Welcome to the Madhouse

Welcome to the Madhouse
Studio album by Tones and I
Released	16 July 2021
Genre	Pop[1]
Length	46:29
Label	Bad Batch Warner Music Australia Elektra Records
Producer	Capi Dann Hume Konstantin Kersting Randy Belculfine Toni Watson
Tones and I chronology
The Kids Are Coming (2019) Welcome to the Madhouse (2021) Beautifully Ordinary (2024)
Singles from Welcome to the Madhouse
"Fly Away" Released: 13 November 2020 "Won't Sleep" Released: 14 May 2021 "Cloudy Day" Released: 10 June 2021

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Arts Desk	[1]
The AU Review	[3]
The Guardian	[4]
The Sydney Morning Herald	[5]
Sputnikmusic	0.5/5[6]

Welcome to the Madhouse is the debut studio album by Australian singer and songwriter Tones and I, released on 16 July 2021 through Bad Batch Records. The album debuted at number 1 on the ARIA Charts.

At the 2021 ARIA Music Awards, the album was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Artist, while Giulia Giannini McGauran & Mitchell Eaton were nominated for Best Cover Art for their work on this album.[7] At the J Awards of 2021, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year.[8]

Background

Welcome to the Madhouse is Watson's debut album,[9] and her first body of work since her debut EP The Kids Are Coming (2019), which featured the commercially successful single "Dance Monkey".[10] In an interview with MTV News, she said the album would be predominantly self-produced, saying: "These songs are completely me and my own production. It's not swayed by other songwriters or by anyone that's trying to help me get a hit, because that's never been important to me."[10]

Watson chose to add five additional songs to the record as a result of having spare time to do so. She stated: "I've taken the time to just really make sure it's what I want. And I want to add more music to the album. It will be my first ever album, so I really want to make sure I'm proud of it."[11]

Recording

Watson began recording for her debut album in early 2020, before suffering delays as a result of the Stage Four lockdown in Melbourne, which was enforced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] Elaborating in an interview about the recording sessions, Watson stated:

"I couldn't record a lot of the time in Melbourne; I wasn't allowed to leave the house. The music I wrote before I had to stop, because of the really intense lockdown, was really weird! I wrote this song called "Welcome to the Madhouse"; I just wrote three or four really weird songs, that I'd never written like that before. I explained it like trying to pull inspiration from living Groundhog Day over and over again!"[12]

She went on to finish recording for the album following the end of the lockdown.[9]

Release

On 25 February 2020, Billboard revealed that Watson was finalising her debut album.[13]

On 1 September 2020, Watson revealed details of her forthcoming album on an online press conference, stating that she planned to release the album sometime in the forthcoming two to three months. She'd initially intended to release the album in August of that year.[14]

On 13 November 2020, in an interview accompanying the premiere of "Fly Away" on Triple J's Breakfast with Bryce Mills, Watson revealed that the single was the first from her debut album.[12]

On 13 May 2021, alongside the worldwide premiere of "Won't Sleep" on Triple J's Hobba & Hing, Watson confirmed the album and shared its title.[9] She revealed the album's release date on 7 June 2021.[15]

Promotion

Singles

Welcome to the Madhouse was preceded by three singles. "Fly Away" was released as the album's lead single on 13 November 2020[16][17] and peaked at number 4 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[18] "Won't Sleep" was released as the album's second single on 14 May 2021[19] and peaked at number 77 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[20] "Cloudy Day" was released as the album's third single on 10 June 2021[21] and peaked at number 31 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[22]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Toni Watson.

Welcome to the Madhouse track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Welcome to the Madhouse"	Toni Watson Dann Hume Randy Belculfine	2:36
2.	"Lonely"	Watson Belculfine	3:44
3.	"Won't Sleep"	Watson Belculfine	3:17
4.	"Westside Lobby"	Watson Capi	3:39
5.	"Fly Away"	Watson Hume	2:58
6.	"Sad Songs"	Watson Belculfine	3:14
7.	"Just a Mess"	Watson Belculfine	3:51
8.	"Child's Play"	Watson Belculfine	3:39
9.	"Not Going Home"	Watson Hume	3:31
10.	"Dark Waters"	Watson Konstantin Kersting	3:34
11.	"Cloudy Day"	Watson Hume	3:05
12.	"You Don't Know My Name"	Watson Hume Belculfine	3:14
13.	"Fall Apart"	Watson Hume	4:08
14.	"Bars (RIP T)"	Watson Belculfine	1:59
Total length:			46:29

