Testify (Caleb Johnson album)

"As Long as You Love Me"
Testify
Studio album by Caleb Johnson
Released	August 12, 2014
Recorded	May-June 2014
Genre	Rock
Length	40:16
Label	Interscope; 19;
Producer	Howard Benson
Singles from Testify
	"As Long as You Love Me"; Released: May 2014; "Only One"; Released: July 28, 2014; "Fighting Gravity"; Released: 2015;

Testify is the debut album by American Idol season thirteen winner, Caleb Johnson.[1] Its first single was released in July 2014 and the album was released on August 12, 2014, by Interscope Records and is produced by Howard Benson.[2]

Background

The album was first announced soon after Johnson won American Idol. Then it was assumed that the album would be self-titled but on June 23, it was revealed that the album would be titled, Testify. Johnson co-wrote six of the ten tracks and worked with musicians such as, Blair Daly, James Michael of Sixx:AM, Sam Hollander, Aloe Blacc, Justin Tranter of Semi Precious Weapons, and Dave Bassett. The album's first single will be released in July 2014 and his Idol coronation song, "As Long as You Love Me" will serve as a bonus track.[3]

Johnson recorded the album in three weeks in between the Idol finale and tour. He says, "The week after the show ended, I flew all over the place and did a press run," "Immediately after that, I flew back to L.A. and started working on the record. I wrote 12 or 13 songs. Out of those, we picked eight to put on the record." About the songwriting progress, "We really just bounced off each other and pulled these songs out. Most of these songs we wrote in half a day, because we were going so quickly", says Johnson. [4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
All Music	[5]
Knoxville News Sentinel	[6]

The Knoxville News Sentinel's Chuck Campbell says that Johnson "has a likeable personality and a strong voice. But he's an underdeveloped performer on his undercooked new Testify, blandly molded to appeal to an overbroad audience, much like American Idol itself." [6]

Commercial performance

The album debuted on Billboard 200 at No. 24 with 11,000 copies sold in its debut week, giving him the distinction of having the lowest first week sales and inaugural chart position of any American Idol winner.[7] The album has sold 24,000 copies in the United States as of April 2016.[8] Including album equivalent units, a total of 30,695 units has been sold as of March 2018.[9]

Johnson also has the distinction of being the first American Idol winner to have their Idol coronation song, "As Long as You Love Me," fail to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.[10]

Track listing

[11]

*Testify* – Standard edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Sailing Away"	Jonny Litten, Lenny Skolnik, Sidnie Tipton	3:21
2.	"Save Me"	Caleb Johnson, Joleen Belle, Tom Leonard, Skolnik	3:39
3.	"Let Me In"	Johnson, Blair Daly, James Michael	3:02
4.	"Only One"	Johnson, Josh Alexander, Sam Hollander	4:09
5.	"Fighting Gravity"	Johnson, Skolnik, Brian Howes	3:58
6.	"Devil's Daughter"	Johnson, Daly, Steve Diamond	3:34
7.	"Another Life"	Eric D. Wortham II, Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III, Freddy Wexler	3:16
8.	"Change"	Johnson, Mitch Allan, Nate Cyphert	3:52
9.	"Testify"	Johnson, Daly, Dave Bassett	3:47
10.	"As Long as You Love Me"	Justin Hawkins	3:08
Total length:			35:46

*Testify* – Deluxe edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Dream On"	Steven Tyler	4:40
Total length:			40:26

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.[12]

Performers

All vocals – Caleb Johnson
Background vocals – Justin Hawkins, Johnny Litten, Lenny Skolnik
Choir/chorus – Monet Bagneris, Auvrell Christophe, Calvin Dupree, Tommy Leonard

Design

Photography – Brian Bowen-Smith
Art direction – Stephanie Hsu, Sean Mosher-Smith
Design – Sean Mosher-Smith

Musicians

Baritone saxophone – Cochemea Gastelum
Bass – Jon Button, Chris Chaney
Drums – Randy Cooke, Josh Freese, Joe Rickard
Guitars – Josh Freese, Phil X
Hammond B3 – Howard Benson
Horns – The Dap Kings Horns
Keyboards – Howard Benson, Johnny Litten, Lenny Skolnik
Tenor saxophone – Neal Sugarman
Trumpet – Dave Guy

