Portable Sounds
Portable Sounds is the third full-length studio album from Christian pop rock and hip hop artist tobyMac. It was released on February 20, 2007, and debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. The album includes the singles "Lose My Soul", "Made to Love", "Boomin'", "I'm for You", and "One World (featuring Siti Monroe)". This album took a slightly different direction than tobyMac's previous hip hop efforts, having more of a pop sound. When it was released on iTunes, users were able to download a behind-the-scenes making of the album video, a digital booklet, and an acoustic version of "Made to Love."
Portable Sounds | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 20, 2007 | |||
Recorded | 2006–07 | |||
Genre | Hip hop, CCM, rock, pop | |||
Length | 48:28 | |||
Label | ForeFront | |||
Producer | Toby McKeehan, Christopher Stevens, David Wyatt | |||
TobyMac chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Christianity Today | |
Cross Rhythms | |
Jesus Freak Hideout |
Release
Portable Sounds was released on February 20, 2007 through ForeFront Records.[5] It debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, tobyMac's highest chart position as a solo artist, selling 51,000 copies in its first week.[6] In its second week on the Billboard 200, Portable Sounds fell to No. 38, in its third week to No. 47, and in its fourth week it fell to No. 63.
A Deluxe Edition of Portable Sounds was released on October 23, 2007. The Deluxe Edition includes the original CD, plus a DVD containing all five music videos, behind-the-scenes footage, and remixes of "Ignition" and "Boomin'".
On November 14, 2008 the album was certified Gold by the RIAA.[7]
The tracks "Feelin' So Fly" and "I'm For You" were featured in the video game Thrillville: Off the Rails.
After the album was put out Toby went on tour. He did the tour with Thousand Foot Krutch and BarlowGirl. On their show in Cypress, Texas, they recorded their Grammy Award winning album, Alive and Transported.
Singles
- "Made to Love" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart. It was also No. 1 for 9 consecutive weeks on R&R's Christian Hit Radio (CHR) Chart and was the second most played song on Christian CHR radio stations in 2007.[8] It reached No. 3 on R&R's Christian AC Chart.
- "Boomin" was the only single to have an official music video. This video won a GMA Dove Award. On radio it charted only on the lower half of R&R's Christian Rock Radio chart.
- "I'm for You" reached No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart. It also was No. 1 for 8 consecutive weeks on R&R's Christian Hit Radio Chart and was the third most played song on Christian CHR radio stations in 2007.[8] It reached No. 10 on R&R's Christian AC Chart. It also appeared in the soundtrack of Thrillville: Off The Rails
- "One World" reached No. 10 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart. It was also No. 1 for 3 non consecutive weeks on R&R's Christian Hit Radio Chart. It was the seventh most-played song on R&R magazine's Christian CHR chart for 2008.[9] A remix of "One World" appears on the Hip Hope Hits 2009 compilation and features a verse from KJ-52.
- "Lose My Soul" reached No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart, and No. 9 on iTunes.
- "No Ordinary Love" and "Ignition" were both released as singles around late 2008.
- "Ignition" was used during the Arizona Cardinals entrance in Super Bowl XLIII. The track was also used during the 2008 MLB season as the walk-up song for Tampa Bay Rays outfielder, Ben Zobrist. It was also the official theme song of WWE Elimination Chamber 2011.
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "One World" (featuring Siti Monroe) | Toby McKeehan, Cary Barlowe, Christopher Stevens | 3:50 |
2. | "Made to Love" | McKeehan, Barlowe, Jamie Moore, Aaron Rice | 3:50 |
3. | "Boomin'/Opera Trip Interlude" (Opera Trip performed by Mandisa) | McKeehan, Stevens | 4:02 |
4. | "I'm for You" | McKeehan, Barlowe, Rice | 3:47 |
5. | "Face of the Earth/Chuck @ Artist Development Interlude" | McKeehan, Joe Weber, Stevens | 4:38 |
6. | "No Ordinary Love" (featuring Nirva Dorsaint) | Randy Crawford, McKeehan, Dave Wyatt | 3:16 |
7. | "Ignition" | McKeehan, Trevor McNevan, Stevens | 3:53 |
8. | "Hype Man (truDog '07)" (featuring Truett McKeehan) | Toby McKeehan | 1:41 |
9. | "Suddenly" | McKeehan, Weber, Stevens | 3:40 |
10. | "All In (Letting Go)/Mr. Talkbox Interlude" | McKeehan, Stevens | 4:33 |
11. | "Feelin' So Fly" | Crawford, McKeehan, Stevens | 3:49 |
12. | "No Signal" | Toby McKeehan | 1:11 |
13. | "Lose My Soul" (featuring Kirk Franklin & Mandisa) | McKeehan, Michael Ripoll, Stevens | 6:17 |
Total length: | 48:28 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
14. | "Boomin' (Bonus remix)" (featuring Shonlock) | 3:36 |
15. | "Ignition (Bonus remix)" | 3:57 |
History
Portable Sounds was tobyMac's first top 10 on the Billboard 200 (debuting at No. 10), and is his third longest studio album, by track listing and duration.
