Just Like You (Allison Iraheta album)
Just Like You is the debut album from American Idol's eighth season contestant Allison Iraheta. It was released on December 1, 2009 through Jive Records and 19 Recordings.[1] The lead single, "Friday I'll Be Over U", produced by Max Martin, debuted on AOL's Popeater on October 5, 2009,[2] and was made available through digital distribution on November 3, 2009.[3]
Just Like You | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 1, 2009 | |||
Recorded | 2009 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 44:21 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
Allison Iraheta chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Just Like You | ||||
|
Development
While on the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009, Iraheta began writing and recording with pop and rock hit makers such as Kevin Rudolf, Howard Benson, Max Martin and David Hodges. Fellow Idol alumnus Chris Daughtry also contributed a track for the deluxe version of the album.[4]
Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, who co-wrote "No One Else" with Pink and producer/songwriter Greg Wells, explained that "No One Else" ended up on the album after "Pink's A&R person ... played (the song) for Allison as well as the producer" and that she "wrote another song for (Just Like You)," called "Spring Cleaning," which did not make the album. "No One Else" has been around for five years, but Dioguardi wanted to "hold on to it" because in the past, she had given a song out just to release it, without considering whether the artist could convey the emotion she wanted the song to convey.[5]
On November 4, Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly published the list of writer and producer credits, which reveals that Iraheta will cover "Holiday", a punk rock song written and performed by Rock Star: Supernova finalist Dilana.[6]
Promotion
Following the tour, Iraheta began promoting Just Like You, conducting interviews with Walmart.com soundcheck,[7] KIIS-FM[8] and Entertainment Weekly.[9]
Iraheta also hosted an eight-minute block prior to the showing of New Moon in 1,200 theaters across the U.S. Iraheta talked about the upcoming album, playing some tracks, including "Friday I'll Be Over U", "Pieces", and "Trouble Is".[10]
MySpace Music[11] and AOL Listening Party[12] both featured streams of "Just Like You" in the days leading up to the album's release, December 1, 2009, although only AOL Listening Party features all 13 tracks.
She appeared on Good Morning America on the album's release date, December 1[13] and also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on December 17 after Adam Lambert was cancelled[14] as well as The Ellen DeGeneres Show on December 7.[15] In addition she was a special guest at Z100's Jingle Ball.[16]
Iraheta also toured with Adam Lambert and Orianthi on the Glam Nation Tour in the summer of 2010. She was scheduled to tour for only half of the tour, but due to popular demand was extended.
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Access Hollywood | (positive)[17] |
Allmusic | |
Billboard | (positive)[19] |
Boston Globe | (positive)[20] |
Entertainment Weekly | (A-)[21] |
Houston Chronicle | |
People | |
USA Today | |
Wall Street Journal | (positive)[25] |
Yahoo! Music | (positive)[26] |
Just Like You received generally favorable reviews.[27] Entertainment Weekly writer Michael Slezak gave the album an A-, writing that "the muscular, instantly recognizable growl that carried her to a fourth-place finish on American Idol's eighth season is all she needs to seamlessly wed a collection of first-rate ditties...."[28]
Brian Mansfield from USA Today gave the album three out of four stars, writing "Iraheta's album may not be the best from an American Idol Season 8 alum...but it's definitely the most fun, grounded in a tradition of teen pop that goes back decades. ...Iraheta rocks out with vengeful edge she rarely displayed on the show."[29]
Sarah Rodman of the Boston Globe stated, "The boys got most of the attention on American Idol last season, but fourth-place finisher Allison Iraheta has the last laugh with the most consistent debut album thus far." While the review states that the album is "a fresh and sassy debut mixing catchy girl-power pop with rock flourishes, perfect for Top 40 radio," it also states that "there are a couple of lyrical duds - including the musically arresting but cringe-inducing 'Robot Love,' a rant against a boyfriend’s technology addiction."[30]
In a mixed review, New York Times described Just Like You as "a workmanlike pop album with shrewdly punky touches, like a ready-made outfit from the mall chain Hot Topic."[31]
AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album three out of five stars, writing that there are a handful of good songs "and if the rest is blandly cookie cutter, at least Iraheta tries hard to give it life and succeeds somewhat."[18]
L.A. Times critic Margaret Wappler gave the album two out of four stars, writing, "To her credit, Iraheta is ever-present, ever-willing on every song," but the album was "too derivative of the Pat Benatar, Pink, Kelly Clarkson trifecta" and "Iraheta doesn't emerge with enough of a singular identity."[32]
Chart performance
Just Like You sold approximately 32,000 copies in its first week,[33] debuting at number 35 on the Billboard 200 album chart and number 14 on the Billboard Digital Album Chart.[34]
Chart (2009) | Peak position |
Sales/certification |
---|---|---|
U.S. Billboard 200 | 35 | 103,000[35] |
Singles
Year | Title | Sales |
---|---|---|
2009 | "Friday I'll Be Over U" | 54,000[36] |
2010 | "Scars" | 20,000[36] |
2010 | "Don't Waste the Pretty" (feat. Orianthi) | 4,000[35] |
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Friday I'll Be Over U" | Max Martin, Shellback, Savan Kotecha, Tiffany Amber | Max Martin, Shellback | 3:16 |
