Armageddon is the sixth studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Guy Sebastian. It was released in digital and CD format on 12 October 2012. A deluxe edition featuring a DVD of a concert from Sebastian's Armageddon Tour was also available.Armageddon: Deluxe Edition. Sanity Music. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. The album reached number one and triple platinum certification in Australia, and number 20 and platinum certification in New Zealand.<ref name=ARIA23></ref> Including his compilation album Twenty Ten, it was Sebastian's seventh of eleven top ten albums in Australia, and also his second of three number ones. It was the ninth highest selling album in Australia in 2012, the second highest selling album by an Australian act.
Sebastian has received a number of accolades for the album and its songs. He was nominated for three 2012 ARIA Music Awards, Best Male Artist and Best Pop Release for "Battle Scars", and Song of the Year for "Don't Worry Be Happy".WINNERS & NOMINEES ANNOUNCED Australian Recording Industry Association. 3 October 2012. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. "Battle Scars" was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and won the R&B/Hip category in the 2013 International Songwriting Competition.International Songwriting Competition Winners International Songwriting Competition. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013.Couch, Aaron (1 February 2013). NAACP Image Awards: Winners Announced. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013 "Get Along" was a final five nominee for the 2013 APRA Song of the Year Award and "Don't Worry Be Happy" was nominated for Pop Work of the Year.Adams, Cameron (23 May 2013). . Herald Sun. 23 May 2013. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Sebastian won Best Pop Release for Armageddon at the 2013 ARIA Awards and Best Live Act for the Get Along Tour. He received three other nominations, including Album of the Year.Zuel, Bernard (2 December 2013). No Idol threat as Guy Sebastian and Jessica Mauboy beat curse at ARIAs. Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013.27th ARIA Award Nominations. Australian Recording Industry Association. 15 October 2013. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013.
Background and development Although Sebastian released the retrospective album Twenty Ten in 2010, Armageddon is his first studio album since Like It Like That, an album of original soul music, was released in October 2009.Like It Like That. Sanity Music. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Armageddon, while mainly pop with some R&B songs, still shows the soul influences that Like it Like That did on many of the songs. Sebastian has said he grew up listening to old school soul music from artists like Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Donny Hathaway, and Stevie Wonder, and they had always been his strongest musical influences.Guy Sebastian: From 'Australian Idol' to 'X Factor' The Celebrity Cafe. 23 August 2010. Archived from the original on 21 January 2012. He said early in his career he was steered away from soul music, advised it wouldn't sell in Australia. After he released The Memphis Album, a cover album of Memphis soul classics he recorded with members the MGs including Steve Cropper, he realised there was a market, and he felt he could now do the style of music he had always wanted to.Like him like that. The Age. 18 October 2009. Archived from the original on 21 January 2012.Guy Sebastian Biography. getmusic.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012.
In an interview about Armageddon Sebastian spoke of how much The Memphis Album still influences his music, "I headed across to Memphis and was very inspired by the music scene there. I got to work with some people who were instrumental in shaping the careers of artists who heavily influence me. Artists like Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and Sam Cooke. Being entrenched in that sort of environment really caused me to go 'You know what dude. Do what you want to do. Do what comes natural to you'." Sebastian said it was a turning point for him, adding, "From that Memphis thing a few years ago it's always going to start with me being true to who I want to be and what I enjoy singing."Guy Sebastian Interview - Armageddon. YouTube. 28 October 2012. Retrieved on 15 December 2014. Sebastian feels his soul roots remained even when he delved into electro dance music with the single "Who's That Girl" from his previous album, explaining it was an old school Sam Cooke type of melody, with modern lyrics, over a dance track.Sjostedt, Arne (14 March 2012). It's still all heart and soul for Sebastian. Adelaide Now. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. He said, "I had that melody, and I could have gone so many ways with it. I could have produced an old-school soul song, but I went towards what you hear on the radio."Smith, Jacqueline (2 December 2010). It's a Guy Sebastian thing. The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012.
