The World from the Side of the Moon

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The World from the Side of the Moon
Studio album by
Phillip Phillips
ReleasedNovember 19, 2012 (2012-11-19)
RecordedSeptember–October 2012
GenrePop rock[1]
Length45:18[2]
Label
Producer
Phillip Phillips chronology
American Idol Season 11 Highlights
(2012) 		The World from the Side of the Moon
(2012) 		Behind the Light
(2014)
Singles from The World from the Side of the Moon
  1. "Home"
    Released: May 23, 2012
  2. "Gone, Gone, Gone"
    Released: February 11, 2013
  3. "Where We Came From[3]"
    Released: July 29, 2013

The World from the Side of the Moon is the debut album from American Idol season 11 winner, Phillip Phillips. The album was released on November 19, 2012, and includes Phillips' coronation song, "Home". The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in August 2013.[4]

The World from the Side of the Moon spawned two hit singles "Home" and "Gone, Gone, Gone", both singles charted the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and hit number-one on the Adult Contemporary chart for more than three weeks.[5][6] Both "Home" and "Gone, Gone, Gone" also received certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); "Home" received quadruple-platinum certification,[7] while "Gone, Gone, Gone" received Platinum.[8]

Background[edit]

Phillip Phillips began writing songs with collaborators and recording rough tracks for the album before the American Idol Tour began in July 2012.[9] He collaborated with David Ryan Harris on "Tell Me a Story", which he described as his favorite song in the album and the one he is most proud of.[10][11] Other songwriters he collaborated with include Greg Holden and Drew Pearson who wrote his coronation song "Home". After the success of this song, Phillips indicated that the album would have a couple of songs similar to "Home".[12] He wrote with his brother-in-law Benjamin Neil "Drive Me", a song he had originally wanted to be his coronation song.[13] His girlfriend Hanna Blackwell also contributed lines to the lyrics on the bonus track "Take Me Away". All but three of the tracks on the main album were written or co-written by him, with four of the songs he wrote himself.[14] He cowrote "Get Up Get Down" with the producer Greg Wattenberg and Derek Fuhrmann in Wattenberg's New York studio. Songs selected by 19 were presented to him but some were discarded, amongst those he chose were "Gone, Gone, Gone".[15]

The album title, The World from the Side of the Moon, came from the lyrics of the first song on the album, "Man on the Moon." Phillips described it as the experience of watching himself in a DVD of the whole Idol season someone gave him, "so I was kind of watching myself from a whole different world that no one else really knows. It's interesting to see how it happened and so fast. That's how I picked the title: I felt like I watched myself grow and this whole album is representing where I am."[10]

The producer of the album was Gregg Wattenberg. The album was recorded in three weeks at the Quad Studios in New York after the Idol tour had finished.[10][16] He had originally planned to release his album early 2013,[17] but later the date of the album release was rescheduled to November 19, 2012.[18]

On November 19, 2013, an expanded version of his "Moon" album was released. It included three live recordings, including "Gone, Gone, Gone," "Where We Came From," and "Man on the Moon." Those three tracks were also on "Phillip Phillips Live EP," also out on November 19.[19]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic61/100[20]
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk.net84%[21]
AllMusic[2]
Billboard71/100[22]
Entertainment Weekly(B)[23]
HitFix(B)[24]
Idolator[25]
Newsday(B)[26]
Rolling Stone[27]
Slant Magazine [28]

The World from the Side of the Moon has received mixed to positive reviews from professional music critics, and has an overall Metacritic rating of 61 indicating "generally favorable reviews".[20][29] Most critics noted influences from Dave Matthews Band and Mumford & Sons in the album. Glenn Gamboa of Newsday opined that Phillips "offers up Dave Matthews Band's jamming-blues-rock hybrid to a younger generation in "Get Up Get Down," while also giving the indie-leaning folk of current darlings Mumford & Sons an attractive American face in "Gone Gone Gone.""[26] Gary Graff of Billboard noted that Phillips' song "Home", "aligned him with the Mumford & Sons nu-folk movement," but considered "the album actually plays out more like the year's second-best Dave Matthews Band release."[22] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic thought the similarities to Dave Matthews Band to be "near farcical,"[2] and the similarities to other bands led Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone to wonder if Phillips is redundant "when we've already got Dave Matthews and Jason Mraz, why do we need another earnestly raspy balladeer with ace acoustic-guitar skills?" Rosen nevertheless thought that "he's far better in originals like "Gone, Gone, Gone" and his hit "Home," which build from folksy picking to hooting power-ballad choruses, a pleasantly popified take on Arcade Fire."[27]

Emily Tan of Idolator was enthusiastic and thought that the album "showcases Phillips’ potential as a musician, singer and songwriter who can rise above the generic pop that these reality competitions sometimes spawn."[25] Katie Hasty of HitFix considered that "this collection is shot after shot at the Next Big Single," and added that "some melodies will achieve exactly the radio single sound Universal undoubtedly hoped Phillips could achieve."[24] Kristin Coachman of Blogcritics.org commented that Phillips in the album "reflects every bit of the gravelly voiced pop rock artist, with jazz leanings that he portrayed during his Idol run."[30] Grady Smith of Entertainment Weekly viewed the songs written by Phillips alone to be "more circuitous, brooding" and "less compelling" than those he co-wrote with other songwriters, but nevertheless concluded that the album is "the most relevant debut album the Idol machine has cranked out in years."[23]

