s third studio album, Continuum (Aware/Columbia Records), has sold 300,000 copies since its release on September 12. The album's first single, Waiting On The World To Change, has propelled Mayer's solid return to the top of the charts and is currently #1 at Triple A radio, #3 at Hot AC, and is now at Top Forty Radio, while the video enjoys heavy rotation at VH1. On August 25, Mayer performed a history-making Today Show Concert. As the first artist to participate in the Today Show's new iTunes partnership, John's performance and behind-the-scenes footage were made available for exclusive download from iTunes -- helping to drive presale orders to 16,000 and release week sales to 46,000 for a staggering grand total of 62,000 units via the musicservice.
Currently on a co-headlining tour with Sheryl Crow, Mayer kept up the furious pace of life on the road during his album's release week. From Chicago to New York to L.A. to Austin, TX, Mayer performed club shows for fans at Chicago's House of Blues, New York's Webster Hall and headlined the Austin City Limits Festival in Austin, TX. He also visited the Today Show,
performed a two-night stint on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, stopped by MTV's TRL, and appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Critics have applauded Mayer's accomplishments on Continuum:
-- ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE -- "a smart, breezy album that deftly fuses his love for old-school blues and R&B with his natural gift for sharp melodies and well-constructed songs." -- 4 of 5 stars
-- USA TODAY -- "Mayer's smartly crafted third album combines singer/songwriter pop and sinewy guitar blues as he broaches a range of mature themes."
-- NEW YORK TIMES -- "Mr. Mayer has been writing songs again, good ones, with all the leanness and directness that distinguish his strongest work."
-- BLENDER -- "Where his earlier music was a parade of bright primary colors, these plaintive melodies come in delicious shades of gray." -- 3 of 4 stars
-- ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY -- "many musicians with his all-star-level guitar skills will go reeling off into jam-band indulgence at the least opportunity, but Mayer always plays understated, lacing his catchy songs with crystalline blues licks and subtle jazz-style filigree."
-- STEREOGUM.com -- "We're convinced we're witnessing the emergence of a true artist."
-- ASSOCIATED PRESS -- "... the album is driven by serious themes, fat guitar sounds and Mayer's stirring voice. Continuum reveals his maturity as an artist, both in content and style -- a development he attributes to his collaboration with drummer Steve Jordan and bassist Pino Palladino, who collectively form the John Mayer Trio, which released a live blues album last year."
Having recorded and performed with some of the most interesting and iconic artists on the scene, Mayer returns with an album that showcases his diverse influences, rich lyrics, the groove of the guitar-slinging bluesman and the vocals of the soulful crooner. Continuum was co-produced by John Mayer and Steve Jordan and features sultry tracks such as I Don't Trust Myself With Loving You, Slow Dancing In A Burning Room, and the Sam Cooke-flavored I'm Gonna Find Another You. Followers of the John Mayer Trio will recognize Vultures and Gravity reworked for the studio by John, Steve, and Pino, as well as a blazing display of fretwork on Jimi Hendrix's Bold As Love. Longtime fans will appreciate songs like Heart of Life and Stop This Train as keeping in-step with trademark Mayer material.
Billboard magazine wrote that the melodic, up-tempo Waiting On The World To Change is "already off to a blockbuster start," whose ascent to "No. 1 is all but a given" and People magazine noted that, "John Mayer channels Curtis Mayfield" in a song that reflects the challenges and frustrations of his generation.
A musician and collaborator who exceeds genre boundaries, John Mayer famously toured and recorded with power players Pino Palladino and Steve Jordan as the John Mayer Trio, whose live album Try! was released in November '05. Mayer's other collaborators -- from Rock to Blues, Hip-Hop to Jazz to Country -- have included Eric Clapton, BB King, Buddy Guy, T-Bone Burnett, Herbie Hancock, Dixie Chicks, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, and Ahmir ?uestlove.
From his acclaimed debut Room For Squares in 2001 through 2003's Heavier Things to his most recent work with the John Mayer Trio, the guitarist, vocalist and songwriter has sold more than eight million albums and earned three Grammy Awards.
JOHN MAYER / SHERYL CROW CO-HEADLINING TOUR (* indicates independent
dates)
DATE CITY VENUE
9/23 Seattle, WA White River Amphitheatre
9/24 Portland, OR The Amphitheater at Clark County
9/26 San Diego, CA Bayside Amphitheater
9/27 Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
9/28 Concord, CA Chronicle Pavilion
9/30 Sacramento, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre
10/01 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
10/04 Phoenix, AZ Glendale Arena (w/Tom Petty)*
10/06 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
10/08 Nashville, TN Starwood Amphitheater
10/09 Birmingham, AL Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
10/11 West Palm Beach, FL Sound Advice Amphitheatre
10/12 Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheatre
10/13 Atlanta, GA Chastain Park*
10/14 Atlanta, GA Chastain Park*
http://www.johnmayer.com
http://www.columbiarecords.com
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