1. Hotel Cabana Clearwater Beach
2. Cabanas Sun City
3. Cabanas Hotel Tulum

Hotel Cabana is the upcoming debut studio album by British R&B hip hop Naughty Boy, scheduled for release on 18 August 2013 under Virgin. Naughty Boy has produced many songs for artists, like Emeli Sande, Professor Green, Tinie Tempah, Leona Lewis, Wiley, Sam Smith and Rihanna.

Hotel Cabana is the debut studio album by British record producer Shahid 'Naughty Boy' Khan, released on 23 August 2013 through Naughty Boy Recordings and Virgin EMI. Khan set up his Naughty Boy Productions record and production company. He would find his break by producing Chipmunk's 2009 top-ten single 'Diamond Rings', featuring a then unknown Emeli Sandé. Naughty Boy released his own debut single as a signed artist in 2010. 'Never Be Your Woman' samples White Town's 1997 number-one single 'Your Woman' and featured British grime artist Wiley and Sandé on the chorus; it reached the top ten in the UK and is included as a bonus track on Hotel Cabana.

The collaboration marked the start of a partnership between Naughty Boy and Sandé which is seen throughout Hotel Cabana and Sandé's debut set, Our Version of Events (2012). Hotel Cabana is R&B, soul, garage, pop and hip hop music productions record, with influences from orchestral and Bollywood music. Naughty Boy describes it as an 'audio-visual experience' and a concept album based on a luxury hotel where musicians come to perform. Hotel Cabana reunites Naughty Boy with Sandé on eight collaborations, as well as features from other British artists such George the Poet, Sam Smith, Bastille, Tinie Tempah, Ella Eyre, Gabrielle, Wretch 32, Mic Righteous, Maiday, Chasing Grace, Ed Sheeran, and American rapperWiz Khalifa, who appears on the album's fourth single overall, 'Think About It', with Eyre. Ava Stokes, Tanika, Thabo and RØMANS make additional appearances on the US version of the album which was released by Virgin Records on 6 May 2014.

Prior to release, Hotel Cabana was promoted with several video trailers which included the collaborating artists arriving at the fictional hotel. It was also preceded by the release of three singles, including the two top-ten Sandé collaborations: 'Wonder' and 'Lifted', as well as the UK Singles Chart-topper 'La La La' which featured Sam Smith. Upon release, the album received generally favourable reviews from music critics, who praised the production, but with some criticism towards the concept, execution and some collaborations. Hotel Cabana made its chart debuts at number two in the UK, number five in Scotland and twenty-five in Ireland.

• 3Promotion
• 7Track listing
• 9Charts

Hotel Cabana Clearwater Beach

Production and composition[edit]

Hotel Cabana is a pop, R&B, soul and hip hop music record, containing 'orchestral flourishes' and 'Bollywood inflections'.^[2][3] Naughty Boy called Hotel Cabana more than an album, it was an audio-visual concept. 'I want it to be an album for our time; it has a concept to it, so it's more like a film in some respects.' Speaking about putting together the album, he said 'I view it like I'm not just a producer – I'm a director too.'^[4] During an interview with the Watford Observer, Naughty Boy said 'It’s a very diverse, musically organic album. There’s a lot of dance-future music that’s going on now.' Explaining the 'hotel' concept, he said 'the album is like a hotel, and just like guests coming to stay, musicians appear on the album. Each song does stand alone, but all together, the album tells a story, it’s one guy’s journey, a bit like the song 'Hotel California', it’s a twisted journey. You can visit, but you can never leave, you can listen to the album, but you won’t be able to stop.^[5]

Hotel Cabana was recorded at Cabana Studios, a recording block located at Ealing Studios in London, UK; Naughty Boy told Sound on Sound magazine that the studio was always called 'Cabana' and that naming his debut album Hotel Cabana was in part inspired by the studio.^[6] The entire album was produced using Logic Pro and Reason.^[7] The album centres predominately around the themes of fame, 'involving debates about the tenuous nature of virtue and fidelity.'^[8] Speaking on how the album was composed, Naughty Boy used piano and live instruments, adding that it was 'just the basics. What they would have had in the 70s.'^[2] While making the album, Naughty Boy was influenced by M.I.A., Tracy Chapman, Joe Goddard, Woodkid and Major Lazer.^[4] On 19 August, Naughty Boy appeared on MistaJam's BBC Radio 1Xtra show to talk about the album track-by-track. 'Hotel Cabana where the sleepless kids live' was created following several days Naughty Boy and Sandé spent in the studio together.^[9]

