# Justin Guarini (album)

Justin Guarini is the self-titled debut album from American Idol season one runner-up Justin Guarini. It was released by RCA Records on June 10, 2003.

## Background

In a radio interview, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, remarked of Guarini, "Following his season, there was a huge hype surrounding Justin and no one could believe the hysteria. But, everything was new and they weren't quite sure what to do. With a show like American Idol the window of opportunity is very, very small. Also, Justin had creative conflicts with his record company as far as the direction of the album that additionally aided in putting him past that window of opportunity. After the first season, they learned to capitalize on the window of opportunity for non-winners keeping them in the public eye with singles, videos, rushed CDs, etc., something that didn't happen for Justin".
In an interview with MTV, Guarini spoke of the experience saying, "It really has been just Music Industry Education 101. I learned a lot from it ... And it's not a finger-pointing issue to me; I take as much responsibility as I can."
Originally the song "Sorry" was planned as the first single release from the album, but later it was decided that there would be two "first" singles. "Sorry" was released to MTV and pop radio, while his cover version of "Unchained Melody" was sent to R&B and adult contemporary stations.

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Entertainment Weekly | D+ |
| Slant Magazine | |
AllMusic's Heather Phares wrote: "In the end, this album isn't as surprising or diverse a debut as Thankful was, but its solid quality proves that the forces behind American Idol want their winners to make good pop albums, as opposed to one mega-hit single backed by 11 throwaway tracks. Justin Guarini might be calculated, but it's not cynical." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine was critical of the "drab balladry" and "predictable R&B material" throughout the record but felt it was "a more cohesive effort" than Clarkson's Thankful. Henry Goldblatt of Entertainment Weekly gave the album an overall D+ grade, saying: "Even his most rabid fans will recognize Guarini's innocuous, focus-grouped, you-know-you-wanna-love-me ballads as songs that should be greeting Kmart shoppers."

## Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.
* Kwaku Alston - photography
* Nancy Anderson - background vocals
* Dave Arch - keyboards, orchestral arrangements
* Peer Astrom - arranger, engineer, mixing, producer
* Bag - arranger
* Edwin Bonilla - percussion
* Paul Boutin - engineer
* Henrik Brunberg - assistant engineer
* Nate Butler - vocal arrangement, background vocals
* Kelly Clarkson - duet, guest artist, primary artist
* Luis Conte - percussion
* Clive Davis - executive producer
* Eric Dawkins - background vocals
* Tony Dixon - keyboards
* Nathan East - bass
* David Frank - drums, keyboards, producer, programming, vocal arrangement
* Ryan Freeland - engineer
* Chris Garcia - engineer
* Justin Guarini - primary artist, background vocals
* Dabling Harward - editing
* Havana Hustlers - programming
* Matt Howe - engineer
* Sean Hurley - bass
* Eric D. Jackson - guitar
* Paul Jackson, Jr. - electric guitar
* Janson & Janson - conductor, string arrangements
* Karlin - arranger
* Fridrik Karlsson - guitar
* Steve Kipner - vocal arrangement
* Greg Kurstin - keyboards
* Christian Lantry - photography
* Chris Laws - engineer
* Ricky Lawson - drums
* Jolie Levine-aller - Production Coordination
* Bernard Löhr - mixing assistant, string engineer
* Manuel Lopez - guitar (nylon string)
* Juan Cristobal Losada - engineer
* Steve Mac - keyboards, mixing, producer
* Kev Mahoney - assistant engineer
* Bill Malina - engineer, mixing
* Manny Marroquin - mixing
* Mae McKenna - background vocals
* Lester Mendez - producer
* Oscar Merner - guitar (nylon string)
* Matz Nilsson - mixing
* Larrabee North - mixing
* Jeanette Olsson - background vocals
* Party Man - keyboards
* Steve Pearce - guitar (bass)
* Greg Phillinganes - keyboards, piano
* John Pierce - bass
* Tim Pierce - guitar
* Daniel Pursey - assistant engineer
* Jason Rankins - assistant engineer
* Wade Robson - engineer, mixing, producer, vocal arrangement
* Wayne Rodrigues - drum programming, pro-Tools
* Jesse Rogg - assistant engineer
* Bob Rosa - assistant vocal engineer
* Dave Russell - engineer, mixing
* Robin Sellers - mixing
* Damon Sharpe - engineer, producer
* Joel Shepard - assistant engineer
* Soulshock - arranger, mixing, producer
* Ramón Stagnaro - guitar (nylon string)
* Stockholm Session Orchestra - strings
* Michael Hart Thompson - guitar
* Tuff Singers - background vocals
* Rabeka Tuinei - mixing assistant
* The Underdogs - producer
* Alan Veucasovic - assistant engineer
* Gavyn Wright - strings
* Joe Yannece - mastering

## Charts and sales

Justin Guarini debuted at number twenty on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 57,000 units. As of December 2, 2003 it has sold 143,000 copies in the United States.
| Chart | Peak position | Sales |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 20 | 143,000 |