Oh Aaron Explained
| Oh Aaron |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Aaron Carter |
| Cover: | Oh Aaron (Aaron Carter album - cover art).jpg |
| Alt: | A male teenager with blonde hair is wearing an orange t-shirt and a bead necklace. The artist's name is colored in black and orange, and the album title is colored in white. |
| Released: | August 7, 2001 |
| Recorded: | 2001 |
| Label: | Jive |
| Prev Title: | Aaron's Party (Come Get It) |
| Prev Year: | 2000 |
| Next Title: | Another Earthquake! |
| Next Year: | 2002 |
Oh Aaron is the third studio album by American teen pop singer Aaron Carter, released in the summer of 2001 as his second album through Jive Records. The album features three collaborations with No Secrets and his older brother Nick. Despite receiving mixed reviews and not being as successful internationally as his second album, it found success in the US, peaking at number seven and being certified Platinum by the RIAA, and subsequently becoming Aaron's second top 10 album and second platinum-selling album.
Oh Aaron was accompanied by a concert DVD of the same name, which was released on March 26, 2002, and included footage of his 2001 concert in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as well as music videos and interviews.
Play Along Toys also created an Aaron Carter action figure in conjunction with the album's release.
Singles
- "Oh Aaron": the title song, opening track, and first single features his older brother Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys and pop girl group No Secrets. The song talks about Aaron getting tickets to a Backstreet Boys concert. In the video, filmed in Toronto, Aaron promises his friends (and parents and their friends) tickets to the Backstreet Boys concert, thinking Nick would hook him up. Nick initially agrees, but reneges when Aaron states that is 3,003 tickets. After some short begging, Nick acquiesces, but only if Aaron raps at his concert. Aaron later gets chased by fans on his way to the concert. He begs Nick to make him stay inside, but Nick carries him outside. At the end, Aaron is carried by tons of his fans. No Secrets sings the chorus of the song in different locations.
- "Not Too Young, Not Too Old"
- "I'm All About You": the third and final single of the album. In the video, Aaron is dancing and singing the song in a room. In a couple sub-plots, Aaron is sitting with a girl eating dinner, in a limousine, and enters a nightclub. The video can be seen on the Oh Aaron: Live In Concert DVD.
Critical reception
AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine commended Carter's voice for sounding less childish but criticized his performance of kid-friendly songs with adolescent overtones and sexual themes, and the producers for utilizing "cut and paste commercialism" with various genres throughout the track listing, saying it comes across as "disturbing pandering". Beth Johnson from Entertainment Weekly said about the record, "Preteens across the country can rejoice: 13-year-old cutie-pie Aaron Carter has released his second sing-along album in less than a year. Apparently A.C. (as he name-checks himself) knows what his fans like: cheery BSB/'N Sync-style raps, puppy-love ballads, and songs with "You" in the title (there are four of them). As harmless (for kids) as it is unlistenable (for adults)."
In their look at the Least Essential Albums of 2001, The A.V. Club awarded Oh Aaron the title of Least Essential Awkward Adolescence, with Stephen Thompson saying, "[A]ppearing to have aged about five years since 2000's Aaron's Party (Come Get It) and now possessing a voice that's gone from chirpy to unsure, the singer/rapper seems ill-suited for inching his way into artistic relevance as he begins to sprout facial hair and think about muscle cars."[1]
Track listing
Notes
- "Come Follow Me" was featured in the extended trailer for Hey Arnold! The Movie.
- "Stride (Jump on the Fizzy)" contains a sample from "Break My Stride" written by Matthew Wilder and Greg Prestopino.
- The Australian edition includes two bonus tracks before the interview with Aaron as tracks 11 and 12, "Get Up on Ya Feet" and "One for the Summer". The former song appears on the soundtrack to the Disney Channel series Kim Possible.
- The Korean edition of the album included only "Get Up on Ya Feet". A Korean special edition included a bonus VCD with the music videos of "Oh Aaron", "Not Too Young, Not Too Old", "I'm All About You", and the song and music video for Aaron's promotional song featured in , "Leave It Up to Me". It also featured an interview with Aaron along with brother Nick, and a look behind the scenes of the filming of the video for "I'm All About You".
- Other Asian editions were special releases featuring most of the songs from Aaron's debut album as "bonus tracks". A similar concept was employed on an Eastern European edition, which featured several tracks from Aaron's Party (as well as a remix of the title track and another song from around the time, "Everybody Stand Up"), two songs from Aaron's debut, "Leave It Up to Me" from Jimmy Neutron and another song by Aaron's on the soundtrack, "A.C.'s Alien Nation". This edition contains several misspellings and what seem to be repeats of several tracks already on the album. https://web.archive.org/web/20110629164359/http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/sidjames/65/streetteam/images/ohaaron_east_back.jpg
Personnel
Vocals
- Aaron Carter – lead vocals (all tracks), background vocals (5, 7, 8)
- No Secrets – background vocals
- Andy Goldmark – additional vocals (1), background vocals (8)
- Jennifer Karr – additional vocals (1, 3)
- Brian Kierulf – additional vocals (1, 3)
- Audrey Martells – additional vocals (1)
- Josh Schwartz – additional vocals (1, 3), background vocals (5)
- Stacy Smith – additional vocals (1, 3)
- Nate "Billionheir" Butler – background vocals (8)
- Taylur Davis – background vocals (2)
- Marc Nelson – background vocals (7, 8)
- Tony T – background vocals (6, 9)
- Todd "Boogie" Terrell – background vocals (4, 10)
- Dana Williams – background vocals (2)
- Davida Williams – background vocals (2)
Instrumentation
- Brian Kierulf – guitar
- Josh Schwartz – guitar
- Paul Gendler – guitar (6, 9)
- Michael Thompson – guitar (7)
- Blake Eiseman – guitar (10)
- Mike Hartnett – bass (10)
- Myles 'Mad Myles' Schneit – scratches (1, 3)
Production
- Charles McCrorey – assistant engineer (1)
- Rowie Nameri – assistant engineer (1, 2, 4, 8, 10)
- John O'Mahony – assistant engineer (1, 3)
- Jason Rankins – assistant engineer (2)
- Rich Tapper – assistant engineer (4, 5, 7, 10)
- Tony Zeller – assistant engineer (10)
- Rich Travali – mixing (1, 3, 5, 7)
- Chris Trevett – mixing (2, 4, 10)
- Bob Kraushaar – mixing (6, 9)
- Brian Kierulf – programming
- Chaz Harper – mastering
Artwork
- Nick Gamma – art direction and design
- Robert Ascroft – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Notes and References
- Least Essential Albums of 2001. Thompson. Stephen. The A.V. Club. The Onion. December 12, 2001. November 3, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20060329110922/http://www.avclub.com/content/node/24910/1/1. March 29, 2006. dead.
- Web site: Albums : Top 100. Jam!. August 31, 2001. April 11, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20041027062735/http://www.canoe.com/JamMusicCharts/prev_083001_ALBUMS.html. October 27, 2004.
- Book: Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Oricon Entertainment. Roppongi, Tokyo. 2006. 4-87131-077-9.
- Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums - 2001. Billboard. May 9, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150602150021/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2001/top-billboard-200-albums/. June 2, 2015. dead.
- Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums - 2002. Billboard. May 9, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20221012200644/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2002/top-billboard-200-albums. October 12, 2022. live.
