''Andy Grammer'' is the debut album from American recording artist

Andy Grammer Andrew Charles Grammer (born December 3, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is signed to S-Curve Records. His debut album, ''Andy Grammer'', was released in 2011 and spawned the singles " Keep Your Head Up" and " Fi ...

. It was released on June 14, 2011, via

S-Curve Records S-Curve Records was founded in 2000 by former Mercury Records executive Steve Greenberg. It is based in New York City. In 2001 the label established a distribution and licensing agreement with EMI Records. Among the hits released by S-Curve be ...

. The album was preceded by the platinum-certified single " Keep Your Head Up", which was released on November 15, 2010. It was produced by

Matt Wallace Matt Wallace is an American record producer. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley,Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...

Matt Radosevich Matthew Radosevich, also known as Matt Rad, is an American record producer, songwriter, and musician. He has worked with artists such as One Direction, Niall Horan, Martin Garrix, Demi Lovato, Little Mix, Guy Sebastian, Lupe Fiasco, Walk th ...

, Dave Katz, and

Sam Hollander Sam Hollander is an American songwriter. He has collaborated with the likes of Panic! at the Disco, One Direction, Fitz and the Tantrums, Train, Weezer, Blink-182, Ringo Starr, Def Leppard, Katy Perry, Carole King, Jewel, Pentatonix, Daughtry, ...

(

Gym Class Heroes Gym Class Heroes was an American rap rock band from Geneva, New York. The group formed in 1997 when Travie McCoy met drummer Matt McGinley during their high school gym class. The band's music displays a wide variety of influences, including hip h ...

), and peaked at #105 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart as well as #1 on the ''Billboard''

Heatseekers Albums Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

chart.

Background

Grammer was "fully involved in the creative process" of the album. He prefers to write songs on his own, but making the album allowed him to work with other writers as well.

Singles

" Keep Your Head Up" was released in February 2011, and reached #53 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video for the single gained considerable buzz due to a "Choose Your Own Adventure"-esque option with VEVO. The song was later certified platinum by

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. It was later featured in the 2012 film ''

Pitch Perfect ''Pitch Perfect'' is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis Knap ...

''. The album's second single was " Fine by Me" was released in December 2011, and peaked at #84 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 respectively. with the music video premiering in February 2012. The third single "Miss Me" was released to Adult Contemporary stations only, with a music video premiering on September 8, 2012.

Critical reception

William Ruhlmann, of

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 databas ...

, rated the album with three and a half stars out of five. Ruhlmann comments that the music lightly borrows from hip-hop music and has a

rap music Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

influence. He also said that Grammer's music leans toward a female audience, usually directing himself to a significant other and singing words of encouragement and affection. Tanner Stransky gave the album a B from a scale of A+ to E, stating that the album sounded "like a mash-up of

Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single " The Remedy (I Won't ...

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

, and

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

. It's all easily listenable, if scarcely original."

Track listing

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control 2011 debut albums Andy Grammer albums S-Curve Records albums