Sunny Side Up and Continued Musical Success (2009–present)
On 1 June 2009, Nutini released his second studio album Sunny Side Up, which debuted at number one. The first single from the album "Candy" was released on 25 May. In July, he appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, performing "Coming Up Easy". This was released as the second single to the album on 10 August and it debuted at number 62 in the UK Singles Chart on 16 August 2009. On 10 September 2009, Nutini performed "Coming Up Easy" on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. The third single from the album was "Pencil Full of Lead".
The album received a mixed critical reception. Allmusic's Thom Jurek noted the move away from the sound of the debut album: "Nutini has taken huge chunks of America's (and Scotland's) pop and folk pasts and reshaped them in his own image," going on to describe it as "wise beyond this songwriter's years". Andy Gill of The Independent commented on Nutini's progress since his debut, saying the album "sees the singer making giant strides in several directions", and going on to say "don't be surprised if, come December, this is one of the year's biggest-selling albums." Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph was also positive, stating "his joyous second album organically blends soul, country, folk and the brash, horny energy of ragtime swing."
Some reviewers were less impressed. It was described by The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan as "not bad", with opening track "10/10" described as "jaunty enough to make you retch". Graeme Thompson of The Observer saw the album as an attempt by Nutini at "rebranding himself as a mongrel hybrid of John Martyn, Otis Redding and Bob Marley".
The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with sales of over 60,000 copies, fighting off strong competition from Love & War, the debut album of fellow male solo artist Daniel Merriweather. The album performed similarly well on the Irish Albums Chart, debuting at number two behind Eminem's new album before rising to the top of the charts the week after.
The album has been one of the best UK album sales of the year. On the UK Albums Chart on the week of Monday 19 October, the album move from number 31 to number 5, making the album sell more than The Saturdays' second album. On 3 January 2010 Sunny Side Up topped the UK Album Charts for a second time, making the album the first Number one album in the United Kingdom of 2010 and the decade.
On 19 February 2010, Colin Farrell presented Nutini with "Best International Album" for Sunny Side Up at the 2010 Meteor Awards.
Paolo Nutini embarked on a world tour with his Sunny Side Up album. The band consisted of, in addition to Paolo: Donny Little-Guitars, Vocals Seamus Simon-Drums Michael McDaid-Bass, Keyboard Dave Nelson-Guitars, Keyboard, Vocals, Percussion Gavin Fitzjohn-Trumpet, Saxophone Ben Edwards - trumpet & flugelhorn, and Tom Pinder - trombone & sousaphone. The brass section are collectively known as the "Horns of Thunder" (a name formed by Paolo himself)
On 27 July 2012, he sang at the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony Concert in London's Hyde Park, along with Duran Duran, Snow Patrol and Stereophonics.
Read more about this topic: Paolo Nutini, Life and Career
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