George the Poet helps to establish the album's hotel concept through, starting with a monologue at the beginning of the set.^[10] This is followed by the album's opener, 'Welcome to Cabana' with Emeli Sandé and Tinie Tempah which describes Hotel Cabana as a mysterious place 'full of drama' and haunted by 'sleepless kids'.^[10] Meanwhile, 'Wonder' and 'Lifted', both two of eight collaborations with Sandé, experiment with gospel music.^[10][11] The latter collaboration contains elements of drum and bass and stadium music.^[12]The Independent's Andy Gill also described the production on 'Lifted' as a '[Naughty Boy] trademark Funky Drummer variant' with 'quirkily looped strings and backing vocals'.^[8] It was the Sandé and Wretch 32 collaboration, 'Pluto', that garnered some of the most positive comments, Gill said 'Pluto' best exemplified Naughty Boy's signature sound, which was a 'blend of vaunting synthesised strings and shuffling groove carries a two-way argument between Sandé and Wretch 32',^[8] while Aizlewood called all of the Sandé collaborations 'stellar'.^[13]

When conceiving the song 'Hollywood', Naughty Boy originally considered asking Dame Shirley Bassey to sing the vocals, describing the situation as 'epic', but in the end he thought it 'would be too much'. Upon hearing Gabrielle's song 'Out of Reach' on the radio he said 'her voice is so unique. It's not technically the best voice, but it stands on its own. It's incredible.'^[1]Digital Spy's Robert Copsey described the collaboration as 'the spookiest of them all', centering on 'how fame can be fleeting'.^[10] 'No One's Here to Sleep', a collaboration with Bastille, combines indie music and dance-pop, with soulful vocals from Bastille's lead vocalist Dan Smith.^[8] The lyrics center around the paranoia of fame.^[10]

Release[edit]

Hotel Cabana was first released on 23 August 2013 in Germany,^[11] Ireland^[14] and Spain^[15] by EMI and Universal Music. Its UK release came on 26 August 2013 through Naughty Boy's own production company Naughty Boy Recordings and Virgin EMI,^[16] with the producer's official website selling 500 limited edition signed copies of the album.^[17] In the following week, Hotel Cabana was released in Spain on 30 August^[18] and in Italy on 3 September 2013.^[19] It was released in Japan on 9 October through EMI Records Japan,^[20] while About.com's Bill Lamb confirmed that Capitol Records would be distributing the album at a later date in the United States.^[21]

With the absorption of EMI by Universal Music, and the subsequent reorganisation of record labels, Virgin Records and Capitol Records will now release Hotel Cabana in the United States. According to the iTunes store, it is due for release on 6 May 2014, and features three new songs: 'Never Been the Same,' featuring Thabo, 'Pardon Me,' featuring Tanika and Ava Stokes, and 'Home,' featuring Romans^[22] with the deluxe edition containing the bonus tracks from the international standard edition.^[23] 'La La La' and 'Pardon Me' are available as instant downloads upon pre-ordering the album.^[22]

Promotion[edit]

Marketing[edit]

On 20 September 2012, Naughty Boy uploaded the first visual trailer for Hotel Cabana to his Vevo account.^[24] To celebrate the success of single 'La La La', in May 2013, Naughty Boy uploaded a mixtape of his inspirations for the album to his Soundcloud page.^[4] On 17 July 2013, Naughty Boy premiered a second visual trailer for Hotel Cabana. The video, features Sandé, Bastille's Dan Smith, Professor Green, Wretch 32, Gabrielle and Sam Smith all arriving at the fictional Hotel Cabana, where Naughty Boy watches the arrivals on a TV screen.^[25] Additionally, on 14 August 2013, 'Think About It' featuring Wiz Khalifa and Ella Eyre, received its first play on BBC Radio 1Xtra's MistaJam radio show,^[26] while 'No One's Here to Sleep' featuring Bastille was released for free as a promotional single as part of iTunes 'Single of the Week' in the UK, for the week beginning 26 August 2013.^[27] On 18 August 2013, Sandé performed 'Lifted' at the mainstage during her set at the 2013 V Festival in Chelmsford, England and reprised the song this time with Naughty Boy later that same day for his set at 'Future Stage'.^[28] Sandé has also performed 'Pluto' (without Wretch 32 or Naughty Boy) during her Our Version of Events Tour, the song is included on the DVD of her Live at the Royal Albert Hall concert album.^[29]