Production

A&R – Monica Benson, John Ehmann, Marta Navas, Katherine Neil, Marisa Torbet, Jeanne Venton
Digital editing – Paul DeCarlie
Drum technician – Jon Nicholson
Engineer – Wayne Gordon, Mike Plotnikoff
- Assistant engineer – Sean Anders, Anthony Martinez, Muktar Muktar
- Overdub engineer – Hatsukazu "Hatch" Inagaki
- Vocal engineer – Hatsukazu "Hatch" Inagaki
Management – Ginger Ramsey, Brianne Widaman
Marketing – Jennifer Bowling
Mastering – Brian Gardner
Mixing – Chris Lord
- Mixing assistant – Keith Armstrong, Ismael Barreto, Nik Karpen
Producer – Howard Benson, Les Scurry
Programming – Jonny Litten, Lenny Skolnik
Publicity – Meghan Prophet, Christine Wolff
String arrangement – Lenny Skolnik
Voices – Howard Benson

Release history

Country	Date	Label	Formats	Catalog
Germany	August 11, 2014	Universal Music Group	CD digital download
Canada	August 12, 2014	Universal Music Group
United States	August 12, 2014	Interscope Records 19		002132002
Japan	August 13, 2014	Universal Music Group

gollark: So your issue is that it's *inconsistently* CISC and RISC?

gollark: I've heard of those. It has some kind of floating point conversion stuff.

gollark: Økay.

gollark: Oh, so your issue is its increasing CISCness?

gollark: I'd like to know *why* you think ARM is so bad, since it is increasingly prevalent nowadays.

References

"iTunes - Music - Caleb Johnson by Caleb Johnson". iTunes. Apple Inc.
Schneider, Marc (May 22, 2014). "'Idol' Winner Caleb Johnson to Release Debut Album In August". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
Liberman, Mark. "Caleb Johnson's debut album has a new title, 'Testify'". USA Today. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
Mansfield, Brian. "Caleb Johnson". USA Today. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
"All Music review". All Music. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
Campbell, Chuck (August 12, 2014). "'Tuned In' review: 'Idol' winner Caleb Johnson doesn't triumph with 'Testify'". Retrieved August 27, 2014.
Grein, Paul (August 20, 2014). "Chart Watch: A New Low For 'American Idol'". Yahoo! Music.
Max Willens (April 7, 2016). "'These Were The Biggest Flops 'American Idol' Has Ever Produced". International Business Times.
Jurgensen, John (March 14, 2018). "How Do 'American Idol' Winners Fare in the Music Industry?". The Wall Street Journal.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/a-and-e/music/american-idol-winner-caleb-johnson-flops-with-new-album-testify/article/399751#ixzz3BiLrP76s
http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/testify-mr0004210115
http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/testify-mr0004210115/credits

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[1] "iTunes - Music - Caleb Johnson by Caleb Johnson". iTunes. Apple Inc.

[bill1-2] Schneider, Marc (May 22, 2014). "'Idol' Winner Caleb Johnson to Release Debut Album In August". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 30, 2014.

[Testify-3] Liberman, Mark. "Caleb Johnson's debut album has a new title, 'Testify'". USA Today. Retrieved June 23, 2014.

[Caleb_Johnson_testifie-4] Mansfield, Brian. "Caleb Johnson". USA Today. Retrieved August 15, 2014.

[All_Music-5] "All Music review". All Music. Retrieved August 15, 2014.

[Knoxville_News_Sentinel-6] Campbell, Chuck (August 12, 2014). "'Tuned In' review: 'Idol' winner Caleb Johnson doesn't triumph with 'Testify'". Retrieved August 27, 2014.

[7] Grein, Paul (August 20, 2014). "Chart Watch: A New Low For 'American Idol'". Yahoo! Music.

[8] Max Willens (April 7, 2016). "'These Were The Biggest Flops 'American Idol' Has Ever Produced". International Business Times.

[9] Jurgensen, John (March 14, 2018). "How Do 'American Idol' Winners Fare in the Music Industry?". The Wall Street Journal.

[10] ttp://www.digitaljournal.com/a-and-e/music/american-idol-winner-caleb-johnson-flops-with-new-album-testify/article/399751#ixzz3BiLrP76s

[11] ttp://www.allmusic.com/album/release/testify-mr0004210115

[12] ttp://www.allmusic.com/album/release/testify-mr0004210115/credits