A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)

Infobox Album |
Name = A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)
Type = Studio
Artist = Blake Lewis


Released = flagicon|United States flagicon|Canada December 4, 2007
Recorded = June—November, 2007
Genre = Pop rock
Electronic
Hip hop
R&B
Soul
Length = 52:44
Label = Arista Records
Producer = Blake Lewis
BT
David Hodges
J. R. Rotem
Louis Biancaniello
Mike Elizondo
Ryan Tedder
S*A*M & Sluggo
Sam Watters
Executive Producers = TBD
Reviews = *"Allmusic" rating|2.5|5 [http://wm03.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dxfexzehld6e link]
*"Billboard Magazine" (Favorable) [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/albums/e3ida9c9ba3e6e83a93db5f307d152c4447 link]
* "The Daily News" (Favorable) [http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2007/12/04/2007-12-04_blake_lewis_debut_a_hip_transplant.html link]
* "The Detroit News" (Mixed) [http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/ENT04/712040398/1424/ENT04 link]
* "Entertainment Weekly" C [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20163334,00.html link]
* "Los Angeles Times" rating|3|4 [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-lewis25nov25,0,3494200.story link]
* "People" rating|3|4 ["People" magazine, December 2007.]
* "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" (Favorable) [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/341872_blake03.html link]
* "The New York Times" (Favorable) [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/arts/music/03choi.html?_r=1&ref=arts&oref=slogin link]
* "The Seattle Times" (Unfavorable) [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2004049198_blakelewis03.html link]
Last album = "Blake Lewis (EP)"
(2007)
This album = "A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)"
(2007)
Next album =Singles
Name = A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)
Type = Studio
Single 1 = Break Anotha
Single 1 date = October 30, 2007
Single 2 = How Many Words
Single 2 date = March 10, 2008 [http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=16691 "How Many Words" Radio release] . Retrieved March 3, 2008.]

"A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)" is the debut studio album by Blake Lewis, the runner-up on the sixth season of "American Idol". It was released in the United States and Canada on December 4, 2007. The first single is "Break Anotha" and was released to radio on October 30. [cite web |title="Blake Sets Album Date, Readies First Single" |url=http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/2007/10/blake-sets-albu.html |date=October 29, 2007 |accessdate=2007-10-29 |author=Barnes, Ken |publisher=USA Today] The album did not leak as other artists' albums generally do, instead appeared in full first within the "Free Full CD Listening Parties" section on AOL.com on December 3, the day before the release.

Background

On June 21, 2007, Lewis disclosed in his blog at MySpace that on top of the "American Idol" tour, he has "been in meetings with producers and writers" for his album, though his record deal with Arista Records/19 Recordings was not announced officially until August 24.cite web |title=Blake Lewis' profile |url=http://myspace.com/blakelewis |accessdate=2007-06-22 |publisher=MySpace] [cite web |title="Blake Lewis Sixth Season Runner-Up on 'American Idol,' Signs to 19 Recordings/Arista Records" |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-24-2007/0004650870&EDATE= |accessdate=2007-08-24 |date=August 24, 2007 |publisher=PR Newswire] He started to record his album in the studio "for all night long" from June 18 and co-wrote 12 songs out of 13 tracks (excluding the interludes) on "Audio Day Dream". [cite web |title="Behind the Scenes: 'Idol Live' Tour Rehearsals" (video) |url=http://www.myfoxla.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=3589297&version=4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=5.2.1 |accessdate=2007-06-26 |date=June 25, 2007 |publisher=MyFox Los Angeles] [cite web |title="American Idol's Blake Lewis Dishes on New Album" |url=http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Tv-Guide-News/American-Idols-Blake/700017962 |accessdate=2007-06-27 |date=June 27, 2007 |publisher=TV Guide |author=Zepeda, Dana Meltzer] cite web |title="'Idol' Runner-up Lewis Realizes 'Dream'" |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071124/music_nm/lewis_dc_1 |accessdate=2007-11-24 |date=November 23, 2007 |publisher=Yahoo! News |author=Graff, Gary]

An exclusive version of "Audio Day Dream" with a 17-minute documentary, which was shot by Ethan Newberry and Cisco McCarthy, Lewis' friends, is offered as a bonus video download by Wal-Mart with purchase of their specially marked CD. [cite web |title="Blake's Back Home" |url=http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070727/ENT/707270309 |accessdate=2007-06-27 |date=July 27, 2007 |publisher=HeraldNet |author=Balta, Victor] [cite web |title="Audio Day Dream (with exclusive video download)" on WalMart.com |url=http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8086592 |accessdate=2007-11-17 |publisher=Wal-Mart] Another special edition of the album, which is tied with a bonus track called "Human", is available on iTunes Music Store. A trailer of "A.D.D." was published on [http://www.blakelewiscomingsoon.com BlakeLewisComingSoon.com] right before the leak of "Break Anotha".