Tour[edit]

On 3 September, Naughty Boy announced he was going on a UK tour in support of Hotel Cabana. He played for five dates, beginning with Brighton Concorde on 12 November 2013 and finishing O₂ ABC in Glasgow on 17 November.^[30]

Singles[edit]

On 12 August 2012, Music Week magazine confirmed that Naughty Boy's debut single would be titled 'Wonder', and would feature frequent collaborator Emeli Sandé. A video directed by Nadia Otzen was produced for the song and it was scheduled to be released 30 September 2012.^[32] However, the release of 'Wonder' was delayed and the single was released 21 October 2012 instead.^[33] Upon release, 'Wonder' reached number six in Scotland,^[34] eight in Ireland^[35] and number ten on the UK Singles Chart.^[36] Then over six months later, on 17 May 2013, Naughty Boy released 'La La La', featuring British vocalist Sam Smith, was released as the album's second single.^[37] Upon release, 'La La La' became Naughty Boy's biggest hit to date, topping the UK Singles chart and UK Dance Chart.^[38] It also reached number three in Ireland,^[39] Italy^[40] and Scotland^[41] and five in the Netherlands.^[42] It serves as the album's lead single in the US, where it has peaked at number nineteen, on the Billboard Hot 100, as of 8 April 2014. 'Lifted', another collaboration with Sandé, was released as the album's third single on 18 August 2013, preceding the album by a week.^[43][44] 'Lifted' became Naughty Boy's third top-ten single in Scotland and the UK, reaching number eight in both countries.^[45][46] In Ireland, it was slightly less successful, reaching only number twenty-one.^[47] 'Think About It' featuring Wiz Khalifa and Ella Eyre was released as the album's fourth single on 17 November 2013.^[48] 'Home', featuring RØMANS, will be released on 20 July 2014 as a single from the US edition of the album.^[49]

Critical response[edit]

The album received generally favourable reviews from music critics. Digital Spy's Robert Copsey gave the album four out of five stars, commenting that 'Hotel Cabana succeeds in a task previously thought impossible: giving personality and depth to a features album.' In his review, Copsey praised the opening section of the album, but noted that some of the urban-pop was generic and 'the concept starts to lose its footing around the halfway mark'.^[10] James Cabooter from the Daily Star also gave Hotel Cabana a positive review on the collaborations with Ed Sheeran ('Top Floor') and Sam Smith ('La La La').^[3]

John Aizlewood from the London Evening Standard was confused about what Hotel Cabana was conceptualising but called Naughty Boy's collaborations with Sandé 'stellar', praising 'Pluto' (also featuring Wretch 32) and 'Wonder'. Aizlewood said 'the result sounds like a compilation album, but a filler-free one where almost every song is capable of standing alone.'^[13]The Independent's Andy Gill awarded it the 'Album of the Week', praising Sandé's performance on the album, described as 'an impassioned lead'.^[8]AllMusic rated it 3.5 out of 5 stars, calling it 'unapologetically ostentatious, skillfully constructed pop.'^[50]The Times rated it 3 out of 5 stars, saying it 'proves far more interesting than you might imagine' but was critical of the album's reliance on Sandé and described Ed Sheeran as 'her twin in tedium, bleating away'.^[56]

However, not all of the reception was positive, with The Observer's Kitty Empire describing the album as predictable and 'Naughty? Hardly.' During her review, Empire said 'Hotel Cabana sounds as you would expect: homegrown, high-end urban pop that over-conceptualises the dangers of fame.' She praised the Ella Eyre and Wiz Khalifa collaboration 'Think About It' but said the remainder of the album was full of 'disparate voices [that] give this album the disjointed feel of a showreel.'^[54] musicOMH noted the album had 'a fair few missteps', specifically mentioning Ed Sheeran's contribution as 'dull as dishwater – and even that maybe going to easy on it', concluding the album wasn't 'coherent'.^[53]

Chart performance[edit]

On 28 August 2013, in the mid-week charts update, the Official Charts Company revealed that Hotel Cabana was a contender to top the UK Albums Chart. At the half-way mark, it was just 3,600 copies behind the mid-week leader Hail to the King by US rock band Avenged Sevenfold.^[57] On 1 September 2013, Hotel Cabana made its Scottish Albums Chart debut at number five and its UK Albums Chart debut at number two.^[58][59] On the Irish Albums Chart it debuted at number twenty-five.^[60] In Switzerland, the album debuted at number thirty-four but rose to a new peak of number eight in its second week on the chart.^[61] Similarly in Belgium, on the Flanders Album Chart it debuted and number eighty-five and 120 on the Wallonia Albums Chart; in its second week it rose to number seventy-four and number seventy on the Flanders and Wallonia album charts respectively.^[62][63]

