Everclear Sets Record With 'Songs From an American Movie, Vol. One: Learning How to Smile' - No. 9 Soundscan Debut, Over 100,000 Sold

Business Wire, July 19, 2000

Entertainment/Music Editors

NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--July 19, 2000

"Wonderful" first single heats up Modern Rock, Modern Adult, and

Adult Top 40 charts

'Songs From an American Movie, Vol. Two: Good Time for a Bad

Attitude' scheduled as follow-up album release in mid-autumn

Capitol recording group Everclear has set a wonderful precedent for first-week sales of their new album, as SONGS FROM AN AMERICAN MOVIE, VOL. ONE: LEARNING HOW TO SMILE (in-store date July 11th) debuts at No. 9 with a bullet on the Billboard 200 album chart. This surpasses the debut week of their previous release, 1997's double-platinum So Much For the Afterglow, which moved 34,000 copies its first week out - the new album sold that number on its first day of sales.

Contributing to the early success of LEARNING HOW TO SMILE is the wide acceptance of the poignant first single, "Wonderful," written and produced by Everclear frontman, singer-songwriter-guitarist Art Alexakis. "Wonderful" is bulleted this week at No. 4 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. Indicative of Everclear's broader musical appeal this time around, the single is also bulleted at No. 11 on the Modern Adult chart and No. 21(with a bullet) on the Adult Top 40 chart, where it was named 'Greatest Gainer' in its second week on the list.

"Wonderful" was described by Alexakis in Alternative Press magazine as "...a kid's perspective on divorce - how they feel, what they think, and what they remember after it happens." The video for the song, directed by Alexakis, intersperses the experiences of several children (and how they are affected by their parents' break-up) with performance footage of Everclear. The clip is currently listed at No. 1 on MTV2, with more than 50 spins in its first week (a truly rare occurrence for any video); while it ranks at No. 15 on MTV and has crossed over to the TRL (Total Request Live) 'wannabe's' chart. VH1 has the "Wonderful" video ranked at No. 25.

Capitol Records and Everclear turned up the heat in support of the album's release, starting with a live AOL chat and their performance of "Wonderful" on "The Tonight Show starring Jay Leno" the night before the in-store date - which was celebrated with a live KROQ radio broadcast of a mini-set at (where else?) a 7-Eleven in Burbank. Meanwhile, the band was heard during the week on rock radio's top three syndicated programs: "Modern Rock Live," "Rockline" and "Loveline." Alexakis showed up on tv's "Politically Incorrect" that Friday night (July 14th) and this coming Friday night (July 21st) the band will give "Wonderful" the acoustic treatment on "The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn."

LEARNING HOW TO SMILE is the first of two albums planned for this year, to be followed in mid-autumn by SONGS FROM AN AMERICAN MOVIE, VOL. TWO: GOOD TIME FOR A BAD ATTITUDE. "There's a lot to do with watching movies on tv and listening to the radio on this album," Alexakis said of Vol. One, while he describes Vol. Two as "guitars, guitars, and a lot of guitars," showing off the "other side" of Everclear's personality. Both sets delve into the psyche of the composer, working through the changes brought on by fractured relationships. "Two sides of the same coin," he concludes.