Maps of Music

Unbroken (2010)

Where the lyrics of Unbroken take you, and where it was really made.

McPhee's second album was released on a new label after she had been dropped from RCA Records, and it debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200.

Key places

Recording at The Village (2010)

Recording site Village Recorders — The album was recorded at The Village, and behind-the-scenes videos from those sessions were posted on McPhee's MySpace. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in Burbank (2010)

Recording site The Enterprise (Burbank) — The album credits list The Bank in Burbank as one of its recording locations. The point is placed at the city centre of Burbank, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in Studio City (2010)

Recording site TRS Studios — The album credits list Cookie Jar Recording in Studio City as one of its recording locations. The point is placed at the city centre of Studio City, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in Pacific Palisades (2010)

Recording site JHL Sound (Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles) — The album credits link JHL Sound to Pacific Palisades as a recording location. The point is placed at the city centre of Pacific Palisades, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Unbroken: second studio album by American Idol season five runner-up Katharine McPhee
• Released January 5, 2010 by Verve Forecast Records, her first album on the label
• Debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200, selling 15,000 copies in its first week
• As of January 2011, the album had sold 45,000 copies in the US

Background

• After McPhee was dropped from RCA Records, she was signed to Verve Forecast Records, part of the Verve Music Group under Universal Music Group
• Verve Music Group president/CEO Bruce Resnikoff told Billboard that the album would show many new sides of her talents as an interpreter and a songwriter
• Her debut album had three songs she co-wrote; on this album she has writing credits on six songs
• McPhee has been quoted as saying the album would feature an 'organic,' 'edgy,' and more 'adult' sound
• Inspired by the new label and album, she traded her long brunette hair for a short blonde cut and made it part of the promotion
• The change came with an exclusive 'First Look' in People Magazine
• The album was first set for release on October 6, 2009, but in September it was pushed back to January 5, 2010 because of scheduling conflicts
• McPhee confirmed the new date and the reason in a video on her website

Recording

• After months of recording, the album process was completed on August 21
• Behind-the-scenes videos from recording at the Village were posted on McPhee's MySpace
• Recording locations listed for the album include The Village Recorder in Los Angeles, The Bank in Burbank, Cookie Jar Recording in Studio City, and JHL Sound in Pacific Palisades

Cover

• Photography by Ellen von Unwerth
• Hair and styling credited to Joanne Gair and Victoria Adcock

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American singer and actress.
• She was the runner-up on the fifth season of American Idol in May 2006.
• Her self-titled debut album was released on RCA Records in January 2007 and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200.
• Her second album, Unbroken, was released on Verve Forecast Records on January 5, 2010.
• Her third album, the holiday-themed Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You, was released in October 2010.
• Her fourth album, Hysteria, was released in September 2015.
• Her fifth album, I Fall in Love Too Easily, composed of jazz standards, was released in November 2017.
• She played Karen Cartwright in Smash (2012–2013) and Paige Dineen in Scorpion (2014–2018).
• She made her Broadway debut as Jenna in Waitress in 2018.

Early life

• She was born in Los Angeles and moved to Sherman Oaks at age 12.
• She attended Boston Conservatory for three semesters, majoring in musical theatre.
• She appeared in the film The House Bunny (2008) and Shark Night 3D (2011).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Unbroken received generally mixed reviews
• AllMusic: McPhee had always favored middle of the road over modern, and this album returns her to that course, with traces of modern sounds and a vague borrowing of Beyonce phrasing
• AllMusic: the album sits near the work of Paula Cole, Rachael Yamagata and Mandy Moore's stylized 70s throwback
• Billboard: McPhee sounds much more comfortable amid the rootsy singer/songwriter settings of Alagia than she did with the shiny R&B beats of her self-titled debut
• Boston Globe: a conventional set, at times too much so, with a stripped-down backdrop of acoustic guitars and piano
• Boston Globe: McPhee reined in her vocal approach to find the nuances of the lyrics without trying to raise the roof
• Entertainment Weekly: the pleasant-but-unremarkable vocals cannot elevate this tepid collection

Records

• Debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200 with 15,000 copies sold in the first week
• 45,000 copies sold in the US as of January 2011
• 'Had It All' was the first and only radio single, peaking at number 22 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart
• 'Had It All' sold 29,000 downloads in the US to date
• Metacritic gave the album a score of 58, indicating mixed or average reviews

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• 'Terrified' downloads rose by nearly 10,000 percent after finalist Didi Benami used the song in the Hollywood round of American Idol's ninth season
• 'Lifetime' was used in the CBS series Ghost Whisperer, in the Season 5 episode 'Dead Eye' broadcast April 9, 2010
• 'Lifetime' was also used in the CW drama Hellcats, in the episode The Match Game broadcast October 27, 2010
• 'Say Goodbye' was featured on CSI: NY, in the episode Prey, and McPhee guest-starred as a singer and stalker victim turned murderer
• The album version of 'Terrified', featuring Jason Reeves, sold 41,000 downloads in the United States

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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