Jason Castro, which comes to us courtesy of Atlantic Records (the first album from an alum to sign with the label), features songs crafted by Marc Roberge of O.A.R., Gregg Wattenberg (Five For Fighting), Zac Maloy (David Cook), Espionage (Train) and of course Jason himself. There are covers of classics that Jason has undertaken in the past, including "Hallelujah" and "Over the Rainbow," as well as brand new tracks like "Let's Just Fall In Love Again," "This Heart of Mine" and "If I Were You."
On the promo side of things, Jason will benefit from his mostly small scale tour, which begins Sat., April 17 at The Loft in Dallas, Tex. He has also been getting some press, mostly in the form of album reviews by People magazine and Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly. But his next big television appearance won't be until April 22, when he performs on Ellen, so first week sales will not be helped out on that front.
There are also a few underground promo campaigns going on, like the photo competition being held on IBeatYou.com in support of Jason's latest single, "That's What I'm Here For." But these kinds of promotional efforts are not really dependable for moving CD units.
As a result of the above reasoning, I see Jason Castro fit for an opening of around 13k copies, which would be a pretty good feat for a debut entry with little promo. This would be above where fellow Season 7 alums Brooke White (High Hopes and Heartbreak, 10k) and Michael Johns (Hold Back My Heart, 7k) saw their post-Idol releases open at.
Jason Castro is now available to pre-order at Amazon.com
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Showing posts with label hold back my heart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hold back my heart. Show all posts
Monday, April 12, 2010
IDOL LIVE predix: Jason Castro's 'Jason Castro'
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Free downloads: Brooke White's "Follow Me," Michael Johns' "Heart On My Sleeve"
Following in the footsteps of Phil Stacey, two other Idol alums are featuring singles of theirs as free downloads available on Amazon MP3. Brooke White's song "Follow Me" from her debut album Songs From the Attic and Michael Johns' current single "Heart On My Sleeve" off his new album Hold Back My Heart are now available to download on the digital music retailer.
There is little doubt that the fact that the songs are free is for the purpose of generating interest in the two seventh season finalists' albums, as Brooke just released her sophomore effort High Hopes & Heartbreak a few weeks ago. So far, things seem to be working, as "Follow Me" is currently #3 on Amazon's Top Free Songs chart and "Heart On My Sleeve" is listening to the former's title, as it is right behind at #4. Back when Phil's single "You're Not Shaken" was available to download free of charge, it managed to get to #2 on Amazon's Top Overall Songs chart.
Regardless of whether or not these freebies result in higher album sales, they should bot be passed up by Idol fans at any cost (unless, of course, you already own the albums these songs appear on).
Sunday, July 12, 2009
'Idol' BB 200: Season 8 Walmart exclusive #34 (7/18/09)
For the first time in a very long time, an solo album by an Idol alum did not hold the title of top album representative for the franchise on the Billboard Top 200 chart for the chart week of July 18.
Instead, it was the Season 8 Walmart exclusive album that took on the title for the most recent chart, as it debuted at #34. Unfortunately, sales were not available for the entries for the second week in a row.
Next up was Kelly Clarkson and her fourth studio album All I Ever Wanted, which slid seven spots to #65. Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride followed at #74, down 15 spots from the previous week.
The other major country star to come out of Idol, Kellie Pickler, saw her self-titled sophomore release fall #76-78, while David Cook's self-titled album held steady at #87 for the second straight week.
Two weeks before seeing its sophomore effort released, Daughtry witnessed its debut album fall 14 spots to #105, as it still will not leave the chart. Look for it to increase over the course of the next two weeks thanks to Tuesday's launch of Leave This Town.
And in its second week of release, Michael Johns' post-Idol album Hold Back My Heart fell nearly 100 spots, collapsing #97-199. Expect it to disappear on next week's chart.
Full chart positions courtesy of 2m on Pulse as follows:
034 --- Various Artists - American Idol: Season 8
065 058 Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted
074 059 Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride
078 076 Kellie Pickler - Kellie Pickler
087 087 David Cook - David Cook
105 091 Daughtry - Daughtry
199 097 Michael Johns - Hold Back My Heart
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Poll of the week: MJ doesn't hold back in champion series
Unsurprisingly, another seventh-season finalist was crowned as the winner of IDOL LIVE's poll of the week champion series when readers were surveyed on which eighth-place finalist of all eight seasons they prefer.
Michael Johns, who saw his post-Idol album Hold Back My Heart hit store shelves yesterday, took home 40 of the 62 votes cast in all, good for a whopping 64% of the total vote count.
Following was behind in second place was Bucky Covington with seven votes (11%), who is the most successful eighth-place finisher to date. And this past season's Scott MacIntyre was only able to nab six votes (9%).
In the next installment of IDOL LIVE's poll of the week champion series, readers are asked which 7th-place finalist is their favorite of all eight seasons. Voting will be open for exactly one week.
A.J. Gil 0 (0%)
Rickey Smith 1 (1%)
Jon Peter Lewis 6 (9%)
Nadia Turner 0 (0%)
Bucky Covington 7 (11%)
Haley Scarnato 2 (3%)
Michael Johns 40 (64%)
Scott MacIntyre 6 (9%)
Total votes: 62
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Out today: Michael Johns' 'Hold Back My Heart'
Today marks the day of the fourth post-Idol release of an LP for a Season 7 alum, as Michael Johns' Hold Back My Heart hits shelves and online music retailers' sites nationwide. The album, which is released courtesy of Downtown Records, features 12 songs including the James Morrison-penned "Heart On My Sleeve."