Japanese edition bonus tracks[23]

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Fly Away" (Jonas Blue Remix)	Watson Hume Jonas Blue	3:13
16.	"Ur So F**king Cool" (Top of the Pops Radio Edit 2021)	Watson Steve Mac	2:53
Total length:			52:47

Deluxe edition bonus tracks – The Kids Are Coming

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"The Kids Are Coming"	Watson	3:24
16.	"Dance Monkey"	Kersting	3:29
17.	"Colourblind"	Watson	3:26
18.	"Johnny Run Away"	Kersting	3:12
19.	"Jimmy"	Kersting	3:43
20.	"Never Seen the Rain"	Kersting	3:20

Personnel

Credits are based on the deluxe version track listing.

• Toni Watson – vocals, all instruments
• Andrei Eremin – mastering
• Dann Hume – mixing (tracks 1, 4, 5, 9, 11–13), programming (5)
• Randy Belculfine – mixing (2, 3, 6–8, 14, 15), engineering (1–3, 6–8, 11–15)
• Konstantin Kersting – mixing (10, 16, 18–20), engineering (16, 18–20)
• Kenny Harmon – mixing, engineering (17)
• Daniel Frizza – engineering (1, 2, 6, 11)
• Richard Stolz – engineering (1, 4, 9, 10)
• Garrett Kato – vocal engineering (16)
• The Cho1r – choir (1, 2, 6)

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart performance for Welcome to the Madhouse

Chart (2021)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[24]	1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25]	124
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26]	140
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[27]	36
French Albums (SNEP)[28]	107
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29]	81
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30]	38
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[31]	39
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32]	87
US Billboard 200[33]	144

Year-end charts

Chart (2021)	Position
Australian Artist Albums (ARIA)[34]	27

Certifications

Certifications for Welcome to the Madhouse

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[35]	2× Platinum	160,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history and formats for Welcome to the Madhouse

Region	Date	Format	Label	Catalogue	Ref.
Various	16 July 2021	Digital download streaming	Bad Batch Sony Music Australia	Not applicable	[36]
Australia		CD		19439888152	[37]
		LP		19439888151	[38]
		LP (JB Hi-Fi exclusive orange edition)		19439888171	[39]
New Zealand		CD	Bad Batch	19439888152	[40]
		LP		19439888151	[41]
		LP (JB Hi-Fi exclusive orange edition)		19439888171	[42]

References

1. Green, Thomas H (10 July 2021). "Album: Tones and I – Welcome to the Madhouse – jaunty pop with attitude". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
2. Welcome to the Madhouse at AllMusic
3. Marshall, Dylan (16 July 2021). "Album of the Week: Tones And I – Welcome to the Madhouse (2021 LP)". The AU Review. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
4. D'Souza, Shaad (16 July 2021). "Tones and I: Welcome to the Madhouse review – a disappointing pastiche of pop trends". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
5. Boulton, Martin (16 July 2021). "Tones and I proves she's no one-hit wonder with debut album". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
6. "Review: Tones and I - Welcome to the Madhouse". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
7. Kelly, Vivienne (20 October 2021). "ARIA Awards nominees revealed: Amy Shark & Genesis Owusu lead the charge". The Music Network. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
8. Kelly, Vivienne (1 November 2021). "Triple j reveals J Awards nominees". The Music Network. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
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10. Roth, Madeline (23 April 2020). "Tones and I is making her most honest music, and it's nothing like 'Dance Monkey'". MTV News. Archived from the original on 24 April 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
11. Lochrie, Conor (1 September 2020). "Tones and I holds virtual conference, discusses upcoming debut album". Tone Deaf. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
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13. Frank, Alex (25 February 2021). "For Tones and I, pop stardom was never part of the plan". Billboard. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
14. Rose, Anna (1 September 2020). "Tones and I says her debut album might be out in two to three months' time". NME Australia. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
15. @tonesandimusic (7 June 2021). "MY FIRST ALBUM "Welcome To The Madhouse" is out July 16 and I have a new single 'Cloudy Day' coming this week..." (Tweet). Retrieved 8 June 2021 – via Twitter.
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