Singular: Act II

On June 2, 2018, Carpenter officially announced her third studio album Singular, and that it was scheduled for a winter 2018 release.[7] On October 22, 2018, Carpenter announced that Singular would be released in two acts with Act I being released November 9, 2018, and act II "coming soon".[8] After the release of Act I, Carpenter revealed that Act II would be released in early 2019.[9] On December 30, 2018, Carpenter did a 2018 recap on Instagram where she played a clip of a song from the album, later revealed to be "Take Off All Your Cool". On February 13, 2019, Carpenter revealed in an interview at the Grammy Museum that the album will come along with her tour.[10] On March 2, 2019, Carpenter performed two new songs from the album, "Pushing 20" and "Exhale" at the opening show of her tour in Orlando, Florida.[11] She also performed the tracks throughout the tour. On May 3, 2019, Carpenter changed her Singular: Act I Instagram to Singular: Act II.[12] This coincided with the release of "Exhale". On May 9, 2019, Nylon magazine reported that Carpenter had scheduled July 26, 2019, as the release date for Singular: Act II.[13] On May 14, 2019, Carpenter posted a snippet of one of the album's songs on her social media,[14] later revealed to be "Tell Em". She posted another on May 31, 2019,[15] later revealed to be "In My Bed".

On June 4, 2019, Carpenter revealed the album artwork by sending it to her fans in multiple cities around the United States using Apple's AirDrop feature.[16][17] Later that day, Carpenter formally announced the album via her social media and that the release date had been pushed up to July 19, 2019.[18][19] Carpenter revealed the track list the next day.[20] Pre-orders for the album started on June 7, 2019.[21]

Musically, Singular: Act II is a dance-pop and R&B album[1][2] with influences of hip-hop and trap.[22] Lyrically, the album discusses self-reflection and self-discovery.[23][24] The opening track of the album "In My Bed", a dance-pop and electropop[25] song with synth-pop[26] influences, is about when life feels like a lot to deal with.[27] Carpenter described it as "opening the door" to Singular: Act II.[23] The album's second track is "Pushing 20" which Carpenter wrote for her 20th birthday in May 2019.[28] The song is a dance-pop and R&B song with trap and hip-hop influences[29] that lyrically is about not listening to other's opinions and being one's self.[30] "I Can't Stop Me" is a trap-pop and R&B[23] song with hip-hop influences[22] which is about when a significant other tries to tell you what's good for you.[24] It is the album's sole collaboration featuring Saweetie. "I'm Fakin" is a dance-pop and tropical house song about the ups and downs of a relationship.[31][32] "Take Off All Your Cool" is an electropop[33] song about when someone is being someone else instead of one's self.[23] "Tell Em" is a synth-pop and R&B ballad[24][33] about not owing anyone an explanation for what one does.[23] "Exhale", which Carpenter describes as her "most personal song yet"[34] is an electro-R&B ballad about anxiety.[35][36] "Take You Back" is a bubblegum pop song[37] about realizing that you don't need someone in your life anymore.[38] The closing track of the album entitled "Looking At Me" is hip hop influenced Latin pop and dancehall song[22][37] about owning confidence and being the center of attention.[5]

Erica Russel of PopCrush called the album "a glossy, hook-laden collection of danceable pop and R&B" as well as saying the record shows Carpenter's "intimate perspectives, emotions and internal musings about everything from love to growing up".[5] Dylan Kelly of L'Officiel said that " Each song focuses on a different issue that you will probably face at one point in you life with varied rhythms and beats that allow for different emotions to consume you as you make your way through the album."[38] Brendan Wetmore of Paper said the album is "a culmination of pop eras — a rich plurality that separates itself from anything modern hit-writing has tried to glue together in recent years" and that it is a "truly great standalone pop record".[24] Kristine Hope Kowalski of YsbNow said "Act II is a satisfying follow-up to the first album installment, filled with empowering jams and emotional moments that take the whole listening experience to the next level. And while we aren't left on a musical cliffhanger, it's clear that the curtain isn't falling with this thrilling release."[39] Tatiana Brown of Affinity gave the album a 5/5 and said it "Is The Album Everyone Needs To Hear."[33]

In support of both Singular: Act I and Singular: Act II, Carpenter embarked on the Singular Tour in March 2019.[40]

"Pushing 20" was released as the album's lead single on March 8, 2019.[41] The song was released ahead of Carpenter's 20th birthday and was eighth to be performed on the Singular Tour.[28] Larisha Paul of Earmilk commented on the song saying "The single shows Carpenter continuing to tap into production areas previously unexplored within her discography, with its bouncy, bass-heavy production drawing heavily on hip-hop influenced trap elements while holding true to a distinct pop sound".[42]

"Exhale" was released as the album's second single on May 3, 2019.[43] Carpenter described the song as being her most personal song yet and was performed as the encore on the Singular Tour.[44][45] The song received a music video, directed by Mowgly Lee, released on May 17, 2019.[46][47] On June 7, 2019, Singular: Act II was made available for pre-order, and the third single, "In My Bed", was released alongside.[48] The music video for the song was released through the Marie Claire Magazine on June 28, 2019.[49]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an also vocal producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies a vocal producer
• ^{^[c]} signifies an executive producer
• ^{^[d]} signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[e]} signifies an additional producer

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Singular: Act II.[52]