Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Recapping a Crazy Night For Switchfoot

For the first time in a long time, Switchfoot got the kind of mainstream recognition it deserves. Last night was the craziest high-volume exposure a band could get. We’re talking five different appearances on much-viewed television programs. Here’s a run-down of the craziness:

*Early in the day: nar_dunderford from the official message boards reported that the music video was played on TV Guide during a Narnia special that they were doing.

*During the day: “This Is Home” is heard on radio for the first time (for me, at least... hehe) (granted, it’s radio Disney, but still!).

*Also during the day: The “This Is Home” music video is seen on the Disney Channel quite a few times (as reported by several boardies)

*Later in the day: It was reported that American Idol contestant David Cook had selected “Dare You to Move” by Switchfoot for his second song of the night. Chaos on the Dare You to Moveyoutube video page and the official message boards ensues.

See the performance:


Mehh... it could go either way for me...

*Sometime before the American Idol Performance: “Let That Be Enough” is seen on a movie called “Model Behavior”

*Even later in the day: Switchfoot plays on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno
(Watch it again here)

DOWNLOAD UPDATE: My dvdr captured it last night. I checked it right after. But this morning, the dvd was empty! I have nothing! I'm so sorry, friends... stupid DVD recorder...



But, 5+ appearances on tv, and a few radio spins at a highly popular Top 40-esque Radio station. Switchfoot, welcome back to the mainstream consciousness! This could lead to more, but this is a TON of attention already!

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And the numbers don’t lie. The exposure is already paying major dividends. “I Dare You to Move” (Learning to Breathe Version) is climbing the top songs chart, and has reached No. 63 so far. (EDIT: 2:14pm: It has reached 46) (6:53 pm, No. 44!)It is now Switchfoot’s top selling song, despite the fact that people continue to buy the old version of this song, not the “Beautiful Letdown” version that was soaring across the airwaves in 2004. Whatever. As long as its exposure, right?

The Prince Caspian Soundtrack has moved up a spot from yesterday, and is now the No. 14 Top Selling Album overall on iTunes. (EDIT: 8:59 PM It jumped a spot and is now No. 13!) Make sure, if you haven’t gotten it, to go and buy it, itunes or cd. Let's show Disney they made the right choice going with Switchfoot’s song as the lead-single for this movie!

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Some American Idol press. This one talked about Switchfoot the most:

Watching Cook absorb the lessons that "Idol" has offered him has been one of the season's most edifying experiences. Though his loyalty to minor modern rock bands remains intact -- last night's song choice championed Switchfoot, a decent bunch of surfers who turned their Christian rock secular and had a hit or two a few years back -- Cook has lately been cultivating the pop-friendly glow of his more restrained vocal timbre. He's the rare contestant who has greatly improved under the judges' tutelage, and for that alone, he probably deserves to win.


Full Source LA Times

Additional press:
MSNBC
Sun Times
Star Tribune
tmrzoo.com (Dare You to … Dream?? what the...)
Fox KC

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Speaking of LA Times, they had another story involving Switchfoot. They were loosely reviewing the "Prince Caspian Soundtrack," focusing mainly on Regina Spektor's song. But here's the Switchfoot bit of it:

Finally, bringing the credits to a close is Switchfoot's "This is Home." But expect this song to get a heavy promotion.
The band will perform it tonight on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and already previewed it last month at gospel's Dove Awards. It's a pretty straight-ahead, overly-earnest rocker, and its association with "Narnia" is purely to move some soundtrack units.


Read the full story

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"This Is Home" promotion news:

*Have you sent your emails yet? Go here if you have no idea what I’m talking about. Join in the fight, Footsoldiers!

*The Music video is doing well. We're falling off the pace of 10,000 views per day, a bit. Lets get the views pumping again! You can watch it on this site, or on switchfoot.com's Narnia page, or on the actual youtube site. Lets build it up guys!

*Make sure you request it on Radio Disney. All the links are in the "This Is Home" Promotion HQ Post.

Lets use the added promotional thrust to really push this song over the edge. I have confidence that it will be a big hit this Summer!

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Charts

"This Is Home"

Hot AC: 360 with 2 spins (-1 from yesterday) this week
Top 40 Mainstream: 726 with 1 spin this week
Christian AC: 54 (+4) with 59 (+10 from yesterday) spins this week
Radio Disney Format: 34 (+10 from yesterday) with 11 spins (+3 from yesterday) this week

4 comments:

Katie said...

I was really excited when I heard that David Cook was singing Dare You To Move on American Idol, not just because David Cook is my favorite on that show right now, but because it was some great publicity for such a great band that defintely deserves it!

Job said...

Definitely, Katie! I was pretty stoked when I heard about that. How lucky can Switchfoot get? haha. All in one day!

Anonymous said...

its funny, with Columbia, they barely get any attention, but now by themselves and their indie label, they got so much attention in just one night.

Job said...

haha. yeah. a lot of it is luck though. David Cook happened to choose this song on the SAME night the guys play "This Is Home" on Leno.

"This Is Home" is getting a lot of support from hollywood records (Disney) though... so this might not be an indication of what lowercase people can do.

P.S. "I Dare You to Move" is No. 46 on iTunes now!