Armageddon was originally slated for release mid-2012, but it was delayed because Sebastian wanted to be completely happy with it before it was released. He said, "It's the longest I have spent with an album but I'm not rushing it for a TV performance or anything. It will happen when it's ready".Adams, Cameron (14 March 2012). Guy may give up TV for music. Adelaide Now. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012.Cashin. Miranda (7 September 2012). . Daily Mercury. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. He explained he had approached Armageddon in a different way than his previous albums, "I haven't sat down to write an album, I've just been writing whatever I feel. I'm still learning what defines me as an artist. There's stuff in there that radio won't touch but it needs to be there and I think it lifts the album. [...] I've done most of it myself and I've really taken my time." While the album has the upbeat happy music and love songs he is known for, Sebastian said becoming a father earlier in the year brought new awareness, and he started analysing the world his son would grow up in.Digges, Mariam (3 September 2012). Mind Food. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. He explained it gave him a broader perspective, and while he had always taken notice of the state of world affairs, he had never written about it in song before. Because of this he said the album has more light and shade, "there's definitely moments where it has a bit more depth to it -- it's not just 'I love you, do you love me too?' Obviously there's some love songs in there, but there's also a bit more commentary on the world that my little boy (Hudson) is going to inherit."Young, Kane (14 June 2012). . The Mercury. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. When asked to give five words that could describe the album Sebastian used the words "dark", "reflective", "happy", "appreciative" and "anxious". Singles Four top ten singles were released from the album, including "Don't Worry Be Happy","Battle Scars" which features Lupe Fiasco and "Get Along". "Don't Worry Be Happy" peaked at number five and gained 5× platinum certification, with "Battle Scars" reaching number one and 14× platinum.<ref name=ARIA23/> "Battle Scars" is Sebastian's sixth number one single in Australia and Fiasco's first.Lupe Fiasco - Singles Discography. ARIA Chart archives. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 August 2012 "Battle Scars" also reached number two and 3× platinum certification in New Zealand, number 71 and 3× platinum certification in the US, and number two in Norway.Official New Zealand Music Charts - 26 November 2012. Recording Industry Association New Zealand (RIANZ). Archived from the original on 25 November 2012.Guy Sebastian and Lupe Fiasco - Battle Scars. aCharts.US. Retrieved 29 January 2013.Gold Platinum searchable database . Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 6 November 2016VG Lista - Top 20 Singles. Issue 49 2012. VG-lista. Archived from the original on 7 December 2012. "Get Along" has been certified 3× platinum. "Get Along" peaked at number five and jas been certified 3× platinum.
Writing and composition Five of the songs on Armageddon are written by Sebastian alone, while the others have at least one co-writer. Sebastian began writing songs which appear on the album almost two years before its release, and performed two of them, "Summer Love" and "Keeper", while touring as a support act on Lionel Richie's Australian and New Zealand tour in March 2011.Lionel Richie Touring With Special Guest Guy Sebastian In March 2011. Guy Sebastian official site. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Both are pop songs, with "Keeper" having a reggae feel. "Summer Love" is about bittersweet feelings for a lost love, and "Keeper" is about finding that special love, the one who is a keeper.. Retrieved 13 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012 "Don't Worry Be Happy", released as the lead single in November 2012, is an upbeat pop song Sebastian wrote after he encountered an angry motorist in Los Angeles.McCabe, Kathy (8 November 2011). . Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 21 January 2012. Discussing the inspiration for the track he explained he could sometimes be caught up in a little bit of "glass half empty" in his life, and wrote the song as a reminder to himself and hopefully to others that life is too short to stress about the small things.Tijs, Andrew (29 November 2011). Guy Sebastian Talks Reece Mastin And His Second ARIA Win. Noise 11. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Sebastian showcased two more songs, "Amnesia" and "Armageddon", at the "Don't Worry Be Happy" media launch in December 2011.. Retrieved 12 October 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2012 "Amnesia" is a soulful pop ballad about the anguish of coping with a broken relationship. Sebastian says of the power ballad "Armageddon", "The title track might sound pretty dark, but it's actually about not taking love for granted, and living like tomorrow is the last day on earth".
"Get Along" deals with the damage inflicted by religious, racial and cultural intolerance, asking why the world can't just get along. It is a stripped back track with minimal instrumental accompaniment. Sebastian explained why he wrote the song, "It sends your brain into overload when you are expecting your first child. It definitely makes you take a step back and try to gain some perspective on this world we live in".. Retrieved 21 November 2012 "Big Bad World" was written for his son Hudson who was born in March 2012. He said, "It's about that promise we all make to our kids, but realise we don't have as much control as we think. We want to protect them from the big bad world, but the promise matters the most." "Used to You" is a song Sebastian wrote for his wife Jules. He said, "I always say to her, 'I don't get used to you'. I still get back from tours and I'm still excited to see her. [...] We've been friends for 18 years, together for 13 years. I'm lucky".Adams, Cameron (10 October 2012). Losing my religion: Sebastian. news.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012.