Illuminations is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Josh Groban, produced by Rick Rubin. Similar to his previous albums, Illuminations contains songs sung in a variety of languages, including his first take on a Portuguese song, "Você Existe Em Mim", which Groban co-wrote with Lester Mendez and Carlinhos Brown. The album was released on November 15, 2010.[1]
The official title and cover art for Illuminations was revealed in September 2010.[1][2] In addition to the regular release, a special fan edition of the album is available for purchase on Groban's website that contains the original CD, a "making-of" DVD, a 48-page color photo book filled with lyrics and pictures, and two bonus tracks (to be delivered digitally).[3]
The first single from the album, "Hidden Away", was released on September 13,[4] and was also available to download for free on Groban's website and Facebook from September 8–13.
Leading up to the album's release, iTunes released songs periodically from the album to download, which began on October 12 with the release of the album's Portuguese song "Você Existe Em Mim".[5] A third song, "Higher Window", was released on October 25. A fourth and final song, "L'Ora Dell'Addio", was released on November 9.
Beginning May 12, 2011, Groban embarked on a worldwide tour entitled the Straight to You Tour to promote the album.[6]
Illuminations received mostly positive reviews from music critics.[7]
Commercial receptionedit
The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, selling 190,000 copies in its first week and was certified platinum by the RIAA for shipping over a million copies.[12] The album has since sold over 800,000 copies in the US.[13] In Canada, the album debuted at No. 4 on the Canadian Albums Chart and was certified platinum for shipping over 80,000 copies.
Track listingedit
The following is the track listing for the regular album:[14][15]
^ ab"Josh Groban – New Album Illuminations Available Nov 15th". joshgroban.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
^"Illuminations Album Cover Revealed – Josh Groban – Official Website For Musician, actor, and host of Rising Star". joshgroban.com.
^"Join Friends of Josh Groban – Josh Groban – Official Website For Musician, actor, and host of Rising Star". joshgroban.com.
^"News tagged new song voce existe em mim available itunes tomorrow – Josh Groban – Official Website For Musician, actor, and host of Rising Star". joshgroban.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
^"Josh Groban Announces 2011 'Straight To You' World Tour" (Press release). Marketwire. February 14, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
^ ab"Reviews for Illuminations by Josh Groban". Metacritic.
^Erlewine, Stephen Review: Illuminations. AllMusic. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
^"BBC – Music – Review of Josh Groban – Illuminations". BBC.
^"Josh Groban, 'Illuminations'". Boston Globe. November 22, 2010.
^"Music Review: Illuminations, by Josh Groban". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
^"Building Album Sales Chart". HITS Daily Double. Archived from the original on September 15, 2014.
^"The Josh Groban Corner Pub > WORLDWIDE CD SALES for Josh- US Sales HIT 21 MILLION!!". Louiseannette.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
^"Illuminations Tracklisting Revealed – Josh Groban – Official Website For Musician, actor, and host of Rising Star". joshgroban.com.
^"Album search results for "illuminations"". AllMusic.