Musical influences

Lewis has stated in several interviews that he wanted his future album to have pop, electronic and jazzy hip hop feels to it, as he classified the sound as "electro-funk-soul-pop".cite web |title="Blake Talks to Reporters" |url=http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/2007/05/blake_talks_to_.html |accessdate=2007-05-22 |date=May 20, 2007 |publisher=USA Today |author=Barnes, Ken] cite web |title="American Idol's Blake Lewis Dishes on New Album" |url=http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Tv-Guide-News/American-Idols-Blake/700017962 |accessdate=2007-06-27 |date=June 27, 2007 |publisher=TV Guide |author=Zepeda, Dana Meltzer] He has also listed his ideal choices of producers and collaborators for his album in various interviews, including "Father of Trance" BT, Darkchild, will.i.am, Pro J, DJ Shadow, Dan the Automator and Gnarls Barkley. [cite web |title="Blake Talks About 'Idol' and Beyond" |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2003722216_blake26.html |accessdate=2007-05-25 |date=May 25, 2007 |publisher=The Seattle Times |author=Edwards, Haley] In interviews with "Entertainment Weekly" and "Entertainment Tonight", he mentioned a collaboration with Doug E. Fresh, the hip hop/beatboxing legend Lewis beatboxed with to "The Show" in the Grand Finale of the sixth season of "American Idol" and received a standing ovation from the judges and the audience, as well as some of his musical influences, such as Maroon 5, 311, Duran Duran, Michael Jackson and Jamiroquai. [cite web |title="Blake Lewis Plans His Debut CD!" (video) |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/package/0,,20007164_20013312,00.html |accessdate=2007-06-01 |date=May 31, 2007 |publisher=Entertainment Weekly] [cite web |title="Blake Lewis: 'Idol' Runner-Up" |url=http://www.etonline.com/tv/spotlight/48433/ |accessdate=2007-06-02 |date=June 2, 2007 |publisher=Entertainment Tonight]

Lewis described some of the songs he has recorded on July 16, 2007:

The singer gave another depiction of "A.D.D." in the official press announcing its release:

Reception

The album met mixed reviews. Allmusic called the album "ADD is certainly one of the more interesting AmIdol-related records, but so much commotion without construction is ultimately as forgettable as Jordin's pageant-winner trifle, and perhaps a little more tiring to get through, too." [cite web |title="Allmusic-A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream) Album Review" |url=http://wc03.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dxfexzehld6e~T1 |accessdate=2007-12-04 |date=December 4, 2007 |publisher=Allmusic |author=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas] Entertainment Weekly gave the album a "C" and wrote "If Lewis could just find a way to integrate all his early-MTV influences (A Flock of Fat Boys?), well...that album wouldn't be great either--though it'd be less forgettable than this exercise in pop adequacy." [cite web |title="Entertainment Weekly -A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream) Album Review" |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20163334,00.html|accessdate=2007-12-04 |date=December 4, 2007 |publisher=Entertainment Weekly |author=Willman, Chris]

Other critics praised the album. Billboard titled it's review "American Idol" season six runner-up Blake Lewis' debut, "ADD: Audio Day Dream," is indeed a little all over the map, but, surprisingly, it works." [cite web |title="Billboard-A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream) Album Review" |url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/albums/e3ida9c9ba3e6e83a93db5f307d152c4447|accessdate=2007-12-04 |date=December 4, 2007 |publisher=Billboard|author=Menze, Jill ] Los Angeles Times was quite impressed stating "His singing on "Audio Day Dream" is fine; it gets the job done. Yet what arrests your ear are Lewis' ideas." [ cite web |title="Los Angeles Times-A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream) Album Review" |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-lewis25nov25,0,3494200.story|accessdate=2007-12-04 |date=December 4, 2007 |publisher=Los Angeles Times]

Chart performance

One day after its release, "Audio Day Dream" hit the top spot of iTunes Top Pop Albums chart and eventually #2 on Overall Albums chart. In its first week of release, "Audio Day Dream" sold about 97,500 copies, debuting at #10 on the Billboard 200, the same spot where fellow American Idol Jordin Sparks debuted (Jordin's sales, however were better on her debut week), and #3 on the Billboard Digital Albums Chart [Katie Hasty, [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003684294 "Groban Ties Elvis With Third Week At No. 1"] , Billboard.com, December 12, 2007.]

Track listing

Footnotes

External links

* [http://blakelewisofficial.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.jrecords.com/ Arista/J Records official website]