Archive for September, 2010

Some US archies received their fan packs in the mail already. Schweeeettt!!! They shared the contents with Snarky Archies and ArchieRx through their pictures. Do NOT scroll down and go further if you don’t want spoilers!

Oh I wanna be spoilllled!

…for the 21st cycle. This is the first time David got the top spot after being in that countdown for 4 weeks now. Awesome awesome job, Archies!

“The 21st cycle Champ on The Countdown”

Keep on voting, Go-Getters!!! 100 votes per 12/24hrs!!!
Click HERE to VOTE now!! Lezdothiz!

*See results of the poll for the 21st cycle here.

Idol Chatter (USA Today)

HitFix

Salt Lake Tribune

AINow.org

Since AOL launched the listening party on their site on Monday, reviews of the album have been popping up. Here are some of them:

MJsBigBlog

Just finished listening to the entire album. The Other Side of Down  is another step–no a huge leap–toward a self-assured adult-oriented sound for David. The album holds together as a work in a way the 2008’s debut did not. A big evolution for David, for sure. I am really impressed!

Idolwild 2010

The Other Side of Down is a extremely strong, albeit somewhat safe effort on Archuleta’s part. Sure, there’s a certain amount of je ne sais quoi missing that would have taken the album from great to positively fabulous, but overall, David more than makes the grade with this album. Of course, the truest Archie fans will probably be thrilled with the release no matter the few-and-far between flaws: There’s enough whimsy reminiscent of his eponymous debut release to bring previous listeners back into the fray, and yet enough new material to keep the game interesting. I myself was truly blown away by how much David appears to have matured both emotionally and musically on this disc, and I’m excited to see where he heads next.

The Dam Nation

This, to me, is exactly the type of artistic progression I was hoping to hear from David. Sure, he is still in a growth arc musically, but this album is solid enough for him to differentiate himself further from other teen singers he is so casually lumped in with.

EW.com

Judging by the metaphors David Archuleta employs on his sophomore studio disc — see ”Falling Stars,” ”Elevator,” and ”Parachutes and Airplanes” — life after reality TV has been an up-and-down ride for this fresh-faced Idol finalist. Yet his vocals still gleam with so much dewy naïveté that the music never succumbs to the bitterness it seems to circle. Maybe state-fair meet-and-greets are what the kid was born to do? B  –Mikael Wood

**Click on the links (i.e. website name) to read the whole review/article.

Oh, some Pinoy Archies have actually posted a review of their own in some forums, too.

JM4ever

1. Other Side of Down – 8.1/10
You think he will start the album with a frowning face? Looks like your wrong. The Other Side of Down is an upbeat song with also an uplifting message. The song, in my opinion, is not a very good album opener. For some of the non-fans of him, they might just skip the album because of an average opener.

Conclusion: His songs are more matured. Maybe the message is still about love but he delivered it maturely. It will be one of the most underrated albums this year. Oh and its much better than his debut one. If you are ready to embrace the music of the 19 year old American Idol runner up, listen to this one.

Fermat

Finally got to listen to the whole album last night. It’s pretty good.
1. Falling Stars – The opening sounds a bit like that of You Found Me. It’s so heartfelt and emotional, both in the vocals and lyrics, that it’s impossible not to feel anything after listening to it. The falsettos are phenomenal, particularly those appoggiatura thirds for “stars” and “cars” near the end of the track. Such control and technique! Just… breathtaking.

**Click on their names to read the full review.

Sony Music Indonesia (@sonymusicid) tweeted about this a few days back.

;asdkfhsjah;kjfhkjfhsd;jfh I know, I know. I’m melting.

They say this comes free for Indonesians who pre-order/buy TOSOD. But I also “HEARD” that this is a default bonus for Asian countries. *I’m in the Philippines. This is in Asia. Does that mean I get one, too?* Well, we did have word that there are LIMITED number of calendars imported by Sony Music Philippines in time for the album release. *Not for a song, tho* I guess it is safe to say that THIS is the calendar they’re talking about?

Haha, yes, Eman gave us another bubbletweet of a David song! *i absolutely adore him!*

Listen HERE. Download HERE. <–ty snarkies!

And, as Eman says in his tweets, this song here^ is the song that will be included in the Japanese edition of TOSOD as a bonus track!

HEEEEEEE. So. We have the regular album (12 songs); Fan Edition (CD with 12 songs + DVD + pics + bracelet); Deluxe edition (CD with 12 songs + DVD); iTunes Deluxe (12 songs + BTS vids + MV + 1 bonus track [DAT] + digital booklet); Japanese edition (12 songs + 1 bonus track [bubbletweet song]). Did I miss anything? No? Okay. Kill me now!

And we have 2 more song previews and the story behind them!

From the Mothership:

Of course, we have a yt of this, courtesy of JRforDA, if you’re having difficulty loading the video above.

ty! JRforDA

AOL is giving us a week-long opportunity to listen to the album (like you haven’t yet, lol) online!

This one is kind of official, haha. See, it’s on the Mothership, too!

Click HERE to listen

And lookie here, guess who’s on AOL’s homepage?