Insomniatic

Insomniatic
Studio album by Aly & AJ
Released	July 10, 2007 (2007-07-10) (see release history)
Recorded	2007
Genre	Teen pop, electropop, dance-pop, electronic rock, pop-rock[1]
Length	42:55
Label	Hollywood
Producer	Antonina Armato, Gerry Cagle (exec.), Tim James, Carrie Michalka (exec.)
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Billboard (positive) link TheCelebrityCafe.com (positive) link Famoso Magazine link The Guardian link Jesus Freak Hideout link Robert Christgau link stv.tv link Tommy2.net link
Aly & AJ chronology
Acoustic Hearts of Winter (2006) Insomniatic (2007) 78violet (2010)
Singles from Insomniatic
"Potential Breakup Song" Released: June 26, 2007 "Like Whoa" Released: January 21, 2008

Insomniatic is the second studio album from the teen pop duo Aly & AJ. The album was released on July 10, 2007 in the United States, and was later released in the UK and Italy on October 22, 2007 with new cover art. The album features a more electropop, electronic rock and dance-pop influenced sound different from their debut with the use of synthesizers, synth-rock guitars, vocoder, and electronic instruments.

Album information

MTV.com's The Leak section posted all 12 songs on the standard edition of the album in their entirety, on July 3, 2007. The song "Blush" was excluded in the MTV.com full album stream for unknown reasons.

The song "Like Whoa" was featured in an episode of MTV's The Hills and the girls' made-for-TV (MTV) movie Super Sweet 16: The Movie, which premiered on July 8, 2007 and in High School Musical 3: Senior Year on October 24, 2008. The song eventually became the album's second single.

Instrumental versions of all 12 songs are available commercially on the iTunes Store, alongside the standard 12-track album with vocals.

The album's title is not actually a word ("insomniac" serves as both a noun and an adjective);^[2] the definition of Insomniatic as stated by them is: A state of mind where one becomes addicted to the deprivation of sleep caused by an epic revelation of joy.

The Australian release of the album features the cover art same as the deluxe edition, aside from the "Deluxe Edition" tag. It also features with the original "Chemicals React" track as the first track, following the rest of the standard album.^[3]

Critical reception

Fraser McAlpine of BBC Radio had this to say about the album:

Aly and AJ's previous album was rock-pop, some of it light and bubbly, some of it bordering on heaviness. Staccato, often angry pop but still definitely pop. Their second offering, 'Insomniatic,' with this as the lead single seems to have kept the staccato and the venom but added more layers of pop, to create something that sounds like My Chemical Romance going through a blender with some soft-hearted Angry Girl Music. Don't let the tango at the start fool you, even as the synths and the vocoder cut in, this is a rock song playing with electronics. Chirpy keyboards flag up the growl of their voices as they deliver self-conscious lines like 'it took too long, it took too long, it took too long for you to call back and normally I would just forget that, except for the fact it was my brithday, my stupid birthday', kicking a guy to the curb for being a forgetful loser amid a glorious barrage of seething rhythms, clicky noises and general madness, as the Michalka sisters swing between honeyed murmurs and psychosis, making for the most danceable mental breakdown I've heard in quite some time.

^[4]

Tommy2.Net says

Several tracks point toward synth rock by the use of samples, loops and vocal processing including the lead single, Potential BreakUp Song which proves to be a good barometer for the direction they're heading. Along with the electronic beats, this album features a blend of 70's and 80's guitar tones that infuse Bullseye, Like It Or Leave It, and If I Could Have You Back with a sufficient amount of energy

^[5]

Promotion

United States

• The sisters sang an edit of the lead single from Insomniatic, "Potential Breakup Song", on Live with Regis & Kelly on July 4, 2007 and again on The View on September 3, 2007
• On July 9, 2007 both sisters were on The Early Show where they did a short interview.
• On August 1, 2007 both sisters were on MTV's Total Request Live to take viewers backstage at one of their concert stops. In the week of August 26, the girls hosted and co-hosted the show again.
• The video for "Potential Breakup Song" premiered on Disney Channel in August 2007.
• They performed songs from Insomniatic with Miley Cyrus as the supporting act replacing the Jonas Brothers. Soon after they were replaced by Everlife because of AJ's busy schedule, filming her first solo role in The Lovely Bones.

United Kingdom

• The girls performed "Potential Breakup Song" near the London Eye to promote the UK release in October.
• On October 3, 2007, Aly & AJ performed "Potential Breakup Song" on This Morning, a British morning show.
• On October 10, 2007, the sisters performed "Potential Breakup Song" and a version of "Like Whoa" with an extended "Relax" dance break at G-A-Y, a London-based nightclub.
• They performed with UK band McFly in London as a supporting act on the tour.
• They were also featured on a Saturday morning television show called TMi on BBC Television

Track listing

The iTunes pre-order edition had all of the regular tracks excluding "Blush", and had instrumental versions of "Potential Breakup Song" and "Chemicals React" (Remix). A video for "Potential Breakup Song" was also included along with a digital booklet.

Deluxe Edition

A deluxe edition of the album was originally scheduled to be released on November 6, 2007, then on March 4, 2008, later on March 18 to be cancelled in North America afterwards. The 6-song extended CD includes acoustic performances at the Abbey Road Sessions in the UK, and a remix, along with a bonus DVD that contains music videos to Aly & AJ's main singles. Though early reports were notifying the DVD would include Aly & AJ's My Super Sweet 16/18 Birthday Party Review, My Super Sweet 16/18 Birthday Party, The Aly & AJ Sister Act MTV special, and an Aly & AJ featured MTV Cribs clip.^[6] The deluxe edition only had a Japanese release, on March 5.^[7]

Release history

The album was released on 10 July 2007 in the United States, on 22 October 2007 in the UK and Italy — with a new cover art — and ultimately in Singapore in April 2008. An enhanced Deluxe Edition was released in Japan on 5 March 2008. The cover of the Deluxe Edition (aside from the "deluxe edition" tag) was used for a Australian release on 15 March 2008.^[3]

* Features the original "Chemicals React" as first track, followed by the rest of the standard album.

Singles

"Potential Breakup Song"

• Released: May 24, 2007 (Canada), June 26, 2007 (US), October 8, 2007 (UK)
• Chart positions: #17 (US), #72 (Canada), #22 (UK)

"Like Whoa"

• Released: January, 2008 (US)
• Charts positions: #63 (US), #66 (Canada), #92 (AUS)

Chart performance

The album debuted at #15 in the official United States Billboard 200 albums chart, selling over 39,000 copies in its first week, becoming Aly & AJ's highest debut to date.^[10] Insomniatic remained on the charts for 18 weeks in total, dropping out after the fourteenth week, to re-enter six weeks later.^[11]

References