8Bit Heart is the debut album by American singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 and record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 Simon Curtis

Simon Curtis

Simon Curtis is an American actor and singer-songwriter from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He gained fame for playing Royce Du Lac in the film Spectacular! ....

. It was released March 23, 2010 for free download

Music download

A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

 via Curtis' official website. Curtis co-produced the album with Jeff "Jadion" Wells. The album was downloaded 80 thousand times in its first week of being released.

Background

Curtis announced in 2009 that he would release his debut album, 8Bit Heart, for free on his official website as soon as he reaches eight thousand followers on his Twitter

Twitter

Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

 page. Curtis originally intended to release a song after ever eight hundred follows but only released "Delusional" on October 29, 2009 and "Diablo" on December 2, 2009. The album was recorded in a "tiny basement in the hills of West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

" with Jeff Wells. An album with a similar logo titled '8 Bit Heart' with a track 'Animatronic Boy' was released prior under chip-tune artist Leeni with a registered copyright in 2008 with later reviews in June of 2009. http://www.digitalkuroko.com/home/a-button-b-button-music.html

There are several references in four songs on the album. In "Diablo" the beginning line mirrors Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...

's "Since U Been Gone

Since U Been Gone

"Since U Been Gone" is a song written and produced by Max Martin and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald for American singer Kelly Clarkson. The song was released as the second single from her second album, Breakaway in the US and Australia and was released as the first single in Europe...

" but followed by "but this is not a Kelly Clarkson song and not how it ends". In the same song, a line from "If U Seek Amy

If U Seek Amy

"If U Seek Amy" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her sixth studio album, Circus. It was released on March 13, 2009 by Jive Records as the third single of the album, and was chosen by a poll on Spears's official website. "If U Seek Amy" was co-written and produced by Max...

" by Britney Spears

Britney Spears

Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...

 is copied before Curtis realizes "oh wait, this song isn't mine". In "Beat Drop" a clip from Lady Gaga

Lady GaGa

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...

's "Bad Romance

Bad Romance

"Bad Romance" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released as the lead single from her third extended play , and second major release The Fame Monster . Written by Lady Gaga and produced by RedOne, the track was inspired by Gaga's fear of negative love relationships and the...

" is used as backing vocals on the last line of the second verse. The operatic singing comes from the second aria of the Der Hölle Rache from the Magic Flute. Extracts from an interview with former KGB

KGB

The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...

 agent Yuri Bezmenov

Yuri Bezmenov

Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov was a journalist for RIA Novosti and a former KGB informant from the Soviet Union who defected to Canada....

 in 1985 are used as an intro and outro for "Brainwash". "The Dark Crystal

The Dark Crystal

The Dark Crystal is a 1982 British-American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Although marketed as a family film, it was notably darker than previous material created by them. The animatronics used in the film were considered groundbreaking. The primary concept artist was the...

 Overture" is also heavily sampled on the track "The Dark".

Critical response

8Bit Heart has received mostly positive reviews. Bradley Stern from MuuMuse gave the album four out of five commenting that it "is a hard-hitting collection of cutting-edge pop hooks, catchy electronic noises and storming, dancefloor-ready synthesized beats that come together to celebrate the very essence of modern pop". He also compared Curtis' vocals to that of Darren Hayes

Darren Hayes

Darren Stanley Hayes is a UK-based Australian singer-songwriter. Hayes was the front man and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden, whose 1997 album Savage Garden peaked at No. 1 in Australia, No. 2 in United Kingdom and No. 3 in United States...

 and Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake

Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...

. A journalist from Music Fascination says the album "uses unique production combined with sounds and beats that develop the music into strong cohesive pop" and that it is "filled with pure danceable energy, but enough heart to keep you listening". They also praised Curtis' "distinct sound and production skill". ALi's Blog praised Curtis' independent work, wondering "what he can accomplish with a big label behind him". Paul Reynolds from FizzyPop!! says the album "not only delivers musically, but creates a themed album that is a real delight from start to finish".

Tracklist