Also out today is Brooke White's second single "Radio Radio," which is off her forthcoming album High Hopes & Heartbreak, due out Tues., July 21.
Links to purchase the aforementioned can be found below:
Albums
Michael Johns, Hold Back My Heart
Amazon.com - ($11.99) - Buy
Barnes & Noble - ($10.49) - Buy
Best Buy - ($13.99) - Buy
Buy.com - ($10.99) - Buy
iTunes - ($9.99) - Buy
Overstock.com - ($13.29) - Buy
Target - ($11.99) - Buy
Walmart - ($10.00) - Buy
Singles
Brooke White, "Radio Radio"
iTunes - ($0.99) - Buy
Michael's single "Heart On My Sleeve" is currently nearing the Top 20 at Adult Contemporary radio and he will perform a set at the Central Courtyard at Hollywood & Highland on Thurs., June 25 at 7 p.m.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Album review: Michael Johns' 'Hold Back My Heart'
Australian-born soul/rock artist Michael Johns becomes the fourth ‘Idol’ alum of the show’s seventh season to release a full-length album since wrapping up the competition. This album, titled ‘Hold Back My Heart,’ is a collection of soul/rock fusion that is something many fans have been longing for every since Johns was eliminated in eighth place.
Not to miss out on a chance to kick off the disc with a commercial appeal, Johns introduces audiences to ‘Heart’ with “Heart On My Sleeve,” the album’s first single. The life and soul poured into the James Morrison-penned tune is undeniable, and there’s a sense of catchiness that gives it a current feeling.
On the rousing “Feeling Alright,” Johns does a great job on making lyrics fit the musical accompaniment to a T. The use of subtle background vocals throughout the track complement his own distinguished vocals and give the song a three-dimensional feel. Another up-tempo track, “Fire,” is a platform on which Johns is able to incorporate the soul of yesterday, only everything is ratcheted up on the groove scale.
“Little Bear,” also in the throwback soul vein, similarly uses brass instrumentation to add intensity to the song, and it echoes in the memory of memorable hits like Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.”
Johns also tries his hand at the art form of covering, as his rendition of The Bee Gee’s “To Love Somebody” finds itself on ‘Heart.’ The throwback soul sound meshes surprisingly well with the rest of the album’s tracks. Another ballad, “It’s Too Late,” has a certain radio-friendly sound that gives it the possibility of working as a single in the future.
On “Mountains,” Johns uses imagery and symbolism in the lyrics to stress the song’s story (“I got high in your mountain / I was lost in your valley / I was washed into your ocean / and the tide rolled up I feel my heart stop beating”) and he brings out a signature growl beginning in the pre-chorus and staying with the rest of the song.
The album’s title track, “Hold Back My Heart,” is a relatively low-key R&B ballad that doesn’t really go anywhere until the bridge, where an emotional guitar solo totally breathes life into the song and pushes Johns to gush more effort into the vocals as well.
The weakest track on ‘Heart’ comes in the form of “This Is Goodbye,” as the ballad is nice and sweet but pretty lifeless and sounds like it could have appeared on Matchbox Twenty’s latest album. Another song that is on the dull side is “Heart Is Weak." Even though it builds to an inspiring finale, it feels a bit unoriginal when compared to the rest of the album’s tracks.
But the album‘s highlight does not come until its fifth song. “Fool’s Gold” is a more relaxed sounding, classic R&B track that allows Johns’ weathered vocals to impact the listener as if they were to just hover over the patrons of a lonely bar like a cloud of cigar smoke. The ending of the song is the icing on the cake and really brings out a rock edge, turning “Gold” into a completely different animal.
To finish off ‘Heart,’ Johns gives a heartfelt performance on “Turn to You” and relies heavily on an acoustic sound to support the story of a girl that helps him make it through the day. This is the ideal way for him to close the door on this chapter of his career.
Although the style of music found on ’Hold Back My Heart’ is not exactly what some fans pictured it to be, Michael Johns does not disappoint with the variety of material he has come up with here.
Hold Back My Heart can now be purchased at Amazon.com.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
IDOL LIVE predix: Michael Johns' 'Hold Back My Heart'
Following in the footsteps of David Cook, David Archuleta and Kristy Lee Cook, Season 7's eighth-place finalist Michael Johns will release his first post-Idol LP, Hold Back My Heart, on Tuesday.
Although Michael is a veteran of the music industry and has had to deal with many of its aspects, both positive and negative, this is without a doubt the most crucial release of his career to date. Therefore, the 12-song Soul/Rock album courtesy of Downtown Records will see its performance on the charts be subjected to a good amount of scrutiny.
But in this era of poor CD sales, Michael should not put too much thought into his album's first week numbers, and should instead focus on touring and spreading the word about his music. But without any major television appearances planned nor a substantial amount of airplay for his current single, "Heart On My Sleeve," it appears that a debut week take of 16k sounds about right for Michael. This will earn him somewhere around #22 on the Billboard 200 chart.
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