Season 8 Favorite Performances

Season 8 Favorite Performances
Compilation album by
Adam Lambert
ReleasedMay 20, 2009
Genre
Length39:01
Label19
Adam Lambert chronology
Season 8 Favorite Performances
(2009) 		Take One
(2009)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Season 8 Favorite Performances is a compilation album by American singer Adam Lambert based on his American Idol performances. The album was released digitally through iTunes and consists of studio recordings made by Lambert during season 8 of American Idol. It does not include live performances at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. A similar album was also released through iTunes by season 8 winner Kris Allen. It sold 16,000 on its first week,[2] and has sold 35,000 by July 23, 2009.[3]

Background

This digital-only album is a collection of studio recordings of songs performed on American Idol by Adam Lambert.[4] Starting from Top 13 of the final rounds of the competition, each contestant recorded a studio version of the song that they had performed live on stage. These recordings were released immediately after the result show each week and made available for download exclusively via iTunes.[5] No sales information however were released for the recordings so as not to prejudice the competition. At the end of the season, a collection of these recordings were made available as separate albums for both the winner and the runner-up, namely Kris Allen and Adam Lambert. These albums were made available immediately after the season finale on May 20, 2009.

This album contains studio versions of some live performances by Adam Lambert such as "Mad World", "Tracks of My Tears", and "Ring of Fire". Adam's version of "Mad World" is based on Gary Jules' interpretation of the Tears for Fears' song from the film Donnie Darko.[6] Gary Jules himself praised Adam's performance of "Mad World", that he had delivered the song "in a unique and beautiful way".[7] His "Ring of Fire" is a further elaboration of Dilana's version of the Johnny Cash song,[8] while his "Feeling Good" was inspired by Muse's version of the song.[9]

Track listing

No.TitleOriginal artist(s)Length
1."Black or White"Michael Jackson2:59
2."Born to Be Wild"Steppenwolf2:53
3."Cryin'"Aerosmith4:27
4."Feeling Good"Cy Grant3:21
5."If I Can't Have You"Yvonne Elliman3:54
6."Mad World"Tears for Fears3:04
7."One"U24:08
8."Play That Funky Music"Wild Cherry3:27
9."Ring of Fire"Anita Carter3:02
10."The Tracks of My Tears"The Miracles3:02
11."Whole Lotta Love"Led Zeppelin3:24
12."A Change Is Gonna Come"Sam Cooke3:50

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200[10] 33
U.S. Billboard Top Independent Albums[10] 4

Chart performance and sales of individual album tracks

No chart position and sales information were released during the competition, therefore these figures are only for sales and chart positions attained after the finale.

Single Hot 100
Peak[11] 		Hot 100
Bubbling Under 		Hot digital
songs[12][13] 		Sales
"Mad World" 19 — 7 256,000[14]
"A Change Is Gonna Come" 56 — 32 63,000[15]
"One" 82 — 57 46,000[15]
"Cryin'" — 2 75 35,000 [15]
"The Tracks of My Tears" — 17 102 26,000 [15]
"Feeling Good" — 21 107 25,000 [15]
"Ring of Fire" — — 112 23,000 [15]
"Whole Lotta Love" — — 113 14,000[16]
"Black or White" — — 141 11,000 [16]
"If I Can’t Have You" — — 145 11,000 [16]
"Born to Be Wild" — — 155 11,000 [16]
"Play That Funky Music" — — 186 9,000 [16]

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ American Idols dominate weekly sales charts
  3. ^ Idol Chatter 07-23-2009
  4. ^ Allmusic.com - Season 8 Favorite Performances
  5. ^ American Idol 8 Top 13 — Studio Recordings Available Now
  6. ^ EW - Michael Slezak's Idolatry - Adam Lambert interview Part 2 on YouTube
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-18. Retrieved 2011-04-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ EW - Michael Slezak's Idolatry - Adam Lambert interview Part 3 on YouTube
  9. ^ Adam Lambert's 'Feeling Good': The Story Behind The Cover
  10. ^ a b http://m.billboard.com/album/adam-lambert/season-8-favorite-performances/1266554#/album/adam-lambert/season-8-favorite-performances/1266554 [dead link‍]
  11. ^ "Idols Inundate Hot 100, But 'Glee' Gloats With Top Debut". Archived from the original on 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
  12. ^ Week Ending May 24, 2009: The Kris/Adam Duel Moves To The Charts
  13. ^ Buzzjack
  14. ^ Bonus SoundScan numbers for Kelly Clarkson, David Cook, more!
  15. ^ a b c d e f Idol Chatter 6-3-2009
  16. ^ a b c d e Idol Chatter 05-28-2009