Provoked (Sunny Sweeney album)

Content

After parting ways with Republic Nashville in 2012, Sweeney signed a recording contract with the Thirty Tigers record label, and released Provoked, her first album under the imprint, on August 5, 2014. The set was produced by Luke Wooten and Sweeney co-wrote 11 of the album's 13 songs, many of which were inspired by her personal life, which included a divorce from her first husband.

"Bad Girl Phase" was released in June 2014 as the lead-off single. Although the single failed to reach the Billboard charts, it was a Number One hit on the Texas Music Chart for the chart week of October 20, 2014. In doing so, Sweeney became the first female to top the chart in over ten years.

"Can't Let Go" was previously recorded by Lucinda Williams and Heidi Newfield, and the album also includes a duet with Will Hoge on "My Bed," which was released as the album's second single in early 2015. "My Bed" became a Number One hit on the Texas Music Chart in June 2015, making Sweeney the first female in the history of the chart to score back-to-back Number One hits.

Commercial

The album debuted at number 165 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number 20 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart upon its release. It had sold 2,900 copies after two weeks.

Critical

Thom Jurek of allmusic gave the album four stars out of five, praising the record as Sweeney's most consistent and diverse: "It's a provocative album, detailing a difficult journey through disappointment, doubt, darkness, and ultimately triumph. It's chock-full of vulnerability, accountability, an acidic wit and strength." Writing for Cuepoint, the Dean of American rock critics Robert Christgau gave the record an A-. His write-up claimed that Sweeney gave "bros the finger" and that "the former Republic Nashville wannabe" turned "her whole album into what Clark or Jessie Jo Dillon or maybe it was Shannon Wright thought to call 'a bad girl phase.'" Christgau went on to call Sweeney "marketable" and praised her co-writers.