Down to Earth (Jem album)

Down to Earth
Down to Earth
Studio album by Jem
Released	16 September 2008
Recorded	2006–2008
Studio	Detroit and Los Angeles
Genre	Trip hop
Length	47:18
Language	English; Spanish; Japanese;
Label	ATO
Producer	Greg Kurstin; Lester Mendez; Jeff Bass; Mike Bradford;
Jem chronology
Singles from Down to Earth
	"It's Amazing"; Released: 3 June 2008; "Crazy"; Released: 26 August 2008; "And So I Pray"; Released: 26 May 2009; "I Want You To..."; Released: 26 October 2009;

Down to Earth is the second studio album by Welsh musician Jem, the follow-up to Finally Woken. The first single, "It's Amazing", was featured on the soundtrack to the Sex and the City movie. The album spawned four singles.

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	54/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
ArtofRhyme	3.75/5[3]
Billboard	(positive)[4]
Digital Spy	[5]
The Guardian	[6]
musicOMH	[7]
Paste	6.1/10[8]
The Phoenix	[9]
The Times	[10]

The press release states that Jem co-wrote the album with a variety of people including Jeff Bass, Lester Mendez and Greg Kurstin and sings in Japanese on the track, "Aciiid!". The album also includes a collaboration with South African singer-songwriter and poet-activist Vusi Mahlasela on the track "You Will Make It" which was dedicated to the memory of D12 member Proof.[11][12] Although the collaboration never happened, Jem wanted to work with Eminem for the song, saying "The track is about losing someone and I wrote it the day after his friend Proof was murdered. I was in Detroit with Eminem's friends, who I happened to be recording with, when it happened".[13]

Critical reception

Down to Earth was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 54 based on 7 reviews.[1]

In a review for AllMusic, critic reviewer Andrew Leahey wrote: "Down to Earth's title depicts Jem as a grounded musician, but its wide-ranging sound suggests something different, as the singer has yet to find a style that fully suits her capabilities."[2]

Track listing

*Down to Earth* track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Down to Earth"	Jem Griffiths Jeff Bass Justin Griffiths	Bass	4:33
2.	"Crazy"	Jem Bass	Bass	3:39
3.	"I Want You To..."	Jem Lester Mendez Cut Chemist	Mendez	3:38
4.	"It's Amazing"	Jem Mendez	Mendez	3:58
5.	"Keep on Walking"	Jem Bass	Bass	4:12
6.	"You Will Make It (featuring Vusi Mahlasela)"	Jem J. Griffiths	Mike Bradford	6:11
7.	"I Always Knew"	Jem Mendez	Mendez	3:09
8.	"Got It Good"	Jem Bass	Bass	4:26
9.	"Aciiid!"	Jem Greg Kurstin	Kurstin	2:56
10.	"How Would You Like It"	Jem J. Griffiths	Bradford	4:02
11.	"And So I Pray"	Jem Kevin Beber	Bradford	2:42
12.	"On Top of the World"	Jem Mendez	Mendez	4:52

iTunes bonus track[14]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Forever and a Day"	Jem J. Griffiths Joseph George	3:49

Personnel

Hiroko Aoyagi – vocals
Jeff Atmajian – piano, string arrangements, piano arrangement
Jeff Bass – bass, guitar, keyboards, producer, drum programming, tracked by
Kevin Beber – drum programming
Brian Berryman – engineer, fader engineer
Mick Bolger – trombone, trumpet, euphonium, mellophonium, E flat cornet
Mike Bradford – producer, string arrangements, instrumentation
Del Casher – sounds
Bryan Cook – engineer
Nick Cuchinella – trombone
Nabil Elderkin – photography
Johnny Evans – saxophone
Serban Ghenea – mixing
Jem Griffiths – vocals, producer, vocal engineer, poetry reading
Justin Griffiths – acoustic guitar
John Hanes – mixing
Mark Aaron James – design
Ted Jensen – mastering
Shinobu Lee – vocals
David Levita – acoustic guitar, guitar
Lester Mendez – piano, producer, string arrangements, brass arrangement, instrumentation
Monica Mendez – sound design
Milan, Derrick & The Krew – chorus
Eddie Miller – vocal engineer
Rafael Padilla – percussion
Phillip Ramos – studio assistant
Tim Roberts – mixing assistant
Ken Robinson – trumpet
Sonus – strings
Welsh Choir of Southern California – chorus
Joe Wohlmuth – engineer

Charts

Chart performance for *Down to Earth*
Chart (2008)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	48
Chart (2009)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart[15]	64

Release history

[16]

Release history for *Down to Earth*
Country	Date
United States	16 September 2008
Canada
Japan
Ireland	30 January 2009
United Kingdom	2 February 2009
Europe	2 February 2009
Sweden	4 February 2009
Portugal	16 February 2009
Poland	16 February 2009
Denmark	23 February 2009
Germany	27 February 2009
Austria
Netherlands
Switzerland
Norway	2 March 2009
France	3 March 2009
Finland	4 March 2009
Greece	6 March 2009
Italy	20 March 2009[lower-alpha 1]

Notes

Italy's release was originally planned for 6 march 2009, as announced on Jem's official MySpace, but it was later postponed.

References

"Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
Leahey, Andrew. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
"ArtofRhyme review". Artofrhyme.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
Billboard review
"Digital Spy review". Digitalspy.co.uk. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
Caroline Sullivan (30 January 2009). "The Guardian review". London: Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
"Jem – Down to Earth – review". Musicomh.com. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
"Paste review". Pastemagazine.com. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
"The Phoenix review". Thephoenix.com. 23 September 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
"The Times review". Entertainment.timesonline.co.uk. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
Raible, Allan. "Review: Jem's "Down To Earth". ABC News. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
Jem - Down To Earth (CD liner notes). ATO Records. 88088-21630-2
Kilkelly, Daniel. "Jem hopes to team up with Eminem". digitalspy.com. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
"Down to Earth by Jem". Apple Music. ATO Records. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
"Official UK Albums Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
"Jem | The Official Website of Jem". Jem-music.net. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

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[17] Italy's release was originally planned for 6 march 2009, as announced on Jem's official MySpace, but it was later postponed.

[MC-1] "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 April 2021.

[AM-2] Leahey, Andrew. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 April 2021.

[3] "ArtofRhyme review". Artofrhyme.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2012.

[4] Billboard review

[5] "Digital Spy review". Digitalspy.co.uk. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2012.

[6] Caroline Sullivan (30 January 2009). "The Guardian review". London: Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2012.

[7] "Jem – Down to Earth – review". Musicomh.com. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

[8] "Paste review". Pastemagazine.com. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2012.

[9] "The Phoenix review". Thephoenix.com. 23 September 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2012.

[10] "The Times review". Entertainment.timesonline.co.uk. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.

[11] Raible, Allan. "Review: Jem's "Down To Earth". ABC News. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

[12] Jem - Down To Earth (CD liner notes). ATO Records. 88088-21630-2

[13] Kilkelly, Daniel. "Jem hopes to team up with Eminem". digitalspy.com. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 27 December 2016.

[AppleMusicDTE-14] "Down to Earth by Jem". Apple Music. ATO Records. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2023.

[15] "Official UK Albums Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

[16] "Jem | The Official Website of Jem". Jem-music.net. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

Jem
Studio albums	Finally Woken (2004) Down to Earth (2008) Beachwood Canyon (2016)
EPs	It All Starts Here... (2003)
Singles	"They" "Just a Ride" "Wish I" "24" "It's Amazing"