Justin Guarini

by Justin Guarini

Overview

Arriving a discreet amount of time after American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson's chart-topping debut, Thankful, and just before the release of their movie, From Justin to Kelly, Justin Guarini's self-titled album is, at the very least, positioned for almost certain success on a massive scale. Fortunately, though, Justin Guarini has more than just marketing and calculation going for it -- much like Thankful, the album is much better than might be expected, providing a smooth transition from his AmIdol roots into more adventurous musical territory. Of course, "adventurous" is a relative term when it comes to crafting an album that must appeal to as many different types of people as possible. At times, it just means putting a crunchy, slightly urban beat behind his signature American Idol songs like "Unchained Melody" and "Get Here" to give them a bit of an "edge" without straying too far from mainstream pop territory. But considering that RCA could probably sell millions of copies of an album that featured nothing but songs like these, the musical risks that Guarini does take are welcome and work surprisingly well. Most of the album takes its cue from urban and teen pop; indeed, songs like "Be a Heartbreaker," "I Saw Your Face," and "Thinking of You" mix those styles so seamlessly that they suggest what Justin Timberlake's Justified might've sounded like if he'd had a less forward-thinking production team than the Neptunes at the helm. Likewise, Justin Guarini's most progressive-sounding tracks, such as "Sorry," recall the futuristic spin on Michael Jackson's Off the Wall that the other Justin's album offered. Though it nods to Latin pop with "One Heart Too Many," the majority of the album sticks to an urban/teen pop/mainstream pop fusion that plays to Guarini's strengths as a performer and a persona, which is a savvy decision by the people behind American Idol. Along with its similarities to the variety shows of the '60s and '70s, the series' star-making process recalls old Hollywood's star system, where teams of experts would mold promising newcomers into archetypal performers, refining everything from their looks to the way they walked and talked. American Idol's team cast Kelly Clarkson as the girl next door who occasionally takes a walk on the wild side, and Guarini has been cast as a relatively chaste sex symbol. Granted, this role has been around since pop music's infancy, but on Justin Guarini the singer occasionally seems overly confined by it, particularly on the limp ballad "Condition of My Heart" and the album's low point, the cloyingly up-tempo "Inner Child." It's a little strange that Guarini's sex appeal is curtailed as much as it is, since he was generally considered the sexiest (or at least, most conventionally sexy) of the finalists, and also since Thankful made a point of emphasizing Clarkson's sexiness in a classy way. When Guarini does get to let loose, it makes for some of the album's best moments, such as "Doin' Things (We're Not Supposed to Do)," a sultry song that sounds both appropriate for a pop star in his early twenties to sing and for his preteen fans to hear; "If You Wanna" is a tougher, more urban-flavored song that is all the more promising because Guarini co-wrote it. In the end, this album isn't as surprising or diverse a debut as Thankful was, but its solid quality proves that the forces behind American Idol want their winners to make good pop albums, as opposed to one mega-hit single backed by 11 throwaway tracks. Justin Guarini might be calculated, but it's not cynical. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	06/10/2003
Label:	Rca
UPC:	0078636818825

Tracks

1. One Heart Too Many
2. I Saw Your Face
3. Be a Heartbreaker
4. Unchained Melody
5. Sorry
6. How Will You Know
7. Inner Child
8. Condition of My Heart
9. Doin' Things (We're Not Supposed To)
10. If You Wanna
11. Thinking of You
12. Get Here
13. Timeless

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Justin Guarini   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Kelly Clarkson   Primary Artist,Guest Artist
Janson & Janson   Conductor
Nate Butler   Vocals (Background)
Ricky Lawson   Drums
Ramon Stagnaro   Guitar (Nylon String)
Tim Pierce   Guitar
David Frank   Drums,Keyboards
Eric D. Jackson   Guitar
Gavyn Wright   Strings
Fridrik Karlsson   Guitar
Steve Mac   Keyboards
Jeanette Olsson   Vocals (Background)
Greg Kurstin   Keyboards
Edwin Bonilla   Percussion
Sean Hurley   Bass
Manuel Lopez   Guitar (Nylon String)
Michael Hart Thompson   Guitar
Luis Conte   Percussion
Nathan East   Bass
Nancy Anderson   Vocals (Background)
Oscar Merner   Guitar (Nylon String)
Tuff Singers   Vocals (Background)
Tony Dixon   Keyboards
Paul Jackson, Jr.   Guitar (Electric)
Steve Pearce   Guitar (Bass)
Dave Arch   Keyboards
Greg Phillinganes   Piano,Keyboards
John Pierce   Bass
Eric Dawkins   Vocals (Background)
Mae McKenna   Vocals (Background)
Stockholm Session Orchestra   Strings
Party Man   Keyboards

Technical Credits

Henrik Brunberg   Assistant Engineer
Jesse Rogg   Assistant Engineer
Jason Rankins   Assistant Engineer
Janson & Janson   String Arrangements
Havana Hustlers   Programming
Anders Bagge   Composer
The Underdogs   Producer
Chris Garcia   Engineer
Brian McKnight   Composer
Chris Laws   Engineer
Damon Sharpe   Engineer,Producer
Damon Thomas   Composer
Brenda Russell   Composer
Alex North   Composer
David Frank   Composer,Producer,Programming,Vocal Arrangement
Manny Marroquin   Mixing
Joe Yannece   Mastering
Harvey Mason, Sr.   Composer
Dave Russell   Mixing,Engineer
Juan Cristobal Losada   Engineer
Kenneth Edmonds   Composer
Steve Mac   Mixing,Producer
Bill Malina   Mixing,Engineer
Clive Davis   Executive Producer
Carole Bayer Sager   Composer
Hy Zaret   Composer
Lester Mendez   Producer
Matt Howe   Engineer
Dabling Harward   Editing
Bernard Loehr   String Engineer,Mixing Assistant
Daniel Pursey   Assistant Engineer
Matz Nilsson   Mixing
Wayne Rodrigues   Drum Programming,Pro-Tools
Rick Nowels   Composer
Karlin   Arranger
Peer Astrom   Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer
Justin Guarini   Composer
Justin Timberlake   Composer
Nate Butler   Composer,Vocal Arrangement
Oscar Merner   Composer
Jolie Levine-Aller   Production Coordination
Bag   Arranger
Rabeka Tuinei   Mixing Assistant
Joel Shepard   Assistant Engineer
Robin Sellers   Mixing
Christian Lantry   Photography
Wade Robson   Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Vocal Arrangement
Paul Boutin   Engineer
Soulshock   Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Producer
Steve Kipner   Composer,Vocal Arrangement
Dave Arch   Orchestral Arrangements
Bob Rosa   Assistant Vocal Engineer
Kelly Clarkson   Duet
Joe Belmaati   Composer
Gregg Alexander   Composer
Ryan Freeland   Engineer
Derek Bramble   Composer
Kev Mahoney   Assistant Engineer
Larrabee North   Mixing
Anthony Nance   Composer
Kwaku Alston   Photography
Alan Veucasovic   Assistant Engineer