2. | "Robot Love" | Heather Bright, Warren "Oak" Felder, Johannes Jørgensen, Sterling Simms, Gary Glitter, Mike Leander | Oak, Uncle Josh, Sterling Simms (additional production) | 2:54 |
3. | "Just Like You" | Martin, Shellback, Kotecha | Max Martin, Shellback | 3:36 |
4. | "Don't Waste the Pretty" | Michael Dennis Smith, Stefanie Ridel, Miriam Nervo, Olivia Nervo | Howard Benson | 3:33 |
5. | "Scars" | Toby Gad, Elyssa James | Toby Gad | 3:40 |
6. | "Pieces" | Daniel James, Leah Haywood, Shelly Peiken | Dreamlab | 3:44 |
7. | "D Is for Dangerous" | Sam Watters, Louis Biancaniello, Michael Biancaniello | Sam Watters, Louis Biancaniello | 3:33 |
8. | "Holiday" | Dave Bassett, Dilana Trudy Smith | Dave Bassett | 3:44 |
9. | "Still Breathing" | Tommy Henriksen, Chioma Eze | Howard Benson | 3:03 |
10. | "Trouble Is" | Ron Aniello, Peiken, Aimée Proal | Ron Aniello | 4:00 |
11. | "No One Else" | Kara DioGuardi, Greg Wells, Pink | Greg Wells | 4:00 |
12. | "Beat Me Up" | Kevin Rudolf, Jacob Kasher | Kevin Rudolf | 2:44 |
13. | "You Don’t Know Me" | Allison Iraheta, Mitch Allan, David Bassett, David Hodges | Mitch Allan, David Hodges | 2:34 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
14. | "Don't Wanna Be Wrong" (pre-order only) | Chris Daughtry, Brian Craddock | Howard Benson | 3:22 |
15. | "El Viernes Te Olvido Yo (Friday I'll Be Over U)" (Deluxe Version only) | Martin, Shellback, Kotecha | Max Martin, Shellback | 3:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
14. | "One More Reason" | Rudolf, Kasher | Kevin Rudolf | 3:41 |
References
- "Allison Sets December 1st Album Release Date". Allisoniraheta.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "Exclusive: Allison Iraheta's 'Friday I'll Be Over U' Premiere". PopEater.com. 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
- "Allison Iraheta - Friday I'll Be Over U - Available for Download on Amazon and iTunes | Allison Iraheta, American Idol". mjsbigblog. 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
- "Allison Iraheta's "Just Like You" Goes for Pre-Order". Content.usatoday.com. 2012-05-16. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "Erica Asks Kara (a) Question". Youtube.com. 2009-11-21. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- Franich, Darren (2009-11-04). "Allison Iraheta exclusive: We reveal songwriting and production credits for her debut album! | The Music Mix | EW.com". Music-mix.ew.com. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
- Allison, Adam & Kris Interview (Walmart Soundcheck)
- "@JoJoWright homeboy is straight craazyy!! He's awesome!! FIBO... on Twitpic". twitpic. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- Strecker, Erin. "Allison Iraheta on new track titles, songs about abusive boyfriends, and trouble with Twitter". Music-mix.ew.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- See "New Moon" & Hear New Allison Iraheta Tracks Archived January 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- Archived March 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- "AOL Listening Party". Music.aol.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-03. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- Allison Iraheta - Friday I'll Be Over U GMA
- Shen, Maxine (2009-12-04). "ABC War on Adam Escalates". Nypost.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "Monday's TV Talk Shows". Latimes.com. 2009-12-07. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "Adam Lambert To Guest Host Jingle Ball in New York". Rickey.org. 2009-12-02. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "Access Hollywood review". Accesshollywood.com. 2009-12-09. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- Allmusic staff. "Review: Just Like You". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
- "Billboard review". Billboard.com. 2010-01-19. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "Boston Globe review". Boston.com. 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- Michael Slezak (2009-11-28). "Entertainment Weekly review". Ew.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "Houston Chronicle review". Blogs.chron.com. 2009-11-30. Archived from the original on 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "People review". Allisoniraheta.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "USA Today review". Usatoday.com. 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- John, Christopher (2009-11-30). "Wall Street Journal review". Blogs.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- Dave DiMartino (2009-11-30). "Yahoo! Music review". New.music.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "Just Like You Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
- Michael Slezak (2009-11-28). "Just Like You by Allison Iraheta, Reviewed by Michael Slezak". Ew.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "Listen Up music reviews: Other notable releases". Usatoday.com. 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "Allison Iraheta, "Just Like You"". Boston.com. 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "New CDs". The New York Times. December 7, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
- "Pop & Hiss". Los Angeles Times. November 30, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
- "Album Sales: Adam Lambert Plummets, Carrie Underwood Stays Top 10". Content.usatoday.com. 2009-12-09. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "Just Like You - Allison Iraheta". Billboard.com. 2009-12-19. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "No 'Idol' albums in the Top 40 this week". USA Today. August 18, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
- "Bonus numbers! Kelly Clarkson, Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta, more". USA Today. March 4, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2010.