Elevate is the second studio album by American boyband Big Time Rush. It was released on November 21, 2011 by Columbia Records in association with Nickelodeon. The production process of the album took place between nine months to a year, most of which was during their touring process. The first single from Elevate, "Music Sounds Better with U", was released on November 1, 2011. A promotional single, "If I Ruled the World", was released in July and within the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at number six.
Big Time Rush's 2011 sophomore effort, Elevate, features more of the Nickelodeon boy band's pop-oriented dance-rock and R&B-infused music. Once again showcasing the talents of singers Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, Carlos Pena Jr., and Logan Henderson, the album brings to mind a mix of Maroon 5's funky soul-pop and the yearning alt-rock of OneRepublic. This is slick, well-produced pop music that, while aimed at "tween" fans of the band's Nickelodeon TV show, has enough smart songcraft and romantic passion to appeal to even more mature fans of radio-friendly pop music. To these ends, songs like "Music Sounds Better with U," the yearning "No Idea," and the funky "Time of Our Life" are, like most of Elevate, positive-minded and joyful party tracks.by Matt Collar, All Music Guide