Down to Earth (Jem album)

Down to Earth is the second studio album by Jem, the follow-up to Finally Woken. The first single, "It's Amazing", was featured on the soundtrack to the Sex and the City movie. The album spawned four singles.

Down to Earth
Studio album by Jem
Released	16 September 2008
Recorded	2006–2008 in Detroit and Los Angeles
Genre	Trip hop electronica
Length	47:18
Language	English Spanish Japanese
Label	ATO
Producer	Greg Kurstin Lester Mendez Jeff Bass Mike Bradford
Jem chronology
Finally Woken (2004) Down to Earth (2008) Beachwood Canyon (2016)
Singles from Down to Earth
"It's Amazing" Released: 3 June 2008 "Crazy" Released: 26 August 2008 "And So I Pray" Released: 26 May 2009 "I Want You To..." Released: 26 October 2009

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
ArtofRhyme	(3.75/5)[2]
Billboard	(positive)[3]
Digital Spy	[4]
The Guardian	[5]
MusicOMH.com	[6]
Paste	(61/100)[7]
The Phoenix	[8]
The Times	[9]

The press release states that Jem co-wrote the album with a variety of people including Jeff Bass, Lester Mendez and Greg Kurstin and sings in Japanese on the track, "Aciiid!". The album also includes a collaboration with South African singer-songwriter and poet-activist Vusi Mahlasela on the track "You Will Make It" which was dedicated to the memory of D12 member Proof.[10][11] Although the collaboration never happened, Jem wanted to work with Eminem for the song, saying "The track is about losing someone and I wrote it the day after his friend Proof was murdered. I was in Detroit with Eminem's friends, who I happened to be recording with, when it happened".[12]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Down to Earth"	Jem Griffiths, Jeff Bass, Justin Griffiths	Bass	4:33
2.	"Crazy"	Jem, Bass	Bass	3:39
3.	"I Want You To..."	Jem, Lester Mendez, Cut Chemist	Mendez	3:38
4.	"It's Amazing"	Jem, Mendez	Mendez	3:58
5.	"Keep on Walking"	Jem, Bass	Bass	4:12
6.	"You Will Make It (featuring Vusi Mahlasela)"	Jem, J. Griffiths	Mike Bradford	6:11
7.	"I Always Knew"	Jem, Mendez	Mendez	3:09
8.	"Got It Good"	Jem, Bass	Bass	4:26
9.	"Aciiid!"	Jem, Greg Kurstin	Kurstin	2:56
10.	"How Would You Like It"	Jem, J. Griffiths	Bradford	4:02
11.	"And So I Pray"	Jem, Kevin Beber	Bradford	2:42
12.	"On Top of the World"	Jem, Mendez	Mendez	4:52

iTunes Bonus

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Forever and a Day"	Jem, J. Griffiths, Joseph George	3:49

Personnel

• Hiroko Aoyagi – vocals
• Jeff Atmajian – piano, string arrangements, piano arrangement
• Jeff Bass – bass, guitar, keyboards, producer, drum programming, tracked by
• Kevin Beber – drum programming
• Brian Berryman – engineer, fader engineer
• Mick Bolger – trombone, trumpet, euphonium, mellophonium, E flat cornet
• Mike Bradford – producer, string arrangements, instrumentation
• Del Casher – sounds
• Bryan Cook – engineer
• Nick Cuchinella – trombone
• Nabil Elderkin – photography
• Johnny Evans – saxophone
• Serban Ghenea – mixing
• Jem Griffiths – vocals, producer, vocal engineer, poetry reading
• Justin Griffiths – acoustic guitar
• John Hanes – mixing
• Mark Aaron James – design
• Ted Jensen – mastering
• Shinobu Lee – vocals
• David Levita – acoustic guitar, guitar
• Lester Mendez – piano, producer, string arrangements, brass arrangement, instrumentation
• Monica Mendez – sound design
• Milan, Derrick & The Krew – chorus
• Eddie Miller – vocal engineer
• Rafael Padilla – percussion
• Phillip Ramos – studio assistant
• Tim Roberts – mixing assistant
• Ken Robinson – trumpet
• Sonus – strings
• Welsh Choir of Southern California – chorus
• Joe Wohlmuth – engineer

Charts

Chart (2008)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	48
Chart (2009)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart[13]	64

Release history

[14]

Country	Date
United States	16 September 2008
Canada
Japan
Ireland	30 January 2009
United Kingdom	2 February 2009
Europe
Sweden	4 February 2009
Portugal	16 February 2009
Poland
Denmark	23 February 2009
Germany	27 February 2009
Austria
Netherlands
Switzerland
Norway	2 March 2009
France	3 March 2009
Finland	4 March 2009
Greece	6 March 2009
Italy	20 March 2009[lower-alpha 1]

References

1. Leahey, Andrew (16 September 2008). "Allmusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
2. "ArtofRhyme review". Artofrhyme.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
3. Billboard review
4. "Digital Spy review". Digitalspy.co.uk. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
5. Caroline Sullivan (30 January 2009). "The Guardian review". London: Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
6. "Jem – Down to Earth – review". Musicomh.com. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
7. "Paste review". Pastemagazine.com. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
8. "The Phoenix review". Thephoenix.com. 23 September 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
9. "The Times review". Entertainment.timesonline.co.uk. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
10. Raible, Allan. "Review: Jem's "Down To Earth". abcnews.com. ABC News. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
11. Jem - Down To Earth (CD liner notes). ATO Records. 88088-21630-2
12. Kilkelly, Daniel. "Jem hopes to team up with Eminem". digitalspy.com. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
13. "Official UK Albums Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
14. "Jem | The Official Website of Jem". Jem-music.net. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

Notes

1. Italy's release was originally planned for 6 march 2009, as announced on Jem's official MySpace, but it was later postponed.

External links

• Jem-Music.net — Jem official website
• Jem on MySpace
• "It's Amazing" official music video on YouTube