Justin Guarini (album)

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Justin Guarini chronology
Justin Guarini

Studio album by Justin Guarini
Released	June 10, 2003
Recorded	2003
Genre	Pop/Rock/R&B
Label	RCA Records
Producer(s)	Lester Mendez
	Justin Guarini (2003)	Stranger Things Have Happened (2005)

Justin Guarini is the 2003 debut album from the 2002 first season American Idol runner-up Justin Guarini. Released nine months after the conclusion of Guarini's season, the long delayed album debuted at #20 on Billboard's Top 200 chart, but soon fell off the charts with minimal promotion. Sales of the album were considered disappointing although they were not out of line with debut albums in general.

In a radio interview, Ryan Seacrest, the American Idol host, 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 addtionally 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."

Subsequently, Guarini went on to co-produce and independently release a second album, a Jazz album titled Stranger Things Have Happened, and is working on a third album, planned to be a fusion of musical genres, in collaboration with upstart label 3AM Music. Guarini also composed lyrics and/or music for songs he performed for other projects such as the documentary Project Everlasting, as well as collaborated with Jazz bassist David Hughes as a featured vocalist on his album Foreign Shores.