Track listing[edit]

International edition[edit]

US edition[edit]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} de-notes additional production by
• ^{^[b]} de-notes co-production by
• On the digital editions of the album, track 15 is credited as 'featuring Wiley and Emeli Sandé' but on the CD-edition of the album it is credited as 'Naughty Boy Presents Wiley featuring Emeli Sandé'.^[44][66]
• 'Never Be Your Woman' contains a sample of White Town's 1997 single 'Your Woman', written by Joyti Mishra, which in turn was based on 'My Woman' written by Bing Crosby, Irving Wallman, Max Wartell.^[66]
• 'Get Lucky' is a cover of Daft Punk's 2013 hit single 'Get Lucky'.^[8]

Personnel[edit]

Recording

• Recorded at Cabana Studios (Ealing Studios) in Ealing, West London.^[6]
• Mixing/overdubbing at Genesis Sound Studios, Fisher Lane Farm in Surrey, UK.^[6]
• Audio mastering by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis Mastering Studios in London, UK.^[66]

Management and creative^[66]

• Glyn Aikins – A&R
• Tim Blacksmith – executive producer
• Riki Bleau – executive producer
• Danny D – executive producer
• Check Morris – artwork
• Dan Sanders – commissioner

Vocals^[66]

• Grace Ackerman (track 10)
• Kahlia Bakosi (background vocals, track 2)
• Ella Eyre(track 4)
• Gabrielle(track 5)
• George the Poet(tracks 1, 6 and 14)
• Professor Green(track 18)
• Luke Juby (background vocals, track 8, 9 and 13)
• Wiz Khalifa(track 4)
• Maiday (track 8)
• Mcknasty (background vocals track 17)
• Philip Plested (track 10)
• RØMANS(US edition track 16)
• Mic Righteous (track 8)
• Emeli Sandé(tracks 2, 3, 9, 12, 15, 16, 18 and 19)
• Ed Sheeran(track 13)
• Dan Smith(track 11)
• Sam Smith(track 7)
• Ava Stokes (US edition track 9)
• Tanika (track 17 and US edition track 9)
• Thabo (US edition track 5)
• Tinie Tempah(track 2)
• Wiley(track 15)
• Wretch 32(track 9)

Musicians and Technicians^[66]

• Wez Clarke – mixdown engineer, additional programming
• Jonny Coffer – strings
• Craze & Hoax (Harry Craze and Hugo Chegwin) – producers, instruments, programming, recording technicians
• Ifan Dafydd – remixer, additional production
• Luke Juby – piano, saxophone, strings, acoustic guitar, bass strings, bass
• Komi – producer, instruments, programming
• Frobisher 'Froby' Mbabzi – keyboards
• Mojam (Mustafa Omer and James Murray) – producers, recording technicians, instruments, programming
• Naughty Boy – producer, recording technician, instruments, programming
• Daniela Rivera – assistant mastering engineer
• Jonny Rocha – bass
• Ed Sheeran – guitar
• Sunny – recording engineer
• Jasmin Tadjiky – instruments, programming
• Phil Tan – mastering engineer

Charts[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Year-end charts[edit]

Release history[edit]

Cabanas Sun City

Cabanas Hotel Tulum

References[edit]

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External links[edit]

British producer Naughty Boy (born Shahid Khan) only discovered his passion for music as a viable profession a few years ago. After a string of dead-end jobs, from selling Victorian dolls to delivering Domino’s Pizza (more than 30 minutes late), he got his big break on the TV game show Deal or No Deal, taking his winnings of some $80,000 and investing it in studio equipment. Shortly thereafter, he met singer Emeli Sandé and the rest is history. The duo collaborated on Sandé’s debut Our Version of Events, a critical and commercial success.

Naughty Boy has since worked with artists like Rihanna, Leona Lewis and Cheryl Cole and his solo fare has only fueled his dizzying success. His first single, “La La La” featuring Sam Smith, is one of the year’s biggest-selling single in the U.K. With over 173 million YouTube views and counting, the Bollywood-flavored track is primed for stateside success on its December 3rd release. The producer will follow-up with his debut album Hotel Cabana in early 2014,which features, among others, Ed Sheeran, Sande and Wiz Khalifa.

