''A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)'' is the debut studio album by

Blake Lewis Blake Colin Lewis (born July 21, 1981) is an American musician, singer and actor who was the runner-up on the sixth season of ''American Idol''. His major label debut album '' A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)'' was released on December 4, 2007, through ...

, the runner-up on the sixth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

''. It was released in the

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and

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on December 4, 2007. The first single is " Break Anotha" and was released to radio on October 30. The album did not leak as other artists' albums generally do, instead appeared in full first within the "Free Full CD Listening Parties" section on AOL.com on December 3, the day before the release.

Background

On June 21, 2007, Lewis disclosed in his

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at MySpace that on top of the ''American Idol'' tour, he has "been in meetings with producers and writers" for his album, though his record deal with Arista Records/

19 Recordings 19 Recordings Inc. (registered in the United Kingdom as 19 Recordings Ltd.) is a New York-based record label owned by 19 Entertainment. Founded in London by British entrepreneur Simon Fuller in 1999 as the music division of 19 Entertainment, the ...

was not announced officially until August 24. He started to record his album in the studio "for all night long" from June 18 and co-wrote 12 songs out of 13 tracks (excluding the interludes) on ''Audio Day Dream''. An exclusive version of ''Audio Day Dream'' with a 17-minute documentary, which was shot by Ethan Newberry and Cisco McCarthy, Lewis' friends, is offered as a bonus video download by

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with purchase of their specially marked CD. Another special edition of the album, which is tied with a bonus track called "Human", is available on

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. A trailer of ''A.D.D.'' was published o
BlakeLewisComingSoon.com
right before the leak of " Break Anotha".

Musical influences

Lewis has stated in several interviews that he wanted his future album to have pop,

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

and jazzy hip hop feels to it, as he classified the sound as "electro- funk-

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

-pop". He has also listed his ideal choices of producers and collaborators for his album in various interviews, including "Father of

Trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

" BT,

Darkchild Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

, Pro J,

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Sh ...

Dan the Automator Daniel M. Nakamura better known by his stage name Dan the Automator, is an American record producer from San Francisco, California. He is the founder of the publishing company Sharkman Music and the record label 75 Ark. Early life Nakamura was b ...

and

Gnarls Barkley Gnarls Barkley are an American soul duo, composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse. They released their debut studio album, ''St. Elsewhere'', in 2006. It contained their hit single "Crazy", which peaked at number two ...

. In interviews with ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' and '' Entertainment Tonight'', he mentioned a collaboration with

Doug E. Fresh Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines an ...

, the hip hop/beatboxing legend Lewis beatboxed with to "The Show" in the Grand Finale of the sixth season of ''American Idol'' and received a standing ovation from the judges and the audience, as well as some of his musical influences, such as Maroon 5, 311, Duran Duran,

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in th ...

. Lewis described some of the songs he has recorded on July 16, 2007: The singer gave another depiction of ''A.D.D.'' in the official press announcing its release:

Critical reception

The album was met with mixed reviews.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

called the album "ADD is certainly one of the more interesting AmIdol-related records, but so much commotion without construction is ultimately as forgettable as Jordin's pageant-winner trifle, and perhaps a little more tiring to get through, too." ''

'' gave the album a "C" and wrote "If Lewis could just find a way to integrate all his early-MTV influences (A Flock of Fat Boys?), well...that album wouldn't be great either--though it'd be less forgettable than this exercise in pop adequacy." Other critics praised the album. '' Billboard'' titled its review "American Idol" season six runner-up Blake Lewis' debut, "ADD: Audio Day Dream," is indeed a little all over the map, but, surprisingly, it works." ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' was quite impressed stating "His singing on "Audio Day Dream" is fine; it gets the job done. Yet what arrests your ear are Lewis' ideas."

Chart performance

In its first week of release, ''Audio Day Dream'' sold about 97,500 copies, debuting at number ten on the Billboard 200, the same spot where fellow American Idol

Jordin Sparks Jordin Sparks-Thomas (born December 22, 1989) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the sixth season of ''American Idol'' at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. Her self-titled debu ...

debuted (although Jordin's sales were better on her debut week), and number three on the Billboard Digital Albums Chart It has sold 308,000 as of July 1, 2009.EW.com
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Track listing

;Notes * signifies a vocal producer * signifies an additional producer

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Add 2007 albums Blake Lewis albums Arista Records albums Albums produced by Mike Elizondo Albums produced by Rico Love Albums produced by Ryan Tedder Albums produced by Sam Watters Albums produced by S*A*M and Sluggo 19 Recordings albums