Awakening is a full-length studio album by Jackie Evancho, consisting of 12 tracks. The album, produced by Nick Patrick, released on September 23, 2014, is Evancho's first album recorded for Sony Masterworks' Portrait Records imprint.
In advance of the album's release, Evancho released two singles from the album and a music video of each: covers of "The Rains of Castamere", from the TV series Game of Thrones, and "Think of Me" from The Phantom of the Opera. Evancho recorded a third PBS special based on the album, which began airing on November 29, 2014, and her concert tour to promote the album began in November 2014.
The album consists of 12 tracks and includes a mix of classical pieces, like Rachmaninoff's "Vocalise", the hymn "Dormi Jesu" and the Vavilov version of "Ave Maria"; classical crossover covers of more contemporary pieces like U2's "With or Without You", Ennio Morricone's "Your Love", Lara Fabian's "Je t'aime" and Within Temptation's "Memories"; and several original songs.Padalino, Malia. "Jackie Evancho: From Second Place to the Top of the World", The Outlook, October 1, 2014 Walmart is offering a deluxe edition that includes a second disk with six additional holiday songs."Awakening (2CD) (Walmart Exclusive)", Walmart.com, accessed September 1, 2014 A bonus track cover of "My Immortal" by Evanescence is included exclusively on the album sold in Japan.Awakening, CDJapan, accessed August 20, 2014
Awakening debuted at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Albums chart, Evancho's fifth consecutive release to reach No. 1 on that chart. It remained on the Classical Albums chart for a consecutive 72 weeks."Classical Albums", Billboard.com, (chart dated "February 20, 2016"), accessed February 19, 2015 The DVD of the PBS special charted at No. 3 on the Billboard Music Video Sales chart"Music Video Sales" for the week dated June 20, 2015, Billboard, week dated June 11, 2015 and remained on that chart for eight weeks.Awakening: Live In Concert, Billboard, accessed August 27, 2015 In Billboards year-end rankings, Awakening hung on to be the No. 3 classical album of 2015."Classical Albums: Year of 2015", Prometheus Global Media, accessed December 9, 2015
Promotion
On June 10, 2014, Evancho released her first single from the album, a cover of "The Rains of Castamere" from the TV series Game of Thrones,"Jackie Evancho Releases Cover 'The Rains of Castamere' from HBO's Game of Thrones", BroadwayWorld.com, June 10, 2014Farley, Christopher John. "Classical Singer Jackie Evancho Covers Game of Thrones Tune", The Wall Street Journal, September 14, 2014Parker, Lyndsey. "First Listen! Jackie Evancho Covers Game of Thrones Song 'The Rains of Castamere'", Yahoo music, June 6, 2014 and a shadow-art video for the single became available in July."Singer Jackie Evancho meets Game of Thrones in new music video" , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 9, 2014 A writer for the Orlando Sentinel said of the song that Evancho's "mature voice sounds stunning."Boedeker, Hal. , Orlando Sentinel, June 10, 2014 Evancho released a second track, "Think of Me", from The Phantom of the Opera, on July 15, 2014."Think of Me", Amazon.com, accessed July 15, 2014 A video for the song was released, together with a feature piece on Evancho by People magazine, on September 9, 2014."Jackie Evancho, Now 14, Premieres Video for Phantom's 'Think of Me'", People.com, September 9, 2014 A reviewer for Digital Journal wrote that the song is a "delightful vocal performance. ... She displays her trademark range and her tone is crystalline and controlled. It is a polished and gorgeous vocal, and at times soothing and delicate.Papadatos, Markos. "Jackie Evancho dazzles on 'Think of Me' single from Awakening Special", Digital Journal, September 9, 2014 On September 22, Billboard magazine streamed Evancho's third single from the album, "Your Love", which became available on the day of the album's release. The magazine commented, "Evancho’s stratospheric vocals are of course impressive for someone her age, though pipes like this are incredible for just about anyone."Payne, Chris. "Exclusive Premiere: Hear Jackie Evancho's Spellbinding Take on 'Your Love'", Billboard, September 22, 2014
Evancho's third PBS special, based on the album, Jackie Evancho – Awakening – Live in Concert, was filmed on August 21, 2014, at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania."Jackie Evancho" , Longwood Gardens, July 16, 2014 It began airing on PBS stations on November 29, 2014; Cheyenne Jackson co-hosts and sings "Say Something" as a duet with Evancho. A KPBS preview of the broadcast commented: "Jackie’s astoundingly beautiful young voice soars in the magnificent setting."Robinson, Jennifer. "Jackie Evancho – Awakening – Live In Concert", KPBS, November 25, 2014 The special includes all of the songs from Awakening, plus "Say Something" and "O mio babbino caro"."WVPT Programming Highlights: November 2014" , WVPT, accessed November 6, 2014"Jackie Evancho – Awakening – Live in Concert: New PBS Special Premieres December 2014", PBS press release, October 18, 2014Gilman, Hannah. "Meet the 14-Year-Old Opera Singer Who's Dominating the Music Industry, One (Super) High Note at a Time", Teen Vogue magazine, September 2014 A DVD additionally includes "My Immortal".The DVD was initially available as a PBS pledge gift "DVD: Jackie Evancho – Awakening – Live at Longwood Gardens", New Jersey Public Television, accessed December 2, 2014. It was later available from major distributors Awakening: Live in Concert DVD, Masterworks, ASIN: B00W7AHCXE, release date: June 2, 2015 The DVD charted at No. 3 on the Billboard Music Video Sales chart.