Naughty Boy met with Rolling Stone at Miss Lily’s in New York City to discuss his meteoric rise over rum punch and banana pudding.

You’re a breakout hit in London. What are your plans for U.S. success?
The whole plan is to continue what I’ve been doing. I don’t do many interviews. I think that’s the best way to keep it. With me, personally, my focus is on making my music famous. Doing interviews and things is making yourself famous, which is not part of my plan. I want it to be faceless but I want my music to be famous.

How are you planning on releasing your own music yet maintaining your privacy?
I’m doing it in a clever way because my album is a story. I’m entertaining the listener, but I’m still telling them a story. I’m not giving them me. I’m giving them my ideas. In our age, everyone’s obsessed with fame. I’m scared of that kind of fame. I don’t want to put myself into a position that I have to be “That way.” At Capitol [Records] they know what I’m prepared to do and what I’m not prepared to do.

You’ve already experienced huge sales and critical acclaim early on. How much do those things matter?
I want to be remembered. I’m not saying having the biggest selling single, you need that, but it helps. I want to be successful. I want to be the fucking best but on my terms. It’s not arrogance but I’m just sick of everyone else’s terms. I’m sick of female artists having to change it up, just so they’re cool now. Emeli did it her way and she’s never done it any other way. She’s never had to use anything else but her voice and mind to make and sell her album. That’s inspirational.

You work well with female artists.
One thing Emeli always says in interviews is that when she first met me, she felt she could trust me. I think there’s something about being a producer and how you are as a person. I don’t get star struck.

When you work closely with a female artist, do they sometimes lean on you too much? You turn from producer to surrogate boyfriend?
Yeah. Yeah. It’s not good. You don’t ever want to be that guy, who breaks up a relationship. I don’t want to be that guy. You can get carried away being one of those guys who can talk to girls. At the same time, when they’re vulnerable. . . Yeah. . .

Speaking of emotions, your single “La La La” is a rather upbeat heartbreak song.
Do you remember No Doubt‘s “Don’t Speak”? That’s what I wanted “La La La” to be like in some way. It doesn’t sound anything like it but the sentiment’s there. “Don’t Speak” really resonated to me as a kid, even though I didn’t have my heart broken.

Was the song inspired by a real-life breakup?
Interesting question isn’t it? It was just before everything popped up and she was somebody I neglected while I was trying to find me. When I found me, she found it best to neglect me. It’s cool. That’s what inspired the song. It came from a real, not experience, but that sentiment came from something I felt. Covering my ears like a kid and saying, “La. La. La.” It’s the man-kid in me.

Your forthcoming album Hotel Cabana is a very UK-centric album but features Wiz Khalifa. Why did you decide on that collaboration?
I wanted one international feature. For that song, in particular, I wanted a rapper. This “hotel” is for like, the rich and famous and I needed a flamboyant rapper. I think Wiz encompasses it. He’s the rapper of our generation. I love his tweets when he’s like, “Woke up sleazy.” He smokes big spliffs and he’s married to Amber. So, I reached to him via my manager. He did it for free. He literally loved it that much.

Given your whirlwind success, are you worried about the old adage, “The faster they rise, the harder they fall”?
Of course I am! I fear it. I’m just getting started and I feel like I’m ticking off a lot of boxes. I won two Ivor Novello awards for Emeli’s album. I still have the biggest selling album of the year. I got the biggest selling British single of the year. My first show was in Wembley Stadium in May. I had never done a show before then. I get scared because I come from a different place where I carved my own route to get here. I want to be here for a while. I thank God for success but at the same time, I don’t want to peak. Is this what peaking is? I don’t know!

Do you feel guilt at all?
I do feel guilt! I do. I slummed it for years when I was a waiter or delivering Domino’s Pizzas. My realization of music came when I was 23, five years ago. It should have come earlier but I’m from a Pakistani family. My father’s a taxi driver. Working in entertainment, is not a part of the culture. It’s something you try to do before you become an accountant or your real job.

Have your parents finally accepted you?
Well, there you go! They say, “He’s a musician.” Before, my Mom and Dad’s friends would say “Oh you’re a DJ.” I don’t blame them for that. I used to go with it but then they saw me on TV with Emeli and then it changes. It changes without you even trying to make it change. Capitol presented my Mum and Dad a plaque for Emeli’s album for two million sales. It says: “To Mr. and Mrs. Khan.” My parents were the only parents they gave that to. Those are the things that allow me to not have to explain it. I love that. They’re so proud of me now.