Identified
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Identified is the second studio album by Vanessa Hudgens. The album was released via Hollywood Records July 1, 2008 in the U.S.[1] and June 24, 2008 in Japan. "Identified" received generally positive reviews from music critics. The New York Times gave the album a positive review, praising the song "Gone with the Wind" as Hudgens best vocal performance.[2]
Promotion and sales
Promotion was carried out by Hudgens giving interviews in Good Morning America, Live with Regis and Kelly,and MTV's Total Request Live. On June 24, 2008, the album was leaked full at AOL Music's album party premiere. On July 31, 2008, Hudgens started a 24-city tour in order to promote her debut album, V and her sophomore album, Identified.[3] On August 23, 2008, Radio Disney had a "Pick It or Kick It" listener poll for "Amazed", which got an 80% pick.
Charts
Identified debuted at #23 on the Billboard 200 charts with a sales of 22,000 copies sold in its first week, 12,000 less than her first album, V.[4] "Identified" spent a total of 8 weeks in the Billboard 200. As of September 6, 2008 the album dropped out.[5]
Chart performance
Chart | Peak position |
---|---|
Canadian Albums Chart | 37[6] |
U.S. Billboard 200 | 23 |
Critical reception
Identified has received generally favorable reviews.[7] Billboard said that the album "panders to the preteen demo with stop-start pop that ranges from pleasant (the title track) to dull ("Amazed") to off-putting ("Hook It Up"). But for little girls, this is one nonstop sing-along.”[8] The New York Times said that “ a handful of songs like this would have sufficed to help mature her image, and yet “Identified” is far more interesting and unexpected.”[9] They noted that, when the album leans on Ms. Hudgens’s vocals, it proves foolish — her Christina Aguilera impression on "Sneakernight" fizzles — and in places the songwriting is startlingly simple."[9] Entertainment Weekly said that “Identified, her second CD, stints on her HSM character's sweetness in favor of dance beats and sensual lyrics — while stopping short of anything risqué enough to recall last year's photo scandal.”[10] However, Rolling Stone claimed that “Hudgens can't really sing, so her producers handle the heavy lifting.” They also said that Hudgens sounds like a little girl who took a wrong turn and ended up in T-Pain's fun house. [11]
Blender gave it a three stars out of five, and claimed that her “voice was made to rip, and when she lets go just a little, the coyness turns sultry—proof that she might just have a life after high school.” [12] allmusic asserted that Identified isn't drastically different from V . Hudgens still sings about love, dancing, and hanging with her girls, and once again, the production outclasses the songs and the singing. [13] “However, strangely for an album named Identified, these songs skip from sound to sound, hoping that some of them will stick.” The track, “Paper Cut” was compared to Leona Lewis’ chart-topping single, Bleeding Love, claiming that “Paper Cut” was as though a “Disneyfied” version of Lewis’ song.
Track listing
# | Song title | Writers and Producers | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | " Last Night " | S. Nymoen, S. Jacoby | 3:10 |
2 | "Identified” | L. Gottwald, C. Dennis, M. Martin | 3:21 |
3 | "First Bad Habit" | L. Gottwald, C. Dennis | 3:02 |
4 | "Hook It Up" (feat. Rock Mafia) | A. Armato, T. James, D. Karaoglu | 2:52 |
5 | "Don’t Ask Why" | L. Gottwald, C. Dennis, B. Dozier | 3:10 |
6 | "Sneakernight" | S. Nymoen, J. Rotem | 2:59 |
7 | "Amazed" (feat. Lil Mama) | L. Gottwald, C. Dennis, B. Levin, N. Kirkland | 2:59 |
8 | "Don’t Leave" | A. Armato, T. James, J. McCartney | 3:08 |
9 | "Paper Cut" | Johnny Vieira | 2:48 |
10 | "Party On The Moon" | C. Rojas, N. Atweh, A. Messinger | 3:50 |
11 | "Did It Ever Cross Your Mind" | Johnny Vieira | 3:10 |
12 | “Gone With The Wind" | M. Youseff, K. DioGuardi, W. Afanasieff, E. Kiriakou, Z. Bey, B. Howard | 3:28 |
Bonus Tracks
# | Title | Time |
---|---|---|
13. | "Set It Off" | 3:04 |
14. | "Commited (feat. Rock Mafia) | 2:35 |
15. | "Vulnerable (feat. Windy Wagner) | 3:11 |
Singles
Sneakernight
"Sneakernight" was the album's first single, released on Radio Disney in April 11, 2008, with the video release on Disney.com on June 13, 2008. "Sneakernight", was released on Itunes May 27, 2008. The song was a promotional song for Ecko products, particulary Ecko footwear.
Album personnel
The following people contributed to Identified[14]
- Vocals - Vanessa Hudgens
- Background Vocals - Vanessa Hudgens, Cathy Dennis, Kara DioGuardi, Leah Haywood, Windy Wagner, Rock Mafia
- Keyboards - Lukasz Gottwald
- Bass - Jack Daley
- Guitar - Tyrone Johnson, Scott Jacoby
Production
- Executive Producer: Christopher Rojas
- Producers: Jonathan "J.R." Rotem, Dr. Luke, Emanuel Kiriakou, Devrim Karaoglu, Daniel James, Scott Jacoby, Antonina Armato, Matt Beckley
- Vocal Producers: Christopher Rojas
- Mastering: Chris Gehringer
- Mastering Assistant: Nick Banns
- Engineers: Jason Recon Coons, Matty Green, Steve Hammons, Scott Jacoby, Emily Wrighy
- A&R: Jon Lind, Mio Vukovic
- Photography: Miranda Penn Turin
References
- ^ Vanessa Hudgens - latimes.com
- ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9907E5DB163DF933A05755C0A96E9C8B63
- ^ [1]
- ^ Vanessa Hudgen's New Identified CD Sales: 22,000 Copies Sold in First Week. Accessed 2008-09-23.
- ^ [2]
- ^ Vanessa Hudgens - Identified - Canada Albums Chart
- ^ "Identified". Metacritic. CNET Networks.
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(help) - ^ a b Jon Caramanica (2008-06-30). "Vanessa Hudgens' 'Identified'". New York Times.
- ^ Chris Willmann. "Identified". Entertainment Weekly.
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