All The Same

"All The Same" is a song by English pop singer and former The Uraps Factor contestant Calvin Hawthorne. The original album version of the song was released as a promotional digital-only single from Hawthorne's debut album Kelvin. On January 21, 2013, a heavily remixed version of the song featuring vocals from Hawthorne's friend and fellow The Uraps Factor contestant Aimee Stevens was released an official single.

Released during a significant amount of controversy regarding Hawthorne, the single was critically and commercially successful. It reached #7 on the UK Singles Chart and sold over 108,000 copies in the UK.

Background and composition
The original version of the song was a uptempo dance-pop song which only had Hawthorne's vocals on it. In November 2012, the song was announced as the third single from the album and it was announced that it would be heavily remixed, feature new lyrics, and have Aimee Stevens feature as a guest vocalist on the song. The single version of the song has a slower tempo with urban influences and has Hawthorne and Stevens singing to each other in a "call-and-response" manner.

Promotion and release
Hawthorne announced the song would be the third single from his debut album Kelvin in November 2012 and was set for a release date on December 31, 2012, so that it would (possibly) chart on the first week of January in conjunction with Hawthorne's twentieth birthday. In November 2012, however, after performing on the American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, Hawthorne mysteriously vanished and was reported missing the following day when he was supposed to board the plane to go back to the United Kingdom to continue promoting the single. As a result, his label Next Generation Records, postponed the single. One month later, in December 2012, Hawthorne reappeared in Los Angeles and eventually returned to the UK. Next Generation rescheduled the single to be released on January 21, 2013.

When released, the single was released on CD single and digital download (both formats had the same track listing) and featured Hawthorne's own rendition of "My Heart Can't Tell You No", originally done by Rod Stewart and later American country artist Sara Evans, as the b-side. On the digital only release of the original version, Hawthorne recorded a song titled "Wife" as the b-side; "Wife" was the gender-swapped cover of "Husband", a song done by R&B torch singer Shirley Murdock.

On January 7, 2013, one day after he turned twenty, it was reported that Hawthorne was found unconscious in his apartment and had suffered from alcohol poisoning of 0.5 and pill overdose. His death was reported on January 13, 2013 though one month later, Hawthorne would come clean and admit that he faked his death to escape the negative attention he was getting from the press. During his disappearance while faking his death, Stevens was left to promote the single on her own.

Live performances
On December 31, 2012, Hawthorne performed the song live in a medley with "The Thought of You (Brings Me To Life)" on the New Year's Eve Special that was hosted by MIDNIGHT and Taylor. The performance begins with "The Thought of You" and then ends with the chorus of the single version of "All The Same" being sung live three times. The performance was marred by technical difficulties which first gave off the impression that Hawthorne was suffering from microphone failure but later revealed that he was lip-syncing to a pre-recorded backing track. When the backing track failed, Hawthorne was forced to sing the rest of the performance, mainly the "All The Same" part live. The performance was critically panned and lampooned by the public and press.

When people still believed Hawthorne to be dead, Aimee Stevens gave one solo performance of the single, on the show "Loose Women" on 01 February. She performed her verse's live, as Calvin's vocals were played from the track's single edition.

Critical reaction
The original version of the song, featuring only Hawthorne, got mixed reviews. The production of the song was praised by its lyrics were critically panned, with one critic calling it the worst song on Kelvin. Since the original version was the first track on the album, some critics felt it was a "misfire decision to kick off the album".

The single version, however, got overwhemingly positive reviews. Critics praised the remixed production of the single mix, Stevens' contribution as a guest vocalist on the track, and the new lyrics on the single version. Hawthorne's vocal performance was somewhat praised though it was pointed out that his voice was "possibly" over-processed by pitch corrected software.

Commercial peformance
When released a digital only single in its original version, it charted at #5 on the UK Downloads Chart. It was released as a promotional single in the United States, where its official peak is at #46 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The single version with Stevens charted at #14 on the UK Airplay Chart and re-entered at #16 on the UK Downloads Chart, selling more than 6,000 copies digitally. It's official peak still stands at #5 as both versions have been combined for chart data and history.

In late January 2013, the single debuted at #7, becoming Hawthorne's first posthumous top ten single and his third overall. The single sold 35,222 copies in its first week.

In late January 2013, the single debuted and peaked at #7 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Hawthorne's third top ten hit. It stayed on the charts for seven weeks, descending rapidly during its duration on there. The single sold 108,691 copies and was not certified.

The single charted at #99 in Canada.

Chart Run
TOTAL: 108,691
 * Week 1: #7 - 35,222
 * Week 2: #13 - 21,038
 * Week 3: #18 - 11,656
 * Week 4: #27 - 9,756
 * Week 5: #25 - 11,655
 * Week 6: #38 - 4,674
 * Week 7: #25 - 14,434