On November 5, 2014, in advance of the PBS broadcasts, Evancho released a video of one of the songs from the special, "Ave Maria".Geller, Wendy. "Jackie Evancho Premieres Beautiful 'Ave Maria' From Upcoming PBS Special", Yahoo Music, November 5, 2014 The Digital Journal reviewer wrote: "The control she displays over her voice is tremendous, and she tackles the high notes in the chorus effortlessly, showcasing her angelic vocals and piercing pipes."Papadatos, Markos. "Review: Jackie Evancho delivers breathtaking version of 'Ave Maria'", Digital Journal, January 26, 2015 Her concert tour to promote the album began in November 2014."Jackie Evancho: ‘Tour Bus Equals Fun!’", Pollstar.com, September 4, 2014 Also to promote the album release, Evancho released a digital download of a track called "Go Time" on July 15, 2014. The song was made for the Justice clothing stores and is available on their website"Hot Cool Stuff" , Justice.com, Tween Brands, accessed August 29, 2014 and for free download to Justice shoppers; it is played in their stores on the video monitors."Jackie Evancho Releases New Album Awakening on September 23", Sony Music Masterworks, July 21, 2014 On October 27, 2014, Evancho joined George R. R. Martin, the author of Game of Thrones, at the WSJ Cafe to talk about her album and her cover of "The Rains of Castamere".Farley, Christopher John. "WSJ Cafe: Video Recap of George R.R. Martin and Jackie Evancho Q&A" , WSJ+, October 27, 2014, accessed February 20, 2015
Evancho began her television promotions of the album with a return to America's Got Talent as a guest artist, singing "Think of Me" at Radio City Music Hall, on September 10, 2014, during the Top 12 results broadcast of the show's ninth season.Wagmeister, Elizabeth. "Jackie Evancho: 14-Year-Old Runner-Up Stuns on America’s Got Talent", Hollywood Life, September 11, 2014 She next performed, and was interviewed, on The Today Show on September 22, singing "Your Love".Holubiak, Ian. "Jackie Evancho Premieres Ennio Morricone Darling 'Your Love' in Support of Forthcoming LP Awakening", Classicalite.com, September 22, 2014; and , Washington Examiner, September 22, 2014 Among other television and media appearances, she performed on The Queen Latifah Show on October 3,"Jackie Evancho Performs 'Your Love'" , Queenlatifah.com, October 3, 2014 and was profiled on the Oprah Winfrey Network on October 5, 2014."Raven-Symoné Opens Up about Her Sexuality, Plus Jackie Evancho and Maurice Benard", Where Are they Now?, Season 4, Episode 411, Oprah Winfrey Network, October 5, 2014; and Goode, Jo-Carolyn. "OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network October 2014; Oprah: Where Are they Now? Series Premiere – Sunday, October 5", Houston Style Magazine, September 16, 2014 Evancho appeared on Dr. Phil on December 16, singing "Ave Maria"Stockly, Ed. "Tuesday's TV Highlights", Los Angeles Times, December 15, 2014; and "Jackie Evancho 'Ave Maria', Dr. Phil, Dec 16, 2014", DailyMotion.com, December 16, 2014 and on the Fox & Friends Christmas special on December 24, 2014, singing "The Christmas Song".Hughes, Mike. "TV Highlights: Must-see TV on tonight", TheNorthwestern.com, December 24, 2014
Track listing
Production Produced by Nick Patrick, Awakening was Evancho's first album recorded for Sony Masterworks' Portrait Records imprint. Evancho recorded the vocals on the album early in 2014 at Audible Images' studio, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Dyroff, Denny. "On Stage: Jackie Evancho to record TV special at Longwood", The Unionville Times, August 7, 2014 Other recording was done in London and Budapest, Hungary. The album features the Budapest Concert Orchestra and the Budapest City Choir backing Evancho in most of the tracks, conducted by Nicholas Dodd on some tracks and Richard Cottle on others. The orchestral and choir arrangements are by Dodd, Cottle and Sally Herbert.Evancho, Jackie. Liner notes: Awakening (2014)
Reception The album debuted at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 chart"Jackie Evancho", Billboard.com, (chart dated "October 11, 2014"), accessed October 2, 2014 and No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Albums chart."Jackie Evancho", Billboard.com, (chart dated "October 11, 2014"), accessed October 2, 2014 Awakening was Evancho's fifth consecutive release to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Albums chart.Caulfield, Keith. "Billboard 200 Chart Moves: Jackie Evancho Arrives with Awakening", Prometheus Global Media, October 3, 2014 On its year-end charts, Billboard ranked Awakening as the No. 11 best-selling classical album of 2014"Classical Albums: Year of 2014", Billboard, accessed December 14, 2014 the No. 3 classical album of 2015 and the No. 31 best-selling classical album of 2016."Classical Albums: Year of 2016", Prometheus Global Media, accessed January 1, 2017
Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal gave Evancho's album an A rating, calling it "stunning from start to finish thanks to her warm classical vocals." He called her renditions of the songs "ethereal", "crystalline" and "haunting".Papadatos, Markos. "Jackie Evancho brilliant on new studio album Awakening", Digital Journal, October 12, 2014 A review in The Star commented: "There’s no doubt that Evancho still has the vocal chops today. ... The soprano is still in top form with Ennio Morricone's "Your Love" but it is her rendition of contemporary tunes that prove most interesting. Evancho succeeds even out of her comfort zone, deftly manoeuvring through Within Temptation's "Memories" though her delivery of U2's "With Or Without You" could have used more grit and gusto."Chaw, Kenneth. "Jackie Evancho: Child prodigy inches out of comfort zone", The Star, October 24, 2014 The MD Theatre Guide also gave the album an enthusiastic review.Beachy, Mark. "Album Review: Jackie Evancho, Awakening, MD Theatre Guide, October 8, 2015
Charts +Chart performance for Awakening Chart (2014) Peak position
References
External links
"Ave Maria" from Evancho's Awakening PBS special