Personnel
- Toby McKeehan – Vocals, guitar, programming, production
- Christopher Stevens – keyboards, programming, guitars, bass, organ, drums, backing vocals, production
- Jamie Moore – drums, programming, production
- Dave Wyatt – keyboards, programming
- Cary Barlowe – guitars, keyboards
- Brent Milligan – bass
- Tony Morra – drums
- Todd "TC" Collins – keyboards, programming
- Byron "Mr. Talkbox" Chambers – vocoder, keyboards
- Joe Weber – guitars
- Mike "DJ Maj" Allen – turntables, keyboards, samples
- Brian Haley – drums
- Todd Lawton – bass
- Michael Ripoll – guitar
- Javier Solis – percussion
- Ben Phillips – drums
- Justin York – guitars, backing vocals
- Tim Rosenau – guitar
- Rica Wright – bass
- Will Sayles – drums
- Ric Robbins- turntables, programming, samples
- Paul Moak – guitar
- Trevor McNevan – guitar
- Jeremy Lutito – drums
- David Davidson, John Catchings, David Angell, Kristin Wilkinson – string section
- Roy Agee, Mark Douthit, Mike Haynes – brass section
- Siti Monroe – vocals
- Mandisa – backing vocals
- Alisa Turner – backing vocals
- Gabriel Patillo – backing vocals, beatbox
- Nirva Dorsaint-Ready – backing vocals, choir
- Troma – backing vocals
- Jason Eskridge – backing vocals
- Calvin Nowell – backing vocals
- Seth Ready – backing vocals, choir
- Ayiesha Woods – backing vocals, choir
- MOC – backing vocals
- Donnie Lewis-Payne – choir
- Donald Woods – choir
- Chris Bullard -choir
Music videos
Year | Title |
---|---|
2007 | "Boomin" |
2008 | "Feelin' So Fly" |
2009 | "Lose My Soul" |
Charts
Chart (2007) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200[11] | 10 |
US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard)[12] | 1 |
US Christian Albums (Billboard)[13] | 1 |
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[14] | 4 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[15] | 3 |
Singles
Song | Chart | Peak Position |
---|---|---|
"Made to Love" | Billboard Hot Christian Songs | 1 |
"Boomin'" | — | |
"I'm For You" | 2 | |
"One World" (featuring Siti Monroe) |
10 | |
"Lose My Soul" (featuring Kirk Franklin and Mandisa) |
2 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[16] | Gold | 500,000^ |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
Accolades
In 2008, the album won a Dove Award for Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year at the 39th GMA Dove Awards.[17]
References
- Allmusic review
- "Christianity Today review". Christianitytoday.com. Retrieved 2012-01-21.
- "Cross Rhythms review". Crossrhythms.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-21.
- "Jesus Freak Hideout review". Jesusfreakhideout.com. 2007-02-20. Retrieved 2012-01-21.
- "Tobymac – Portable Sounds". Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- Katie Hasty, "Norah Stays Tight At No. 1 Amidst Slow Sales Week", Billboard.com, February 28, 2007.
- Gold; Billboard Magazine on-line; accessed .
- 2007 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs Archived 2009-05-25 at the Wayback Machine, R&R magazine, Retrieved January 6, 2008
- 2008 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs Archived 2009-05-25 at the Wayback Machine, R&R magazine, Retrieved January 15, 2009
- "iTunes (U.S.) – Music – TobyMac- Portable Sounds (With Bonus Remixes)". iTunes (U.S.). February 20, 2007. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- "tobyMac Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- "tobyMac Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- "tobyMac Chart History (Christian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- "tobyMac Chart History (Digital Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- "tobyMac Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- "American album certifications – TobyMac – Portable Sounds". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 10, 2016. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.
- Nominations Announced for 39th GMA Dove Awards on CBN.com (February 14, 2008)