Chart performance[edit]

The album debuted at No. 4 in the Billboard 200 with sales of 169,000 copies,[31] and it stayed for seven weeks in the top 10 on The Billboard 200.[32] It also debuted at No. 1 in the Rock Albums and No. 2 in the Digital Albums charts.[33] It was certified Gold by the RIAA on January 9, 2013, and Platinum on August 21, 2013.[4] The album has sold 1,033,000 copies as of November, 2013.[34] It was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. That puts in #2 of all the debut albums by American Idol winners.[35]

In Canada, the album reached No. 9 in its album chart on its debut.[33] The album was certified gold in Canada on January 17, 2013.[36]

Singles[edit]

Phillip Phillips' coronation song "Home", which was released in May 2012 straight after the finale of American Idol, was included in his album. The song was still rising in the radio chart before the album was released, therefore no other single was released in advance of the album release. Instead, "Where We Came From" was released for promotional purpose on November 6, 2012, before the album debut, and it also served as a free download on the album's pre-order.[37]

In December 2012, Phillips revealed that "Gone Gone Gone" would be the second single.[38] The song was released to AAA and HAC radio on February 11, 2013,[39] and U.S. Mainstream Top 40 radio on May 28, 2013.[40]

"Where We Came From" was the third single from the album.[3][19] It was released to radio on July 29, 2013, and debuted on the AAA chart in August 2013.[41] The music video was filmed in August 2013 by director Cameron Buddy.[42]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Man on the Moon"Phillip PhillipsGregg Wattenberg3:35
2."Home"
Pearson3:30
3."Gone, Gone, Gone"
Wattenberg3:29
4."Hold On"PhillipsWattenberg4:11
5."Tell Me a Story"
Wattenberg4:21
6."Get Up Get Down"
  • Phillips
  • Wattenberg
  • Fuhrmann
Wattenberg3:16
7."Where We Came From"
  • Phillips
  • Jon Green
Wattenberg3:33
8."Drive Me"
  • Phillips
  • Ben Neil
Wattenberg3:49
9."Wanted Is Love"PhillipsWattenberg3:46
10."Can't Go Wrong"
  • Phillips
  • Holden
  • Pearson
Wattenberg3:37
11."A Fool's Dance"PhillipsWattenberg4:33
12."So Easy"
Wattenberg3:41
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Hazel"PhillipsWattenberg2:45
14."Wicked Game"Chris IsaakWattenberg4:13
15."Home" (Live)
  • Pearson
  • Holden
 4:18
Spotify/Apple Music/iTunes Deluxe edition bonus tracks[43][44]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Gone, Gone, Gone" (Live from Saratoga Springs, NY - SPAC 8/30/13)
6:17
17."Man on the Moon" (Live from Saratoga Springs, NY - SPAC 8/30/13)Phillip Phillips5:10
18."Where We Came From" (Live from Burgettstown, PA - First Niagra 8/25/13)
  • Phillips
  • Jon Green
7:18
Target deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Take Me Away"Phillips, Hannah Blackwell5:38
17."Thriller"Rod Temperton4:00

Charts and certifications[edit]

Release history[edit]

Phillips ran a very limited-time promotion during which fans could order the deluxe version of the album, and he would personally sign the booklet. The promotion ended only a few hours after it began.[57] Interscope announced that the album will be rereleased with additional live tracks on the anniversary of its release, November 19, 2013.[58]

