Greatest Hits: Decade Number 1


Greatest Hits: Decade #1 is the first greatest hits double album by American singer Carrie Underwood, released on December 9, 2014, by Arista Nashville. The release contains every single from Underwood's first four studio albums: Some Hearts, Carnival Ride, Play On, and Blown Away, except "Some Hearts" from its album of the same name. Two newly recorded songs were included: "Something in the Water" and "Little Toy Guns". The album also contains four additional tracks.
The compilation debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Top Country Albums charts, and set several records upon release, including having the biggest sales debut for a hits collection in any genre of music in more than six years and the biggest first-week sales for a female hits album in any genre in over nine years. It went on to become the largest selling greatest hits album of 2015, and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.
The album's first single, "Something in the Water" won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance. The following year, "Little Toy Guns" was nominated for the same award.

Background and content

On September 26, 2014, during an appearance on The Today Show, Underwood announced her plans to release Greatest Hits: Decade #1 on December 9, 2014, as a celebration of her tenth anniversary of winning the fourth season of American Idol. The same day, she announced the compilation's first single, "Something in the Water". About the content of the compilation, Underwood said, "I don't think it would be quite as exciting if I didn't have something new for the album".

Packaging

The compilation contains 25 tracks in two discs, 19 of which are previously released singles. It comes with two newly recorded songs, "Something in the Water" and "Little Toy Guns". About including "How Great Thou Art" on her collection, Underwood stated the song had taken "on a life of its own", noting that fans frequently told her they loved that performance and revisited it "online all the time". She said this response made it important to include the song on an album, describing the performance as "a really amazing moment" that she and Vince Gill both felt. It also features four additional tracks, including her previously unreleased, live version of "How Great Thou Art" with Vince Gill, a song they performed together for the ACM Presents: Girls' Night Out TV concert. The other three additional tracks are songwriting worktape versions of "So Small", "Last Name" and "Mama's Song". On including these, Underwood explained that they were included as an alternative form of "extras", stating that they were recorded on the day the songs were written and describing them as "pretty special".

Singles

"Something in the Water" was released as the first single from the compilation, on September 29, 2014. The song was written by Underwood along with Chris DeStefano and Brett James, and produced by Underwood's longtime producer Mark Bright. It also has a sample of "Amazing Grace" at the end of the song, sung by Underwood. It became a crossover success, having topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for seven weeks and the Hot Christian Songs chart for 26 consecutive weeks. It also reached No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. On August 10, 2015, "Something in the Water" was certified Platinum by RIAA. At the 57th Grammy Awards, the song won the Grammy award for Best Country Solo Performance.
In February 2015,"Little Toy Guns" was released as the second single from the compilation. The song was released to country radio on February 16, 2015. The track peaked at number six on Billboards Hot Country Songs, being her 21st top 10 songs from the chart. It also peaked at number two on the Country Airplay Chart and number 47 on the Hot 100. On August 10, 2015, it was certified Gold by RIAA. The song was nominated for Best Country Solo Performance at the 58th Grammy Awards.

Commercial performance

Greatest Hits: Decade Number #1 sold 94,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number four on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Top Country Albums charts. It is the biggest sales debut for a hits collection in any genre of music in more than six years, when Frank Sinatra's Nothing But the Best arrived in May 2008, and the biggest first-week sales for a female hits album in any genre in over nine years, when Reba McEntire's Reba #1's opened in November 2005. Furthermore, it is the biggest debut sales week for a country best-of title since Toby Keith's 35 Biggest Hits debuted in May 2008, and logs the biggest sales week for a best-of since Whitney Houston's Whitney: The Greatest Hits shifted 112,000 on the chart dated March 17, 2012. The album was certified Platinum on January 8, 2016, as 500,000 copies shipped but counted as a million for double album. Greatest Hits: Decade #1 became the largest-selling greatest hits album of 2015. The album has sold 564,300 copies as of April 2017.
In terms of chart positions, on the Billboard 200, Greatest Hits: Decade #1 has the highest ranking for a newly released greatest hits album since Kenny Chesney's Greatest Hits II debuted and peaked at number three in May 2009. It's the highest-charting greatest hits album since Frank Sinatra's 2008 collection Nothing but the Best rebounded to number three in August 2012. On the Top Country Albums chart, Underwood scored her fifth consecutive number one bow, of five career releases, as Greatest Hits: Decade #1 debuted atop the chart. She is only the second artist to arrive with five number one debuts on Top Country Albums, with Miranda Lambert being the other one. Underwood is first female artist to debut at number one on the Top Country Albums chart with a greatest hits album since Shania Twain's Greatest Hits had 11 weeks on top from November 2004 to January 2005. In the United Kingdom, the collection debuted at number two on the Country Compilation Album chart and a year later it reached number one, on November 13, 2015.

Critical reception

Reviewing for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine said "the 21 singles – which are supplemented by three demos that reveal Carrie works well in a stark setting, too – are of a piece, expertly constructed post-Shania and Faith Hill country-pop proving that Underwood is the new-millennial heir to their throne." Robert Christgau was less enthusiastic in Vice. He highlighted "Mama's Song", "Two Black Cadillacs", and "Remind Me", while briefly summarizing the album with the following commentary on Underwood: "Big enough to command great songs, even to put her hand to a feminist few, but not big enough to trust her indoor voice".

Track listing

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Personnel

Credits were adapted from AllMusic.
;Musicians
;Technical personnel