Album title: “Sweeter”
Artist: Gavin DeGraw
Composer and lyricists: Gavin DeGraw, Ryan Tedder, and Andrew Frampton
Collaborating musicians:
Art designer: Unknown
Producer(s): Ron Aniello, Jerrod Bettis, Ryan Tedder, Andrew Frampton, Eric Rosse, Butch Walker, and Noel Zancanella.
Audio mixer: Serban Ghenea
Photographer: Patrick Frasier
Studio(s): 2011; The Blackbird Studio in Nashville and the Hensen Recording Studios in Hollywood
Released -> September 20, 2011
Record Label -> RCA records (http://www.rcarecords.com/artists)
Retail price:
CD €12,99
ITunes: €9,99
[Genre]
The genre(s) of this album are Blue-eyed soul, pop rock, and rock.
Blue-eyed soul -> R&B / Soul performed by white artists, this music has a really nice vibe.
Pop rock -> Mix of a catchy pop style and guitar-based rock.
[Target group]
In my opinion, there is not one specific target group for this album, just like the other three albums of DeGraw. He has a voice that is attractive for a lot of people. Teenage girls and boys, 20-30 year olds, and even 50 year olds like his voice and music. His album is a mix of blue-eyed soul and pop rock, I think that that’s also a reason why it is attractive to more than one target group. His tour concert in Amsterdam was totally sold out, so that means that a lot of people are interested and a fan of his music.
[Period]
The album is released on September 20, 2011. In my opinion, the album is timeless, but that is because I really like his sound, but someone who likes heavy metal might think that it is not timeless. The genre of the album is blue-eyed soul and pop rock, which means that it is not limited to this specific time. For this album, He reached out to fellow songwriters that he had wanted to work with, Ryan Tedder (One Republic) and Andrew Frampton (The Script). DeGraw’s latest hit, “Not Over You,” is the result of his collaboration with Tedder.
[Success / Failure Album]
The album was/is quite successful. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number eight, selling 34,000 copies in its first week. It is DeGraw's second top-ten album; his first was his self-titled album (2008), which debuted at number seven, with 66,000 copies sold in its first week.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (Allmusic) rated it 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote that "Sweeter benefits from greater textures in his surroundings, stronger hooks in the melodies, and, for once, a sensibility that doesn’t sacrifice the present for the sake of paying respect to the past."
Rolling stones review:
“ Gavin DeGraw will never be cool. Like John Mayer and Jason Mraz, he's a nice-looking white dude with music-school chops and mainstream tastes; his songs are too well-made, too catchy, too unapologetically pop-rock to appeal to tastemakers. And what's wrong with that? The 10 songs on Sweeter, DeGraw's fourth album, are taut, efficient and hook-packed, with guitars bolstering the big choruses. DeGraw is an excellent singer, with a hint of grit in his tenor that tips power ballads like "Soldier" toward soul music. He's also an incurable cheeseball: Sweeter's love songs are tinged with cringe-worthy bromides and painful "sexy talk" ("Damn, damn, girl, you do it well, and I thought you were innocent"), and give off an unmistakable whiff of self-regard. Then again, if you could sing and play like DeGraw, you'd be a little full of yourself too. ”
(http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/sweeter-20110920#ixzz1p0Eo9ROx)
(http://www.metacritic.com/music/sweeter)
In my opinion, this album is attractive because it has a lot of catchy songs. When you are sitting in your car and one of the songs is on the radio, you just want to sing a long and you really feel the beat, and the great vibe. Also, I really like the sound of Gavin DeGraw’s voice, because he has his own sound. Especially the songs “Not over you” and “Soldier” have a really nice vibe, you really “feel” the music. All the songs are all different, mainly because DeGraw worked with more producers. -> "I worked with different producers, so different producers recorded different songs with me and you’re getting a lot of variety on there." Said Gavin DeGraw. There is also something different about this album, when you compare it to his others album, I think he tried something else musically, there was another vibe over these songs, it has a kind of “Funk” feel to it.
[Record Deal]
His talent was noticed by Randy Sabiston, A&R manager at Warner Chappell Music, who offered him a record deal. In the spring of 2002, DeGraw signed a contract at J Records and started working on his debut album Chariot with producer Mark Endert. The Album came out in July 2003, a few months before, his debut single I don’t want to be came out.
Currently DeGraw is signed at RCA records, “Sweeter” is the first album he made with this record label.
In my opinion, they contracted DeGraw because he has his own sound, when you listen to the radio, you immediately hear that it is Gavin DeGraw, but his voice also attracts different target groups; girls, boys and even my parents who are fifty years old like it. His music also has a very nice feeling and beat to it. He is also all-round, he can sing, play guitar and play piano. Also, he is a great live singer, and there are not a lot of great artists who sing live, or are good at it. His voice is really catchy, which is exactly what you need as a record label to earn money.
