Multi-Grammy®-Winning Troubadour Unveils New Album, Highlighted By The Chart-Topping Hit, “I Won’t Give Up”; New Single Scores As #1 Most Added At Hot AC; Video To Premiere Via VH1 And VH1.Com Later This Week; Upcoming TV Appearances Include NBC’s Today, CBS’s Late Show With David Letterman, Ellen And VH1’s Big Morning Buzz Live; “Love Is A Four Letter Word” Arrives On April 17th
Atlantic recording artist Jason Mraz has announced details of his hugely anticipated new album, including by popular demand, a new release date. “LOVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD” – which includes the heartfelt hit single, “I Won’t Give Up” – will now arrive in stores and at all digital retailers on April 17th.
Produced by multiple GRAMMY® Award-winner Joe Chiccarelli (The White Stripes, Christina Perri, Young The Giant), “LOVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD” marks Mraz’s finest, most fully realized collection to date (see attached tracklisting). Fueled by magnificently textured arrangements and distinctive vocal landscapes, the album – Mraz’s fourth studio release and first new collection since 2008’s epochal “WE SING. WE DANCE. WE STEAL THINGS.” – fully confirms the San Diego-based singer/songwriter as one of modern pop’s most vibrant and inventive artists.
“It’s personal. It’s melodic. And it’s mellow,” Mraz recently told Billboard. “There’s a couple of up-tempo tunes, but mostly the rhythm-of-the-heartbeat kind of takes precedence on this record. It feels more like the pace of life. At least, based on my life and what I’ve been doing.”
Fans will have a chance to preview songs from the album via a new live acoustic EP entitled “LIVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD” scheduled for digital release on February 28. The four-song EP, which includes two songs that will appear on “LOVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD,” will feature live recordings from Spreckels Theater in San Diego captured last fall (see attached tracklisting).
Mraz will herald “LOVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD” later today with a very special Valentine’s Day live-streamed performance, slated for 4:30 PM ET. Presented by YouTube, the event will see the GRAMMY® Award-winning tunesmith performing some of his favorite love songs – including “I Won’t Give Up” – live from YouTube’s New York City offices. For details and stream, please visit www.youtube.com/presents.
“I Won’t Give Up” is looking like another pop smash for Mraz, coming in as this week’s #1 most added track at Hot AC radio outlets nationwide. The song debuted in the #1 slot on Billboard’s “Digital Songs” chart one week before its January release – the first #1 “Digital Songs” debut since Lil’ Wayne’s “She Will (Feat. Drake)” topped the chart in August 2011.
With sales now approaching 500,000, “I Won’t Give Up” also quickly ascended to #1 on iTunes’ “Top Songs” and “Top Pop Songs” charts. In addition to its success here in the US, “I Won’t Give Up” has also topped digital retailer charts around the world.
The “I Won’t Give Up” companion video – directed by acclaimed filmmaker Mark Pellington (Bruce Springsteen, U2, Pearl Jam) – will have its eagerly awaited online premiere this Thursday, February 16th via VH1.com, followed by its broadcast debut on the Saturday, February 18th installment of VH1’s Top 20 Video Countdown (check local listings). It will then be in full-time rotation at the network.
Unveiled with little fanfare via a lyric video on Mraz’s official www.jasonmraz.com, “I Won’t Give Up” earned immediate love and praise from an array of famous names, including Ellen DeGeneres, Colbie Callait, Rob Thomas, Perez Hilton, and Lady Antebellum, all of whom took to their Twitter feeds to tweet about the track. The lyric video has since received nearly 8 million individual views at Mraz’s official YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdN5GyTl8K0.
Mraz has scheduled a number of high profile TV appearances for the coming weeks, beginning on Thursday with February 16th performances on NBC’s Today and CBS’s Late Show With David Letterman, followed by Friday morning on VH1’s Big Morning Buzz. Those appearances will then be followed by a visit to the nationally syndicated Ellen, slated for March 2nd (check local listings).
In other news, fans can now enter Mraz’s just-underway “#IWONTGIVEUP Photo Contest,” presented by CanvasPop. Entrants are invited to post a photo to Instagram (https://instagr.am) that best represents what “I Won’t Give Up” means to them and hashtag it #IWONTGIVEUP. Nearly 7000 photos have already been submitted, including entries from such famous Mraz fans as Randy Jackson and Selena Gomez, who recently tweeted her own personal visual interpretation of “I Won’t Give Up” to her 10 million Twitter followers.
Jason will personally select 25 winners whose photos will be printed on 20″ x 20″ canvases provided by CanvasPop and displayed at New York City’s Animazing Art Gallery on March 8th. The exclusive event will include a special live appearance by Mraz, who will also sign the winning photographers’ canvases. Entries must be received by February 20th – for complete contest rules and information, please see https://flash.atlrec.com/jason_mraz/JASONMRAZCANVASPOPRULES.htm.
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One of the modern era’s most gifted pop troubadours, Jason Mraz’s extraordinary musical journey has taken him from coffee houses to stadiums all over the world, with two GRAMMY® Awards and six nominations already to his credit. His third studio album, 2008’s “WE SING. WE DANCE. WE STEAL THINGS.” was an indelible global blockbuster, earning gold, platinum and multi-platinum certifications in 21 countries around the world. The album’s lead single, “I’m Yours” was ASCAP’s 2010 “Song of the Year” and also holds the record for being the longest-running song in the history of the Billboard “Hot 100” chart. A prolific songwriter, Mraz has been feted with a number of honors, including the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s esteemed “Hal David Starlight Award,” presented to gifted songwriters who are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs.
Mraz spent much of 2011 road-testing the songs from “LOVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD” touring alongside his longtime friend, percussionist Noel “Toca” Rivera. The worldwide trek – which included performances in North America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand – saw Mraz celebrating music’s lasting power to inspire change and help others through global citizenship. Among the journey’s many highlights were multiple sold out shows at such iconic venues as Australia’s Sydney Opera House, New York City’s Carnegie Hall, and Spreckels Theatre in Mraz’s adopted hometown of San Diego.
Long known for his many philanthropic activities, Mraz recently announced the establishment of the Jason Mraz Foundation, devoted to supporting a number of charities for which he has been a dedicated and impassioned advocate. Mraz created the Foundation – https://jasonmraz.com/foundation/ – to sustain organizations aligned with his four pillars of service: human equality, environment preservation, arts and education, and recovery and assistance.
For more, please see www.jasonmraz.com and www.atlanticrecords.com.
(TRACKLISTING ATTACHED)
Jason Mraz
“LOVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD”
(Atlantic)
Release Date: April 17TH (full length album)
1. Freedom Song
2. Living in the Moment
3. The Woman I Love
4. I Won’t Give Up
5. 5/6
6. Everything is Sound (La La La)
7. 93 Million Miles
8. Frank D Fixer
9. Who’s Thinking About You Now?
10. In Your Hands
11. Be Honest (Feat. Inara George)
12. The World As I See It
Jason Mraz
“LIVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD”
(Atlantic)
Release Date: February 28th (live digital EP)
1. The World As I See It (Live EP Version)
2. You F**king Did It (Live EP Version)
3. The Woman I Love (Live EP Version)
4. I Never Knew You (Live EP Version)
Source: Atlantic Records
