The Big Day (album)

The Big Day is the debut studio album by American rapper Chance the Rapper, released on July 26, 2019. The album follows several mixtapes by the rapper, including the reissue of his collaborative Merry Christmas Lil' Mama in 2017, and was his first solo project since Coloring Book in 2016. The album was produced by Carter Lang, Francis Starlite of Francis and the Lights, Lido, and Chance's group The Social Experiment, who all previously helped produce Chance's Coloring Book, alongside Ben Lusher of Thirdstory, Charlie Handsome, Darius Scott (also known as Dixson), Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Murda Beatz, Pi'erre Bourne, Timbaland, and more.

Numerous musical artists such as Francis and the Lights and Knox Fortune (both previously on Coloring Book), John Legend, Death Cab for Cutie, Smino, MadeinTYO, DaBaby, En Vogue, Ari Lennox, Kierra Sheard, Taylor Bennett (Chance's brother), CocoRosie, Megan Thee Stallion, Gucci Mane, Shawn Mendes, Randy Newman, Calboy, Lil Durk, Nicki Minaj, and SWV, made guest appearances on the project. John Witherspoon, Keith David, Cree Summer, DJ Casper, Lisa Mishra, and Jackée Harry also made uncredited appearances on the album, with Witherspoon's appearance being one of his last appearances in media before he died in 2019. The album was heavily influenced by Chance's marriage to his then-wife, Kirsten Corley.

The album was accompanied by two singles: "Do You Remember" (featuring Death Cab for Cutie) on the 16th of August, 2019, and "Hot Shower" (featuring MadeinTYO and DaBaby) on the 28th of October, 2019. The latter single would be the biggest song from the album, going viral on TikTok and charting at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 (Chance's second-highest entry on the chart as a lead artist), with "Do You Remember" charting at number 95 on the same chart (Death Cab for Cutie's most recent entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and their only feature). The album itself was released before the two singles, on July 26, 2019, after the title, cover, and release date of the album was teased on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, Chance's highest-charting entry to date (although the album was blocked from hitting number one by Ed Sheeran's No.6 Collaborations Project). The album also charted in the top ten on charts in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, alongside being nominated for Best R&B/Hip-Hop Album at the 2020 Libera Awards. While initial reviews from critics were positive, it received widespread negative attention from fans on social media and other Internet communities citing inconsistencies of quality throughout the work, and retrospective reviews from critics have been more negative. In November 2024, Rolling Stone ranked it at number 50 on its list of "The 50 Most Disappointing Albums of All Time". The album is usually credited with Chance's fall from mainstream popularity soon after.