Awake (Josh Groban album)
Awake is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Josh Groban. Announced on September 13, 2006, it is his third studio album, and a follow-up to his multi-platinum album Closer. Awake was released on November 7, 2006.
| Awake | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 7, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2004–06 | |||
| Genre | Operatic pop, Classical, Classical crossover, Pop rock | |||
| Label | 143, Reprise | |||
| Producer | Glen Ballard, David Foster, Humberto Gatica, Josh Groban, Imogen Heap, Eric Mouquet, Tawgs Salter, Guy Sigsworth, Marius de Vries | |||
| Josh Groban chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
The album was certified 2x platinum in the US by the RIAA on January 31, 2008, and has sold 2.3 million albums as of October 2015.[2] It is the third top selling classical album of the 2000s in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[3]
Album information
The album's first single is "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)". The album features producers Imogen Heap, Marius De Vries, Guy Sigsworth, Eric Mouquet, Glen Ballard, and David Foster (who also worked on previous Groban works). As with all Josh Groban albums, songs on Awake are performed in English, Italian and Spanish. The album offered a more modern vibe to his voice by using more instruments aside from the occasional classic piano accompaniment in his previous albums. The album also featured Groban's head voice technique as evident in most of the tracks in the album.
Awake additionally features tracks that credit Groban's recent movements in South Africa. "Lullaby" and "Weeping" (album tracks 11 and 12) are sung by him in conjunction with the renowned South African musical group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, with further contributions from Vusi Mahlasela and Dave Matthews. "Weeping", a pop song originally composed in South Africa, is thematically oriented with the country's history of Apartheid.[4] "Lullaby" is a track included in the album as a supplement to "Weeping", considered one of the album's major highlights. "Lullaby" is meant to flow gaplessly into "Weeping", but the rest of the album uses gaps. The song "Now or Never" was produced and co-written with English singer/songwriter Imogen Heap.
"You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" peaked at #9 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, while "February Song" and "Awake" each peaked at #13 on the same chart.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mai" | Leo Z., Andrew Sandri, Marco Marinangeli | Marius de Vries | 4:35 |
| 2. | "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" | Thomas Salter | Tawgs Salter, Guy Sigsworth[a] | 4:49 |
| 3. | "Un Día Llegará" | Oksana Grigorieva, Claudia Brant | David Foster, Humberto Gatica | 4:18 |
| 4. | "February Song" | Josh Groban, Marius de Vries, John Ondrasik | Vries | 5:12 |
| 5. | "L'ultima Notte" | Marinangeli | Foster, Gatica[b] | 4:22 |
| 6. | "So She Dances" | Asher Lenz, Adam Crossley | Vries | 4:54 |
| 7. | "In Her Eyes" | Michael Hunter Ochs, Jeff Cohen, Andy Selby | Foster, Gatica[b] | 4:54 |
| 8. | "Solo por ti" | Mark Hammond, Marinangeli | Vries | 3:59 |
| 9. | "Now or Never" | Groban, Imogen Heap | Heap | 3:38 |
| 10. | "Un Giorno per Noi" | Nino Rota, Lawrence Kusik, Edward A. Snyder, Alfredo Rapetti | Foster, Gatica[b] | 5:11 |
| 11. | "Lullaby" (featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo) | Groban, Dave Matthews, Jochem van der Saag | Glen Ballard, Groban | 2:32 |
| 12. | "Weeping" (featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Vusi Mahlasela) | Dan Heymann | Ballard, Groban[b] | 4:45 |
| 13. | "Machine" (featuring Herbie Hancock) | Groban, Eric Mouquet, Dave Bassett | Groban, Mouquet | 4:54 |
Notes
Bonus track listing
- "You Raise Me Up" (Brendan Graham, Rolf Løvland) (European bonus track) – 4:50
- "Verità" (Richard Page, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger) (Special edition bonus track) - 4:01
- "Awake" (Groban, Mouquet, Salter) (Special edition bonus track) - 5:11
- "Smile" (Charlie Chaplin, Geoffrey Parsons, John Turner) (Website exclusive[5]) - 3:43
Personnel
- Josh Groban – vocals, drums, keyboards, piano, backing vocals
- Vinnie Colaiuta – drums
- Joel Shearer – guitar
- Frank Ricotti – percussion, vibraphone
- Jochem van der Saag – synthesizer, programming
- Glen Ballard – keyboards
- Blair Sinta – percussion
- Michael Thompson – guitar
- Ian Thomas – drums
- Eric Mouquet – keyboards
- Nathan East – bass guitar
- Chris Elliott – piano, dulcimer
- Vincent Nguini – guitar
- Sean Hurley – drums
- Bakithi Kumalo – bass guitar, backing vocals
- David Foster – keyboards
- Marius de Vries – keyboards, programming, piano
- Ramon Stagnaro – guitar
- Matt Chamberlain – drums
- Herbie Hancock – electric piano
- Tim Pierce – guitar
- Jason Boshoff – programming
- Anton Fig – drums
- Trevor Barry – bass guitar
- Kaitlyn Barton – tambourine
- Zac Rae – keyboards
- Alexis Smith – additional programming
- Dean Parks – guitar
- Fiona Hibbert – harp
- Imogen Heap – piano, programming, kalimba
- Anna Ross – backing vocals
- Ladysmith Black Mambazo – backing vocals
- Vusi Mahlasela – backing vocals
- Susie Suh – backing vocals
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[6] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Belgium (BEA)[7] | Gold | |
| Canada (Music Canada)[8] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| France (SNEP)[9] | Gold | 114,400[10] |
| Ireland (IRMA)[11] | Gold | 7,500^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[12] | Gold | 7,500^ |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[13] | Platinum | 40,000* |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[14] | Gold | 189,412[15] |
| United States (RIAA)[16] | 2× Platinum | 2,300,000[2] |
|
^shipments figures based on certification alone | ||
References
- General references
- Specific references
- Awake at AllMusic
- Caulfield, Keith (October 23, 2015). "Josh Groban's 'Stages' Hits Half-Million in U.S. Sales". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
- "Classical Albums | Billboard.com". billboard.com. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
- Heymann, Dan. "Weeping Lyrics". [Weeping, The South African Anti-Apartheid Protest Song]. Archived from the original on 10 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
- Awake Exclusive Edition in the Internet Archive
- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2007 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
- "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2008". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- "Canadian album certifications – Josh Groban – Awake". Music Canada.
- "French album certifications – Josh Groban – Awake" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
- "Les Albums Or". infodisc.fr. SNEP. Archived from the original on 2011-10-18. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
- "Irish album certifications – Josh Groban – Awake". Irish Recorded Music Association.
- "New Zealand album certifications – Josh Groban – Awake". Recorded Music NZ.
- "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- "British album certifications – Josh Groban – Awake". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Awake in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- Jones, Alan (28 September 2018). "Charts analysis: Eminem's Kamikaze holds on at No.1". Music Week. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- "American album certifications – Josh Groban – Awake". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.