Nothing Like This is the seventh studio album by country music groupRascal Flatts. It is their debut release after signing with Big Machine Records after Lyric Street's name was retired, and was released on November 16, 2010. The album's lead-off single, "Why Wait," was released on August 2, 2010. This song became their first number one single on the Hot Country Songs charts since "Here Comes Goodbye." The album's second single, "I Won't Let Go" was released to country radio on January 10, 2011. The third single, "Easy" was released to country radio on June 27, 2011. This was the band's last album to go platinum.
Content
In the weeks leading up to the album's release, three promotional singles were released for music download; "I Won't Let Go" was released on October 25, 2010, "Play" on November 2, 2010, and the title track on November 9, 2010.
Reception
Commercial
The album debuted at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number one on the U.S. BillboardTop Country Albums, selling 165,000 copies in its first week of release. It has sold 1.1 million copies in the United States as of the chart dated March 24, 2012.
Critical
Nothing Like This has received positive reviews from most critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine with AllMusic gave the album a four-star review, saying "Nothing Like This doesn’t offer anything new, it’s Rascal Flatts who have never strayed from the sunny sound of their 2000 debut - but everything from the melodies to the very sound of the tight 11-track record seems brighter than the trio’s last few records. It’s a fresh coat of paint on a sturdy old house". Gary Graff of Billboard magazine gave it a favorable review, saying that "he trio's harmonies remain as crisp as a fresh pair of Wranglers; polished, deceptively effortless and relentlessly tuneful, Nothing Like This is everything we've come to expect from Rascal Flatts". Michael McCall of the Associated Press gave the album a positive review, saying that it had a "breezier, melodic sound" compared to the group's previous releases. Kyle Ward of Roughstock gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that it was more consistent than the band's last two albums for former label Lyric Street Records. Jessica Phillips of Country Weekly gave the album a four-star rating, saying that Rascal Flatts "sounded re-energized", and commented saying "overall the Flatts boys haven’t sounded this good in a while".
