Metro Station (album)

In 2005, Mason Musso and Trace Cyrus agreed to meet on the set of Hannah Montana, which starred Mason's brother, Mitchel, and Trace's sister, Miley. Sharing musical interests, they decided to form a band.[6] Shortly thereafter, Cyrus recruited Blake Healy from Synthetic Joy[7] and the Bum Out Eternal[6] as a keyboardist, synthesist, and bassist. The group released the song "Seventeen Forever" on MySpace in 2006, topping the MySpace Music's Unsigned Bands chart and garnered the attention of drummer Anthony Improgo, who joined the band.[8] In late 2006, the group signed with Columbia/Red Ink after an intern at Red Ink discovered the band while perusing the website's music pages.[6][9]

The group headed to New York City to record their debut studio album.[10] It was produced by S*A*M and Sluggo, Joshua Cain and Justin Pierre.[1][10] The band has cited inspiration from The Postal Service, Forever The Sickest Kids and The Killers when making the album.[11]

"Kelsey" was released as the first single on August 7, 2007.[12] The song peaked at number 25 in New Zealand and at number one on the Billboard Dance Singles Sales chart.[13][14]

The second single, "Control", was released on December 17, 2007 but saw no commercial success.[15] The song was released in the UK in the spring of 2009.[16]

"Shake It" was released as the third single from the album and was serviced to contemporary hit radio on April 1, 2008.[17] The song peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100[18] and reached the top 10 in multiple countries including Canada, Australia and the UK.[19][20][21] The single has sold 1.2 million copies and was certified 2× Platinum in the US.[22][23]

The fourth and final single "Seventeen Forever" was released on December 13, 2008. It peaked at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold in the US.[18][23]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AbsolutePunk	(7.8/10)[24]
AllMusic	[25]
AltSounds	(43%)[26]
Melodic	[27]
NME	[28]
Rocklouder	[29]

The album was met with mixed reviews from music critics. Andrew Leahey from AllMusic gave the album a 2.5 out of 5 star rating. Criticizing the album, he stated, "not much exists beneath the polished sheen of teenaged lyrics and electronica-lite." However, he praised keyboardist Blake Healy's work as he remarked, "he is the band's secret weapon, supporting his two frontmen with enough bubbling synth to keep the ship float." NME gave the album a 2 out of 5 star rating, complimenting songs such as "Shake It" and "California" calling them "standout moments."

Joe DeAndrea of AbsolutePunk gave a more positive review stating, "This album proves that this isn't just a band that'll write one popular song and disappear from the scene in a couple of years. They have talent, they're young, and they'll keep getting better." DeAndrea also compared the group to Panic! at the Disco for their abiltiy at "writing fun, catchy tunes."

The album debuted at number 189 on the US Billboard 200 and reached number 39 as its highest position on chart.[30] The album also peaked at number one on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.[31] The album made it on the Billboard 200 year-end chart at number 182 in 2008 and the Top Dance/Electronic Albums year-end chart at number two.[32][33] That same year, the album sold 87,000 copies.[34] Since, it has sold approximately 400,000 copies in the United States.

Credits for Metro Station adapted from AllMusic.[35]