Human is the debut studio album by British singer and songwriter Rag'n'Bone Man. It was released on 10 February 2017 through Columbia Records and features his breakthrough single of 2016, entitled "Human". It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with sales of 117,000, making it the fastest-selling debut album by a male artist during the 2010s.[1]
Human has been given a Metacritic score of 64 based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[2] Leonie Cooper of NME gave the album a positive review stating, "Rory Graham's debut album is at once modern and classic, fusing blues, hip-hop and vintage sounds with a pop attitude".[3] Kitty Empire of The Guardian gave the album a positive review stating, "So it's a good job that Rag'n'Bone Man has the kind of righteous roar that could breathe life into the phone book," but criticised Graham, saying, “this album spools together a set of reliable tropes with little in the way of topspin."
Commercial performance
On 13 February 2017, the album was number one on The Official Chart Update, the album sold 70,000 copies and was outselling the top 20 combined.[5] The album entered the UK Albums Chart on 17 February 2017 at number one. The album sold 117,000 copies across physical, download and streaming, making it the fastest-selling debut album by a male act during the 2010s.[6] The album also reached number one in Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Ireland and Switzerland.
In France, it started at number two[7] with 16,738 albums sold.[8] It reached number one two weeks later.[7] By the end of the year, 239,300 copies had been sold in the country.[9] It was ranked twelve on the year-end album sales chart. Including streaming, the album was ranked eight on the year-end album chart with 310,000 units.[10][11] As of February 2018, it had sold 250,000 copies.[12]
^O'Connor, Roisin (18 February 2017). "Rag 'n' Bone Man album Human hits No.1 and becomes biggest-selling male debut in a decade". The Independent. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
^ a b"Review for Human by Rag 'n' Bone Man". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
^ a bCooper, Leonie (9 February 2017). "Rag'n'Bone Man – 'Human' Review". NME. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
^Gill, Andy (8 February 2017). "Album reviews: Tinariwen – 'Elwan', Sampha – 'Process', Rag'n'Bone Man – 'Human', and more". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
^Copsey, Rob (13 February 2017). "Rag'n'Bone Man's debut album Human is outperforming the rest of the midweek Top 20 combined". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
^"Rag'n'Bone Man scores the fastest-selling male debut album of the decade with Human". Official Charts Company. 17 February 2017.
^ a b"Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums - SNEP". SNEP (in French). 1 November 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
^"Ventes de la semaine 7 : Vianney fédère toujours plus, Rag'n'Bone Man et "50 nuances plus sombres" cartonnent". aficia (in French). 17 February 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
^"Les meilleures ventes d'albums en France en 2017 : Soprano, Ed Sheeran, Johnny Hallyday..." chartsinfrance.net. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
^"Top Albums annuel (physique + téléchargement + streaming) - SNEP". SNEP (in French). 22 February 2017. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
^"Clip "Die Easy" : Rag'n'Bone Man offre un live a cappella puissant". chartsinfrance.net. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
^""Arrow" : Rag'N'Bone Man enchaîne avec un titre soul et dansant". chartsinfrance.net. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
^"Human by Rag'n'Bone Man on iTunes". apple.com. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
^"Human (Deluxe) by Rag'n'Bone Man on Apple Music". apple.com. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
^"Australiancharts.com – Rag'n'Bone Man – Human". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
^"Austriancharts.at – Rag'n'Bone Man – Human" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
^"Ultratop.be – Rag'n'Bone Man – Human" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
^"Ultratop.be – Rag'n'Bone Man – Human" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
^"Rag'n'Bone Man Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 06.Týden 2017 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
^"Danishcharts.dk – Rag'n'Bone Man – Human". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
^"Dutchcharts.nl – Rag'n'Bone Man – Human" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2017.