We Are
Studio album by
Jon Batiste
ReleasedMarch 19, 2021 (2021-03-19)
Recorded2019–2020
Genre
Length38:01
LabelVerve
Producer
  • Jon Batiste
  • Kizzo
  • David Pimentel
Jon Batiste chronology
Meditations
(2020)		 We Are
(2021)		 World Music Radio
(2023)
Singles from We Are
  1. "We Are"
    Released: June 12, 2020
  2. "I Need You"
    Released: January 22, 2021
  3. "Cry"
    Released: February 12, 2021
We Are ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Albumism[1]
AllMusic[2]
Rolling Stone[3]
The Spill Magazine[4]

We Are (stylized in all caps) is the sixth studio album by Jon Batiste. It was released on Verve Records on March 19, 2021.[5] In April 2022, the album won Album of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards; it earned Batiste nine nominations in total, with five wins.[6]

Following the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, We Are reached its peak at number 25 on the US Billboard 200 with 18,000 album equivalent units.[7]

Background

Batiste began working on the album in late 2019, making it in his dressing room over six days in September and finishing it by mid-2020. While largely written and recorded prior to the events of 2020, the album's lyrical and thematic content reflects such events as the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and his involvement in 2020, leading Black Lives Matter protests in New York after the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.[5][8]

On June 12, 2020, he released the single "We Are", featuring the band from his New Orleans alma mater, the St. Augustine High School Marching 100.[9]

As part of Record Store Day 2020, Batiste released a limited edition EP titled We Are: Roots & Traditions.[10]

The album also features Mavis Staples, Zadie Smith, PJ Morton, and Trombone Shorty.[11][5]

Speaking to Atwood Magazine, Batiste described We Are as "a representation of genreless music that's just about the story" and "a culmination of my life to this point".[5]

Batiste released a deluxe edition of the album on October 15, 2021.[12]

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2022 Album of the Year We Are Won [13]
Best R&B Album Nominated
Record of the Year "Freedom" Nominated
Best Music Video Won
Best Traditional R&B Performance "I Need You" Nominated
Best American Roots Performance "Cry" Won
Best American Roots Song Won
Best Contemporary Classical Composition Batiste: Movement 11' Nominated

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jon Batiste, except where noted

We Are track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."We Are" (featuring St. Augustine High School Marching 100, David Gauthier, Gospel Soul Children, Craig Adams, Braedon Gautier, Brennan Gautier, Autumn Rowe)
4:24
2."Tell the Truth" 3:21
3."Cry"
3:57
4."I Need You"
  • Batiste
  • Rowe
2:37
5."Whatchutalkinbout" 2:21
6."Boy Hood" (featuring PJ Morton, Trombone Shorty)
4:26
7."Movement 11'" 2:01
8."Adulthood" (featuring Hot 8 Brass Band) 3:41
9."Mavis"Mavis Staples0:20
10."Freedom"
  • Batiste
  • Rowe
  • Andrae Alexander
2:58
11."Show Me the Way" (featuring Zadie Smith) 3:40
12."Sing"
3:07
13."Until" 1:03
Total length:37:56

All tracks are written by Jon Batiste, except where noted

We Are (The Deluxe Edition) track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Need You"
  • Batiste
  • Rowe
2:35
2."Freedom"
  • Batiste
  • Rowe
  • Alexander
2:57
3."Cry"
  • Batiste
  • McEwan
3:55
4."Boy Hood" (featuring PJ Morton, Trombone Shorty)
  • Andrews
  • Batiste
  • Levine
  • Morton
  • Sweet
4:25
5."Sing" (featuring Tori Kelly)
  • Batiste
  • Cooper
  • Dimotsis
  • Frederic
  • Rowe
3:11
6."We Are" (featuring St. Augustine High School Marching 100, David Gauthier, Gospel Soul Children, Craig Adams, Braedon Gautier, Brennan Gautier, Autumn Rowe)
  • Batiste
  • Rowe
  • Kizzo
4:24
7."Tell the Truth" 3:22
8."Adulthood" (featuring BJ the Chicago Kid) 3:43
9."Whatchutalkinbout" 2:19
10."Mavis"Staples 
11."Freedom" (Big Freedia Remix)
  • Batiste
  • Rowe
  • Alexander
2:52
12."Tell the Truth" (Uptown Remix - featuring Big Chief Romeo Bougere of the Mardi Gras Indian Show, Michael Batiste) 3:15
13."Movement 11'" 2:01
14."Work It Out" 3:04
15."Adulthood" (featuring Hot 8 Brass Band) 3:42
16."Show Me the Way" (featuring Zadie Smith) 3:40
17."Sing"
  • Batiste
  • Cooper
  • Dimotsis
  • Frederic
  • Rowe
3:09
18."We Are" (Montmartre Remix - featuring Abi Bernadoth) 3:19
19."Until" 1:04
Total length:57:27

