After The Storm

"After The Storm" is a song by English pop singer Calvin Hawthorne. Produced by Stephanie Kesh, the song was released as the fourth and final single from Hawthorne's debut studio album Kelvin on March 11, 2013. In the UK, the single was released as a double A-sided single with "Turning Tables", which was originally sung by Adele.

"After The Storm"/"Turning Tables" was originally promoted as Hawthorne's posthumous release until he revealed himself to be alive and that he had faked his death. Hawthorne, as a result, suffered from public and professional backlash which hindered and undermined the promotion of the single. His label slashed the promotion budget for the single, consequently causing it to suffer mediocre promotion. Controversy further surrounded "After The Storm" when Hawthorne was accused of stealing the vocal arrangements and melody of the unused MIDNIGHT song "If I Was God (Oh Wait I Am)".

Despite heavy controversy and backlash against Hawthorne, the single was a fan favorite and received positive reviews; it was also commercially successful in the UK, where it charted at #6 on the UK Singles Chart.

Background
In January 2013, it was reported that Hawthorne had died from alcohol poisoning. At the time of his death, Hawthorne was promoting the single "All The Same", which featured his co-star on The Uraps Factor and his close friend Aimee Stevens.

In February 2013, Next Generation announced that "After The Storm" would be paired with Hawthorne's rendition of "Turning Tables" as a double A-sided single, making it the fourth and final release from Hawthorne's debut album Kelvin. The label promoted it as Hawthorne's posthumous release and his "final single ever".

In March 2013, Hawthorne revealed himself to be alive via an uploaded video on his personal non-VEVO YouTube account. In the video, he admitted and apologized for faking his death, which he did because he wanted to get away from the pressures of his career and the "daily barrage of abuse" he was receiving from the press. The public and press reacted poorly to Hawthorne's revelation and he began experiencing a big backlash.

Composition and writing
"After The Storm" is a mid-tempo pop song that lyrically talks about thunderstorms and rain which symbolically represents depression, emotional pain, and heartbreak in the song and he anticipates "the storm" to come while being relieved once it ends.

The chorus of the song alternates between Hawthorne singing and him shouting various sayings which hints at him reeling from a heartbreak of a betrayal. Towards the end of the chorus, he chants the "rain will have to fall" multiple times.

Hawthorne had admitted that the song is about his mother and the final argument they had before she and her husband (also Hawthorne's stepfather/biological half-uncle) threw him out of the house, leaving him briefly homeless. Hawthorne began arguing with his stepfather/half-uncle until his mother got involved and began arguing with him. She chose to stand by her husband rather than stick up for Hawthorne and said she would always do so, no matter what. She then said she never loved or wanted him, that she should've gotten an abortion, and that she wouldn't care if he went missing and was later found dead. She and her husband then told Hawthorne to leave her house and never come back. At the moment he was kicked out, it was beginning to rain.

Years later, as Hawthorne was thinking of ideas for a song, he thought of the incident and began writing parts of it. Cerise + Victor finished writing the rest and produced the song.

Controversy
"After The Storm" garnered controversy after it was revealed the song heavily samples "If I Was God (Oh Wait I Am)", a song recorded but unused by dark pop singer MIDNIGHT during her sessions for Demons (2010). It has been highly alleged that Hawthorne sampled the song without permission to MIDNIGHT or her label Fusion Records since they still owned the rights to the song. Hawthorne was also criticized for not giving MIDNIGHT credit as a producer since he kept the background melody and vocal arrangements of "If I Was God", though he kept off the original lyrics.

Promotion and release
Next Generation Records announced in early February that "After The Storm"/"Turning Tables" would be released as a double A-sided single, set for a March 2013 release. At the time it was promoted as Hawthorne's posthumous release. On March 1, 2013, the both "After The Storm" and "Turning Tables" premiered. The next day, Hawthorne uploaded a video of him revealing himself to be alive and admitting that he faked his death.

After Hawthorne revealed the truth, he experienced severe public and professional backlash. The press turned on him and his fans expressed their anger towards him and threatened not to buy his new single.

Angry that Hawthorne faked his death, and also because he was showing "disrespectful behavior" in an emergency meeting with label heads of Next Generation, the label "severely" cut Hawthorne's budget for the promotion and release of the single. The label refused to pay for B-sides, remixes, or videos (though, to date, Hawthorne has never shot a video for any of his singles) and refused to send him to media outlets on television or radio. Due to the drastically cut budget, the single only received mediocre promotion.

On March 11, 2013, "After The Storm"/"Turning Tables" was released as the fourth and final release (fourth/fifth and final single in terms of individual songs) from Hawthorne's debut album Kelvin. The single was only released on CD single in a cardboard sleeve and on digital download. The formats only had the two songs on it and nothing else. Outside of the UK, the songs were released individually.

Critical reaction
"After The Storm" received positive reviews from critics and fans, giving Hawthorne's one of his best reviewed songs in his career. Many deemed it a fan favorite and many were pleased that it was released as a single, despite Hawthorne's backlash over his faked death hoax.

Critics praised the song's lyrics, production, and Hawthorne's vocals for his honesty, though they also criticized the latter for slightly using AutoTune and/or Melodyne.

Hawthorne's rendition of "Turning Tables" was mildly well-received though a vast majority of people preferred the original version by Adele instead of Hawthorne's version.

Commercial performance
"After The Storm"/"Turning Tables" debuted and peaked at #6 on the UK Singles Chart, despite moderate and mediocre promotion. Out of the UK, where the two songs were released separately, neither of the two singles charted elsewhere.