Justin's back -- and better!
DJ KENNDAWG,
Idol Waves manager
Idolwaves.com, January 17, 2006
www.idolwaves.com/reviews
During the debut season for American Idol in 2002, Kelly Clarkson and Justin
Guarini quickly became two of the most famous people on television. Shortly
after the show ended, Kelly released her debut CD, Thankful, and began her road
to stardom. She's since catapulted herself into one of the biggest stars in the
music industry with several monster hits and two multi-platinum records.
Justin, on the other hand, fell into obscurity after his self-tiled debut record
flopped. In fact, sales and reviews were so bad that RCA Records dropped the
puffy, curly-haired singer from the label just six months after the disk's
release date. Justin Guarini sold fewer than 135,000 copies -- more than 350,000
short of at least reaching gold.
Top that off with his sub par co-star acting in the teen musical "From Justin To
Kelly" -- possibly one of the worst movies ever made, at least according to box
office figures and movie critics -- and it seemed as though Justin's long-term
career would be going down the drain as well. Many people believed his
short-lived fame had been gone forever.
For two years, Justin hid in California and made few -- if any -- national
appearances. Most music fans thought they'd never see him or hear him sing
again. Myself included.
But now Justin has returned to the music scene and is surprisingly better than
ever. Justin spent six months of the past couple years in the studio recording
his sophomore album -- a record he wanted to make without so-called expert
record executives forcing him to sing a certain style. After listening to his
new project several times, I'm convinced Justin has truly found his niche.
It's like Justin has become a new person. He finally trimmed his bushy hair and
he's ventured into smooth jazz music. The new self-produced, independent CD,
Stranger Things Have Happened, marks a drastic change from the Justin we all
knew from American Idol and his subsequent failures after the show ended. The
Latin-styled pop tunes are now gone in favor of relaxing, classical poetry with
music.
And Stranger Things has apparently caught on with his few but loyal fans.
Without much promotion for the disk released in early December, Justin in a
letter to his fans said he and his staff at Justice Entertainment have had
trouble keeping up with the orders. He also reveals plans to heavily promote the
new record starting in January.
When music lovers finally get a chance to hear the new Justin, they'll be
surprised by just how far he really has come. I only ordered the CD from
Justin's Web site, www.JustinGuarini.com,
because I'm a sucker for collecting every record made by former Idol
contestants. On his first CD, I could only bear to listen to "Get Here" and his
"Timeless" duet with Kelly, so I didn't expect much from Stranger Things.
Though it did take a few spins to grasp the songs with deep-thinking images
painted in the lyrics and it's slow pace, it has become one of my favorite CDs
at the moment. Unlike many pop songs with empty words, these jazz tunes are true
poetry.
Whether or not the record will produce hits is questionable since jazz radio
markets are small, but this is the perfect CD to spin in your car or home stereo
after a stressful day at work or school. Hearing the piano, flute, saxophone,
drums and bass from Los Angeles musicians with Justin's peaceful crooning is
like a musical massage. I play it most when I'm driving home from my place of
employment.
Justin has added a new twist on some of Jazz music's most loved classics and
standard. On the record, fans will find the smooth jazz version of "My Funny
Valentine," the classic musical tune Constantine Maroulis recorded on the
American Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers CD. Of all the songs, "My Funny
Valentine" will likely be the most recognizable for mainstream music fans.
Some of the other slower songs include "I'll Take Romance," a song about a young
man exploring love for the first time, and "I Didn't Know What Time It Was,"
another tender tune of a man so engulfed in love that he doesn't know what time
it is or when he even met his lover. The subject of "Just Squeeze," which starts
slow and picks up speed at the chorus, encourages his or her lover to "squeeze
me, but don't tease me."
Justin and musicians Greg Gordon Smith, Katisse Buckingham, Ian Martin and Jamey
Tate pick up the tempo on "Night and Day," "Stranger Things Have Happened to Me"
and "All of You," three more tunes about passionate love. The groovy "I Love
You" produces some of the best lyrics in the 10-song set: "Once more she sees
daffodils/It's spring time again and birds are on the wings again/start to sing
again old melodies/I love you, the golden dawn agrees and it all belongs to you
and me."
My favorite song, "Young and Foolish," portrays the story of an aging man
wishing he could be a young and experimental once more with his lover. He
understands that "Soon enough, the carefree days, the sunlit days go by/Soon
enough, the blue bird has to fly/I wish that we were young and foolish again."
Justin truly shines on this song with his flawless vocals. If any tune has a
chance to become a major hit, this one would likely be it.
Then there's "Sing," which sounds a lot like Justin's life. It's a simple song
that encourages everyone to "sing out loud, sing out strong," despite what
others may say. Justin's wide range shines here in the tune that could also be a
theme song for American Idol.
The only downfalls of this record are the monotonous theme and short length of
most of the songs. A few songs only run about two minutes and seem like a verse
or two could be added to strengthen them.
Still, I recommend this CD to all. Many people have pre-conceived opinions on
Justin -- as I did -- but I encourage you to give him one more try. You won't be
disappointed. Even as I write, I find it hard to believe. But it's definitely
true.
You can sample some of Stranger Things at
www.JustinGuarini.com. Since the disk has not yet been released to major
retail outlets, it can only be ordered through his Web site. You can also hear
some tunes on Idol Waves!
So will Justin emerge as the born-again Idol contestant and become a star once
again? Who knows? Maybe so. I'm sure stranger things have happened.