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

producer

  • Ken Oriole - recording
  • John Muller – engineer
  • Gavin Paddock - engineer, mix engineer [20]
  • David Andersen - second engineer [20]

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for We Are
Chart (2021–2022) Peak
position
Australian Jazz and Blues Albums (ARIA)[21] 1
Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA)[22] 5
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[23] 35
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 191
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25] 175
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[26] 81
French Albums (SNEP)[27] 61
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28] 66
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[29] 92
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 39
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[31] 25
US Billboard 200[32] 25
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[33] 14
Weekly chart performance for We Are: Roots & Traditions
Chart (2020) Peak
position
US Top Contemporary Jazz Albums (Billboard)[34] 9

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for We Are
Chart (2021) Position
Australian Jazz and Blues Albums (ARIA)[35] 28

References

  1. ↑ Corcoran, Patrick (March 25, 2021). "Jon Batiste Delivers Infectious Slice of Uplifting Soul with We Are". Albumism. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  2. ↑ Collar, Matt. "We Are - Jon Batiste". AllMusic. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Rolling Stone - April 2021". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  4. ↑ Harris, Gerrod. "Spill Album Review: Jon Batiste - We Are". The Spill Magazine. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Interview: Jon Batiste Dives into His Inspiring, Genreless New Album We Are'". Atwood Magazine. March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Jon Batiste". Grammy.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  7. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (April 12, 2022). "Jon Batiste, Silk Sonic, Billie Eilish & More See Sales Bumps After 2022 Grammys". Billboard. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  8. ↑ Hughes, Hilary (March 19, 2021). "Jon Batiste riffs on the moment with We Are". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  9. ↑ Smith, Sophie (June 12, 2020). "Hear Jon Batiste's Anthemic New Single, 'We Are'". U Discover Music. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  10. ↑ Micucci, Matt (November 4, 2020). "5 Record Store Day Releases You Need to Know: Black Friday 2020". Jazziz. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  11. ↑ Ginsberg, Gab (March 12, 2021). "Jon Batiste on New Album 'We Are,' Grammys and Oscars Prospects: It's 'Beyond My Wildest Dreams'". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  12. ↑ "WE ARE DELUXE CD". JonBatisteStore. October 11, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Jon Batiste". Grammy. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 "Jon Batiste Shares 'Cry' Single". JamBase.
  15. ↑ "I Need You – Jon Batiste | Credits". AllMusic.
  16. 1 2 "Show Me the Way – Jon Batiste, Zadie Smith | Credits". AllMusic.
  17. ↑ "Cry – Jon Batiste | Credits". AllMusic.
  18. ↑ "Roberta Freeman | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Carol Hatchett | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  20. 1 2 3 "Album WE ARE (The Deluxe Edition), Jon Batiste | Qobuz: Download and streaming in high quality".
  21. ↑ "ARIA Jazz and Blues Album Chart 11 April 2022" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  22. ↑ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 11 April 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1675. Australian Recording Industry Association. April 11, 2022. p. 23.
  23. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Jon Batiste – We Are" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Jon Batiste – We Are" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Jon Batiste – We Are" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  26. ↑ "Jon Batiste Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Jon Batiste – We Are". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  28. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jon Batiste – We Are" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2022/04/13 公開". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  30. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Jon Batiste – We Are". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Jon Batiste Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Jon Batiste Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  34. ↑ "Jon Batiste Chart History (Top Contemporary Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  35. ↑ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Jazz and Blues Albums 2021". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
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