Justin Guarini (album)

Justin Guarini
Studio album by Justin Guarini
Released	June 10, 2003
Recorded	2003
Genre	Pop rock R&B
Length	49:05
Label	RCA 19
Producer	Clive Davis (Executive producer) Peer Åström David Frank Steve Mac Lester Mendez Wade Robson Damon Sharpe Soulshock The Underdogs
Justin Guarini chronology
Justin Guarini (2003) Stranger Things Have Happened (2005)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	(D+)[2]
Slant Magazine	[3]

Justin Guarini is the self-titled debut album from American Idol season one runner-up Justin Guarini. It was released by RCA Records on June 10, 2003.

Background

In a radio interview, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, remarked of Guarini, "Following his season, there was a huge hype surrounding Justin and no one could believe the hysteria. But, everything was new and they weren't quite sure what to do. With a show like American Idol the window of opportunity is very, very small. Also, Justin had creative conflicts with his record company as far as the direction of the album that additionally aided in putting him past that window of opportunity. After the first season, they learned to capitalize on the window of opportunity for non-winners keeping them in the public eye with singles, videos, rushed CDs, etc., something that didn't happen for Justin".

In an interview with MTV, Guarini spoke of the experience saying, "It really has been just Music Industry Education 101. I learned a lot from it ... And it's not a finger-pointing issue to me; I take as much responsibility as I can."^[4]

Originally the song "Sorry" was planned as the first single release from the album, but later it was decided that there would be two "first" singles. "Sorry" was released to MTV and pop radio, while his cover version of "Unchained Melody" was sent to R&B and adult contemporary stations.^[5]

Subsequently, Guarini went on to co-produce and independently release a second album, a Jazz album titled Stranger Things Have Happened, and is working on a third album, planned to be a fusion of musical genres, in collaboration with upstart label 3AM Music. Guarini also composed lyrics and/or music for songs he performed for other projects such as the documentary Project Everlasting, as well as collaborated with Jazz bassist David Hughes as a featured vocalist on his album Foreign Shores.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"One Heart Too Many"	Derek Bramble Greeg Pagan Juliet Taylor-Stanley	3:33
2.	"I Saw Your Face"	A. Dixon Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Harvey Mason, Jr.	4:05
3.	"Be a Heartbreaker"	David Frank Nate Butler Steve Kipner	3:31
4.	"Unchained Melody"	Alex North Hy Zaret	3:26
5.	"Sorry"	A. Cantrell Karlin P. "Silky" White Souldshock	4:14
6.	"How Will You Know"	Edmonds Damon Thomas Mason Jr.	4:04
7.	"Inner Child"	Gregg Alexander Rick Nowels	3:18
8.	"Condition of My Heart"	Brian McKnight Babyface Underdogs	3:57
9.	"Doin' Things (We're Not Supposed To)"	Damon Sharpe Joe Belmaati Mich Hedin Hansen	3:50
10.	"If You Wanna"	Justin Guarini Carole Bayer Sager Wade Robson	3:24
11.	"Thinking of You"	Anthony Nance Dixon Justin Timberlake Mason Jr., Thomas, Underdogs	3:51
12.	"Get Here"	Brenda Russell	3:54
13.	"Timeless" (Duet with Kelly Clarkson from From Justin to Kelly)	Anders "Bag" Bagge Peer Åström Henrik Norberg Karen Poole Oscar Merner	6:38

Credits and personnel

^[6]

Vocals

• All vocals – Justin Guarini
• Background vocals – Nancy Anderson, Nate Butler, Eric Dawkins, Justin Guarini, Mae McKenna, Jeanette Olssen, Tuff Singers
• Featured vocals – Kelly Clarkson

Instruments

• Bass – Nathan East, Sean Hurley, Steve Pearce, John Pierce
• Drums – David Frank, Ricky Lawson
• Guitar – Eric D. Jackson, Friðrik Karlsson, Manuel Lopez, Oscar Merner, Tim Pierce, Ramón Stagnaro, Michael Hart Thompson
  • Electric guitar – Paul Jackson Jr.
• Keyboards – Dave Arch, Tony Dixon, David Frank, Greg Kurstin, Steve Mac, Party Man, Greg Phillinganes
• Percussion – Edwin Bonilla, Luis Conte
• Piano – Greg Phillinganes
• Strings – Stockholm Session Orchestra, Gavyn Wright

Production

• Arranger – Peer Åström, Anders "Bag" Bagge, Karlin, Soulshok
  • Orchestral arrangement – Dave Arch
  • String arrangement – Janson & Janson
  • Vocal arrangement – Nate Butler, David Frank, Steve Kipner, Wade Robson
• Conductor – Janson & Janson
• Editing – Dabling Howard
• Engineer – Peer Åström, Paul Boutin, Ryan Freeland, Chris Garcia, Matt Howe, Chris Laws, Juan Cristobal Losada, Bill Malina. Wade Robson, Dave Russell, Damon Sharpe
  • Assistant engineer – Henrik Brunberg, Kev Mahoney, Daniel Pursey, Jason Rankins, Jesse Rogg, Joel Shepard, Alan Veucasovica
  • Assistna vocal engineer – Bob Rosa
  • String engineer – Bernard Löhr
• Executive producer – Clive Davis
• Mastering – Joe Yannece
• Mixing – Peer Åström, Steve Mac, Bill Malina, Manny Marroquin, Matz Nilsson, Larrabee North, Wade Robson, Dave Russell, Robin Sellers, Soulshock
  • Mixing assistant – Bernard Löhr, Rabeka Tuniei
• Producer – Peer Åström, David Frank, Steve Mac, Lester Mendez, Wade Robson, Damon Sharpe, Soulshock, The Underdogs
• Production coordination – Jollie Levine-Aller
• Programmer – David Frank, Havana Hustlers
  • Drum programming – Wayne Rodrigues
• Pro Tools – Wayne Rodrigues

Visual and imagery

• Photograph by – Kawaku Alston, Christian Lantry

Chart performance

Justin Guarini debuted at number twenty on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 57,000 units.^[7] As of December 2, 2003 it has sold 143,000 copies in the United States.^[8]

Charts

Chart	Peak position	Sales
U.S Billboard 200	20[7]	143,000[8]

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Entertainment Weekly review
3. Slant Magazine review
4. Justin Guarini Says He Has No Hard Feelings For 'Idol' — Really!
5. Moss, Corey (June 10, 2003). "Justin Guarini Sets Out To Prove 'I Can Really, Really Sing'". MTV.
6. http://www.allmusic.com/album/justin-guarini-mw0000232732/credits
7. Martens, Todd (2003-06-18). "Ailing Vandross Dances Atop Album Chart". Nielsen SoundScan. Billboard Magazine. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
8. Idol Chatter 1-10-2008