I'm Alive, I'm Dreaming
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''I'm Alive, I'm Dreaming'' is the third studio album by American
electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...
singer-songwriter
The Ready Set Jordan Mark Witzigreuter (born November 14, 1989), known professionally as The Ready Set, is an American singer-songwriter and musician from Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. He is the lead vocalist and sole member of the act, using a backup b ...
. It was released on June 14, 2010, through
Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...
,
Decaydance DCD2 Records, formerly known as Decaydance Records, is an independent record label owned by Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and partners, based in New York City. It was founded as an imprint of Fueled by Ramen. The first band Wentz ...
, and
Beluga Heights Beluga Heights Records is an American record label established by record producer J. R. Rotem. The label is known for discovering and developing Sean Kingston, Iyaz, Mann, and Jason Derulo. In September 2020, Beluga Heights was acquired by Cin ...
. The album debuted at #3 on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "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 b ...
chart. The first single from the album, " Love Like Woe", was released on March 29, 2010, and has sold over 1,000,000 downloads in the United States. The deluxe edition includes a re-recorded version of the song "Giants" from his self-released second album ''Tantrum Castle''.


Background

In November 2009,
Pete Wentz Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III (born June 5, 1979) is an American musician who is the bassist and lyricist for the rock band Fall Out Boy. Before the band's formation in 2001, Wentz was a fixture of the Chicago hardcore scene and was the lead si ...
signed Witzigreuter to his label
Decaydance Records DCD2 Records, formerly known as Decaydance Records, is an independent record label owned by Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and partners, based in New York City. It was founded as an imprint of Fueled by Ramen. The first band Wentz ...
. Additionally, Witzigreuter also signed with the label
Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...
. Writing took place in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
and
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, as well as recording demos. The album was recorded in Los Angeles and was produced by
J. R. Rotem Jonathan Reuven Rotem (born July 23, 1975) is a South African-born American record producer, songwriter and music publisher. Biography Early life Rotem was born in July 23, 1975 in Johannesburg, South Africa to Jewish Israeli people, Israe ...
,
Matt Squire Matt Squire is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixing engineer, and songwriter. His production, songwriting, and mixing credits include Panic! at the Disco, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Kesha, One Di ...
, David Siegel, Shane Stoner, Kenneth Mount, Zack Odom and Jon Brown.


Composition

Witzigreuter began writing the album in 2009 and blends various music genres such as
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
,
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
and
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
. Behind composing the album, he stated, "Some of the songs were recorded over a year ago, and then some of the songs were only recorded a few months ago." He revealed that 30 songs did not make the final cut and that when he chose the final track listing, he wanted to have the "catchiest, best pop songs" he wrote for the album, with help from his management and labels. Witzigreuter also played every instrument on the record. He noted "Spinnin'" as the track he was the most proud of from the album, citing early 90's
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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
influences. He also stated that "There Are Days" was one of his favorite songs written, noting its inspirational feel to it. He stated that the song was "written from the perspective of a ghost watching the world pass by, unable to be a part of it. The ultimate concept behind it is that one day you will not be around, so living life to the fullest is absolutely important."


Release

On March 29, 2010, Witzigreuter released his first single " Love Like Woe". The song peaked at number 27 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number one on the ''Billboard''
Heatseeker Songs The Heatseekers charts were "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 b ...
and number 30 on the
Canada CHR/Top 40 The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
. This led to the song being 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 ...
and winning the BDS Certified Spin Award based on the 50,000 spins it received. The second single "More Than Alive", was released on May 25, 2010. The music video for both singles were directed by Isaac Ravishankara. "Stays Four The Same" was released as a promotional single in 2009. The album was made available for streaming on his
MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
page on June 8, 2010, before it was officially released on June 14.


Reception

''I'm Alive, I'm Dreaming'' was met with mixed reviews from music critics. The album was rewarded a 3.5 star rating from William Ruhlmann of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
. He stated, "The Ready Set features bouncy beats and hooks aplenty on every tune, and the vocals are arranged just like those of a boy band." He ended off remarking, "Witzigreuter still doesn't have his craft quite down, but he's certainly on his way." '' M Music & Musicians'' gave a positive review for the album, comparing his work to
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
's solo music. They noted how the album "packs enough sonic punch to justify repeated listenings." However, they criticized Witzigreuter's use of autotune and believed "he possesses worthwhile vocal skills, not to mention a considerable gift for vocal counterpoint and harmony." Stephen Haag of
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
gave a mixed review stating, "It comes across as everything, all the time, in the service of F-U-N, 'tween rock. However, when Witzigreuter dials it down, like he does on the piano pop of 'Melody's Song', the Ready Set could be solid late-period–albeit second-tier–power pop." A negative review came from Review Rinse Repeat, noting that the album felt "shallow and soulless," compared to his earlier albums ''Tantrum Castle'' and ''Syntax and Bright Lights'' that had more "passion." However, they praised the album's lead single, "Love Like Woe" for its catchy and poppy sound. In December 2010, ''I'm Alive, I'm Dreaming'' was nominated for
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
Buzzworthy's Fan Favorite Album of the Year, ultimately winning the award, beating out
Nick Jonas & The Administration Nick Jonas & the Administration was a band formed in late 2009 as a side project by Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers. Performers included singer, pianist, guitarist, drummer, and songwriter Nick Jonas, bassist John Fields (producer), John Fields, ...
's '' Who I Am''.


Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 3 on the ''Billboard''
Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "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 b ...
chart and reached number 172 on the ''Billboard''
Top Current Album Sales The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...
chart. The album stayed 23 weeks on the Top Heatseekers chart. To support the album, The Ready Set embarked on a 2010 fall tour with
Cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collaborate with each other as well as agreeing not to compete with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. A cartel is an organization formed by producers ...
,
Hey Monday Hey Monday is an American rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Pal ...
,
This Century This Century was an American pop rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The band consisted of members Joel Kanitz, Ryan Gose, Alex Silverman, and Sean Silverman. In February 2014, Alex Silverman announced his departure from the group. ...
, and We Are the In Crowd. He also announced his first headlining tour presented by Glamour Kills, that began in February 2011.


Track listing

The album is mixed by Jon Kaplan and mastered by Dave McNair.


Personnel

Credits for ''I'm Alive, I'm Dreaming'' adapted from
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
. * Jordan Witzigreuter – bass, drums * Craig Aaronson – A&R * Jon Brown – engineering, producer * Amy Dresser – cover illustration * Scott Frost – A&R * Lucia Holm – photography * Jon Kaplan – mixing * Emy Macek – producer * Frank Maddocks – art direction, design * Matthew Malpass – vocal engineer * Dave McNair – mastering * Kenneth Mount – engineering, producer * Zack Odom – engineering, producer * Donny Phillips – logo design * J.R. Rotem – mixing, producer * Dave Siegel – producer *
Matt Squire Matt Squire is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixing engineer, and songwriter. His production, songwriting, and mixing credits include Panic! at the Disco, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Kesha, One Di ...
– producer * Shane Stoner – producer * Jonna Terrasi – producer *
Pete Wentz Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III (born June 5, 1979) is an American musician who is the bassist and lyricist for the rock band Fall Out Boy. Before the band's formation in 2001, Wentz was a fixture of the Chicago hardcore scene and was the lead si ...
– A&R


Charts


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:I'm Alive, I'm Dreaming 2010 albums Decaydance Records albums Albums produced by J. R. Rotem The Ready Set albums Sire Records albums