NEW YORK, NY (Universal Motown Records ) - Jack Johnson's "SING-A-LONGS AND LULLABIES FOR THE FILM CURIOUS GEORGE" enters the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart this week at No 1 with over 162,000 units sold. Released on February 7, this marks Johnson's first time entering the chart at No 1 and first soundtrack to debut at No 1 since "The Bad Boys" in July, 2003.
In addition to this week's success of "SING-A-LONGS AND LULLABIES," it was announced today at The Brit Awards (the UK version of The Grammy Awards) that Johnson was honored with the "International Breakthrough Act," a category of nominees that included John Legend, The Pussycat Dolls, Daniel Powter, and Arcade Fire.
"SING-A-LONGS AND LULLABIES" enters the Top 200 Chart almost a year after his 2005 release, "IN BETWEEN DREAMS," debuted at No 3. "IN BETWEEN DREAMS" continues to hold strong at No 60 after 50 weeks on the chart and is closing in on double platinum status with 1.8 million units sold to date. Johnson's previous releases, the 2001 debut "BRUSHFIRE FAIRYTALES" and 2003's "ON AND ON" have both received RIAA Platinum certification.
"SING-A-LONGS AND LULLABIES" feature songs written for and inspired by the new animated film "Curious George." Featuring the voice talent of Will Ferrell and Drew Barrymore, the film was produced by Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment.
Faced with the task of giving a voice to a central character that does not speak, Universal Pictures turned to Johnson to craft songs that could provide a voice for Curious George. As a new father, it offered an opportunity to make an album for parents and children. Presented with early animations and the story line, Johnson crafted new songs that captured the emotions of Curious George as he leaves the jungle to follow the Man with the Yellow Hat.
Joined on the record by his band (Adam Topol, Merlo Podlewski, and Zach Gill), Johnson duets with three other songwriters (and friends) Ben Harper, G. Love and Matt Costa, and does a cover of the White Stripes' "We're Going To Be Friends." Parents who watched Schoolhouse Rock on Saturday mornings when they were children will recognize Johnson's take on the classic "Three is a Magic Number" reinterpreted with "The 3 R's" as a call to protect the environment and Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
"Upside Down," the first single from "SING-A-LONGS AND LULLABIES," continues to grow at radio and the accompanying video for "Upside Down," which mixes live action and animation from the film, premiered on Yahoo! Music and garnered kudos from fans on Johnson's website and My Space page, the latter of which has received 1.2 million views to-date. It is currently being played on VH1 and Noggin. Fans were able to preview the album prior to release in its entirety exclusively as part of VH1's popular Hear Music First on-line feature.
Johnson's fan community has eagerly embraced his new material online. The "SING-A-LONGS AND LULLABIES" campaign kicked off with a four-week album pre-order on the iTunes Music Store, where fans who pre-ordered the album received "Upside Down" instantly, plus a Money Mark remix of "Upside Down," bonus Making-of-the-Album video and downloadable Curious George coloring book. The pre-order promotion helped drive 42,214 album downloads, 26% of total sales.
"IN BETWEEN DREAMS" was the No 2 best selling album on iTunes in 2005, behind Coldplay's "X&Y," moving over 138,000 albums digitally since its 2005 release. In 2003, "ON AND ON" was the top selling album at the iTunes Music Store. Johnson's digital-only releases have also reached impressive numbers; Jack Johnson's iTunes Originals has sold over 23,000 copies and remains the best selling piece in the iTunes Originals series according to SoundScan.
Johnson's remarkable success at digital retail spreads across the board, hitting the top album spot in other services such as Real/Rhapsody, where Johnson remained consistently in the Top 10 artist list since the release of "IN BETWEEN DREAMS." Johnson, along with special guest Brushfire Records artist, Matt Costa, also has an exclusive live performance in AOL Music Sessions.
"SING-A-LONGS AND LULLABIES" is Johnson's second release to carry the 1% for the Planet logo. 1% for the Planet (1% FTP) is an alliance of businesses committed to leveraging their resources to create a healthier planet. Members donate at least 1% of their annual net revenues to environmental organizations worldwide. Johnson and his record label, Brushfire Records, have been members of 1% FTP since 2003.
Johnson is scheduled April 19 and April 22 to host and headline, along with Willie Nelson and Ben Harper, the third annual Kokua Festival, a benefit event that brings together environmental organizations, eco-friendly business, musicians, artists, teachers and community leaders to promote environmental awareness in Hawaii.
