jukebox-heroes-how-broadway-musicals-add-up-for-sonyatv-2-6028808/ . 2024-06-14 . 2024-06-14 . Billboard . en-US.
2. Web site: Gioia . Michael . Hetrick . Adam . February 13, 2014 . Ghostlight Records Will Record Broadway's Beautiful: The Carole King Musical . live . https://archive.today/20140430224110/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/187619-Ghostlight-Records-Will-Record-Broadways-Beautiful-The-Carole-King-Musical . April 30, 2014 . May 1, 2014 . Playbill.
3. Web site: Snetiker . Marc . 2014-03-27 . 'Beautiful': Listen to the cast album from the Carole King musical . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150326002016/https://ew.com/article/2014/03/27/beautiful-broadway-first-listen-cast-album/ . 2015-03-26 . 2024-06-14 . Entertainment Weekly . en.
4. Web site: Hetrick . Adam . May 13, 2014 . Cast Album of 'Beautiful: The Carole King Musical' Hits Stores May 13 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140513202923/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/191052-Cast-Album-of-Beautiful-The-Carole-King-Musical-Hits-Stores-May-13 . May 13, 2014 . May 13, 2014 . Playbill.
5. Web site: Rooney . David . 2014-04-04 . Carole King Checks Out 'Beautiful' (Video) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210926201557/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/video-carole-king-checks-beautiful-693696/ . 2021-09-26 . 2024-06-14 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US . The original cast recording was released digitally last week, debuting as the No. 1 cast album on iTunes..
6. Web site: Pogrebin . Robin . 2014-04-04 . Carole King Sees 'Beautiful: The Carole King Musical' for the First Time . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230426192553/https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/03/carole-king-sees-beautiful-the-carole-king-musical-for-the-first-time/ . 2023-04-26 . 2024-06-14 . The New York Times . en . And the cast recording, released digitally on Tuesday, debuted as the No. 1 cast recording on iTunes and the No. 41 album over all on iTunes..
7. Caulfield . Keith . May 21, 2014 . The Black Keys Earn First No. 1 Album, Michael Jackson Debuts At No. 2 . May 21, 2014 . Billboard . Prometheus Global Media.
8. Web site: Hetrick . Adam . 2014-05-21 . Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Cast Album Places Strong on Billboard Top 200 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201129054319/https://playbill.com/article/beautiful-the-carole-king-musical-cast-album-places-strong-on-billboard-top-200-com-218602 . 2020-11-29 . 2024-06-14 . Playbill.
9. Web site: Cote . David . Feldman . Adam . 2016-09-26 . 25 best original Broadway cast albums of the millennium (so far) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201030171545/https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/best-original-broadway-cast-recordings-of-the-21st-century . 2020-10-30 . 2024-06-14 . Time Out . en-US.
10. May 31, 2014 . Billboard 200: Week of May 31, 2014 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150227115521/https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/2014-05-31/ . February 27, 2015 . June 14, 2024 . Billboard.
11. May 31, 2014 . Soundtracks: Week of May 31, 2014 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211203104053/https://www.billboard.com/charts/cast-albums/2014-05-31/ . December 3, 2021 . June 14, 2024 . Billboard.
12. Cast Albums Year-End Chart 2014 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20191018184317/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2014/cast-albums/ . October 18, 2019 . December 8, 2019 . Billboard.
13. Cast Albums Year-End Chart 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20191018184305/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2015/cast-albums/ . October 18, 2019 . December 8, 2019 . Billboard.
14. Cast Albums Year-End Chart 2016 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20191018182040/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2016/cast-albums/ . October 18, 2019 . October 18, 2019 . Billboard.
15. Cast Albums Year-End Chart 2017 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20191018182016/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2017/cast-albums/ . October 18, 2019 . October 18, 2019 . Billboard.
16. Cast Albums Year-End Chart 2018 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20191018182014/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2018/cast-albums/ . October 18, 2019 . October 18, 2019 . Billboard.
17. Web site: Ann Oldenburg . December 5, 2014 . 2015 Grammy nominations roll out . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20141211024822/http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/12/05/2015-grammy-nominations-announced/19938541/ . December 11, 2014 . August 23, 2017 . USA Today.
18. Web site: February 9, 2015 . Grammy Awards 2015 – as it happened . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150211204110/http://www.bbc.com/news/live/entertainment-arts-31174429 . February 11, 2015 . February 12, 2015 . BBC Sport.
19. Web site: February 9, 2015 . Grammy Awards 2015: winners and performances – as it happened . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150209113342/http://www.theguardian.com/music/live/2015/feb/08/grammy-2015-award-winners-and-performances-live . February 9, 2015 . February 12, 2015 . The Guardian.