List of release dates, showing region, label, format and edition(s)
Region Date Format(s) Label Edition(s)
United States November 19, 2012 (2012-11-19) CD, digital download Interscope Records, 19 Recordings Standard, deluxe
United Kingdom September 8, 2014 (2014-09-08)[59]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The World from the Side of the Moon - Phillip Phillips". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "review". AllMusic.com.
  3. ^ a b "Phillip Phillips "Where We Came From"". Archived from the original on November 2, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "American album certifications – Phillip Phillips – The World from the Side of the Moon". Recording Industry Association of America.
  5. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard.
  6. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard.
  7. ^ "American single certifications – Phillip Phillips – Home". Recording Industry Association of America.
  8. ^ "American single certifications – Phillip Phillips – Gone, Gone, Gone". Recording Industry Association of America.
  9. ^ Graff, Gary (July 3, 2012). "Phillip Phillips on 'Idol' Tour, Album: 'It's Gonna Be a Long Summer'". Billboard.
  10. ^ a b c Halperin, Shirley (October 26, 2012). "'American Idol's' Phillip Phillips Talks New Album, Facial Hair, Future (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  11. ^ Wan, Tiffany (October 24, 2012). "Phillip Phillips Reveals His Favorite Song From Debut Album: Is It "Home?" (VIDEO)". Wetpaint.
  12. ^ Montgomery, James (Oct 16, 2012). "Phillip Phillips: Where In The World Did He Get That Album Title?". MTV. Retrieved Oct 17, 2012.
  13. ^ "Phillip Phillips Feeling Right At Home During Summer Olympics", Access Holywood, August 9, 2012 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  14. ^ Parker, Lyndsey (November 1, 2012). "Phillip Phillips's 'The World from the Side of the Moon': Exclusive Album Audio Preview!". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  15. ^ Gallo, Phil (January 7, 2013). "'Phillip Phillips' The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  16. ^ Halperin, Shirley (October 15, 2012). "'American Idol' Winner Phillip Phillips Reveals Album Art, Production Credits". The Hollywood Reporter.
  17. ^ Bell, Amanda (August 31, 2012). "Phillip Phillips Debut Album Release Date Pushed Back to Early 2013 (VIDEO)". Wetpaint. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  18. ^ Smith, Grady (October 15, 2012). "'American Idol' winner Phillip Phillips announces album title, release date". EW.com. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  19. ^ a b Rutherford, Kevin (October 31, 2013). "Phillip Phillips, 'Where We Came From (Live)': Exclusive Video Premiere". Billboard.
  20. ^ a b "World from the side of the moon review". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
  21. ^ "Phillip Phillips - The World from the Side of the Moon". Absolutepunk. November 17, 2012. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013.
  22. ^ a b Graff, Gary (November 13, 2012). "Phillip Phillips, 'The World from the Side of the Moon': Album Review". Billboard.
  23. ^ a b Smith, Grady (November 20, 2012). "Music Review: The World from the Side of the Moon". EW.com.
  24. ^ a b Hasty, Katie (November 19, 2012). "Review: Phillip Phillips' debut album 'The World from the Side of the Moon'". HitFix.
  25. ^ a b Tan, Emily (November 19, 2012). "Phillip Phillips' 'The World from The Side Of The Moon': Album Review". Idolator.
  26. ^ a b Gamboa, Glenn (November 16, 2012). "Phillip Phillips' 'The World from the Side of the Moon' review". Newsday. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
  27. ^ a b Rosen, Jody (November 20, 2012). "Phillip Phillips The World from the Side of the Moon". Rolling Stone.
  28. ^ "Slant review". Slant Magazine. 26 November 2012.
  29. ^ Michele Amabile Angermiller (November 22, 2012). "Phillip Phillips' 'The World from the Side of the Moon': What the Critics Are Saying". The Hollywood Reporter.
  30. ^ Coachman, Kristin (November 19, 2012). "Music Review: Phillip Phillips - The World from the Side of the Moon". Blogcritcs.org.
  31. ^ Caulfield, Keith (November 28, 2012). "Rihanna Gets First No. 1 Album, Phillip Phillips & Kid Rock Debut Top Five". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  32. ^ Grein, Paul (2013-03-27). "Chart Watch Extra: Phillips Takes Idol Title". Chart Watch. Yahoo. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  33. ^ a b "The World from the Side of the Moon - Phillip Phillips". Billboard.
  34. ^ a b Grein, Paul (2013-11-27). "Chart Watch: Eminem Returns to #1, Gaga Sinks to #8". Yahoo Music. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  35. ^ "More Billboard - Chart Date 06/01/19". mjsbigblog. May 31, 2019.
  36. ^ a b "Canadian album certifications – Phillip Phillips – The World from the Side of the Moon". Music Canada.
  37. ^ "Where We Came From". Amazon. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  38. ^ Stanisci, Grace (December 19, 2012). "Yahoo! Canada Music Exclusive: "American Idol" winner Phillip Phillips confirms his official second single will be "Gone, Gone, Gone"". Yahoo! Canada Music.
  39. ^ Papadatos, Markos (Feb 24, 2013). "Review: Phillip Phillips releases new single 'Gone, Gone, Gone' to radio". Digital Journal.
  40. ^ "Top 40/M Future Releases - Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates ..." All Access. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  41. ^ Bronson, Fred (August 23, 2013). "'American Idol' on the Charts: Phillip Phillips' Third Single Debuts". The Hollywood Reporter.
  42. ^ "Phillip Phillips "Where We Came From" (Cameron Duddy, dir.)". VideoStatic.
  43. ^ "The World From the Side of the Moon (Deluxe Version) by Phillip Phillips". January 1, 2013 – via music.apple.com.
  44. ^ "The World From The Side Of The Moon (Deluxe)". January 1, 2013 – via open.spotify.com.
  45. ^ "Justin Timberlake Debuts At Number One On ARIA Album Chart". Noise11. March 24, 2014.
  46. ^ "Phillip Phillips Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  47. ^ "Charts.nz – Phillip Phillips – The World From The Side Of The Moon". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  48. ^ "Phillip Phillips Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  49. ^ "Phillip Phillips Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  50. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  51. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  52. ^ "Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  53. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  54. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  55. ^ "Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  56. ^ "Decade-End Charts: Top Rock Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  57. ^ "Phillip Phillips " World From The Side of The Moon (Deluxe Version)"". Phillip Phillips Store.
  58. ^ "Interscope Promotion".
  59. ^ "The World From The Side Of The Moon". Amazon. October 4, 2013.

External links[edit]

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