Wyclef's "Carnival House Tour" Rolls On To Nationwide Acclaim As Kudos Roll In For Critically Heralded New Album, "Carnival Vol. II - Memoirs of an Immigrant," Available Now
NEW YORK, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Wyclef Jean -- the Grammy Award-winning musician, producer, hip-hop pioneer, and humanitarian who founded the Fugees, the top-selling hip-hop ensemble of all-time -- is on a roll this week as "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)," the lead-in single from his critically- acclaimed new album, Carnival Vol. II - Memoirs of an Immigrant, jumps into the Top 10 while simultaneously achieving RIAA Platinum Digital Single status.
Featuring Akon, Lil' Wayne and introducing Niia, "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" has just jumped from #12 to #10 on the CHR/Top 40 chart, marking Wyclef's first Top 10 single as a solo artist. "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" has reached #8 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart, #10 on the Billboard Pop 100 and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was certified RIAA Gold on January 11, 2008.
Released initially in August 2007 through iTunes and Verizon's V Cast, "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" rapidly entered the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at #3 the same day it debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 chart at #42. A bona fide international smash, "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" has charted in Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK as well as hitting #24 on the United World Chart.
A provocative video for "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)," directed by Chris Robinson (Monica, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z) has been viewed more than 8 million times on www.youtube.com while more than 2 million fans have played the song on Wyclef's MySpace page.
Wyclef is currently celebrating the release of his critically-lauded new album, Carnival Vol. II - Memoirs of an Immigrant, with his "Carnival House Tour," an eagerly-anticipated major tour of North American clubs and theaters which launched January 14 in Providence, Rhode Island and winds up February 26 in Ohio (please see itinerary following). Wyclef's "Carnival House Tour" features sets by special guest artist and Columbia Records labelmate Lyfe Jennings.
Carnival Vol. II - Memoirs of an Immigrant is Wyclef's first full-length album for Columbia Records since his third solo album, "Masquerade," entered the Billboard Top 200 at #6 in June 2002 and is the artist's first album on any label since 2006, when he struck a major chord in mass pop consciousness with "Hips Don't Lie," the #1 chart-topping Grammy-nominated international smash hit duet with Shakira.
Released on December 4, 2007, Carnival Vol. II - Memoirs of an Immigrant immediately drew raves from the press:
"Jean himself slings his pen and his guitar with equal effectiveness," wrote Steve Jones in USA Today's four star (****) review (December 4, 2007).
Rolling Stone (December 13, 2007) gave the album three-and-a-half stars with critic Evan Serpick enthusing, "It's a breathtaking, ambitious ride through a carnival of global music too rarely explored."
Jeff Vrabel in Billboard (December 8, 2007) heralded the album as "...a stronger-than-usual collection..." while Elena Oumano in Vibe (December 2007) observed "Wyclef is aiming for one world, rocking to his thick, improbable grooves."
"All schools of thought will agree: The Carnival II is a sweeping study in excellence," opined Smooth magazine (Fall 2007).
Lorrie Irby Jackson gave the album an "A" grade in the Dallas Morning News (December 3, 2007) writing, "Mr. Jean's relevant and relentlessly catchy album will please his Fugee-era followers and is an essential for those hungry for variety in hip-hop."
In New York Newsday's B+ critique of Carnival Vol. II - Memoirs of an Immigrant (December 4, 2007), Glenn Gamboa observed, "Not only does he work with a variety of co-stars, from Paul Simon and Norah Jones to Elephant Man and Shakira, but he draws from all sorts of world beat styles."
"It's nothing for this hugely successful ex-leader of the Fugees to sashay from tejano to salsa to kompa," wrote Jim Farber in the New York Daily News (December 4, 2007), "only to filter them all through conventional American musical forms ranging from country and rock to hip hop and pop."
With Carnival Vol. II - Memoirs of an Immigrant, his sixth full-length studio album, Wyclef Jean continues the autobiographical musical odyssey he began a decade ago with his 1997 triple-platinum debut solo album, "Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival Featuring Refugee All-Stars" (aka "The Carnival"). Wyclef gave his fans their first taste of Carnival Vol. II - Memoirs of an Immigrant with the release of "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" last August.
According to Wyclef, Carnival Vol. II - Memoirs of an Immigrant is "a continuation of 'Gone Till November" (his 1997 Top 10 signature hit from "The Carnival"). I focus a lot on the songwriting." For his much anticipated new album, Wyclef has once again called upon his friends, showcasing his musical dexterity as he draws from an extraordinary and diverse roster of collaborating guest artists including Paul Simon (on "Fast Car"), Mary J. Blige, T.I., Norah Jones, Akon, Serj Tankian (of System Of A Down) (on "Trouble Again"), Lil' Wayne, and Shakira, to name a few. Wyclef produced the entire album with his long-time production partner, Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, with whom he has worked since the beginning of the Fugees.
WYCLEF JEAN - CARNIVAL HOUSE TOUR 2008 with Lyfe Jennings
Fri - Feb 15 San Francisco, CA University of San Francisco
Wed - Feb 27 Montreal, QC Metropolis
www.wyclef.com
www.myspace.com/wyclefjean
www.facebook.com/wyclef
www.columbiarecords.com
SOURCE Columbia Records
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