Weezer's 'Hurley' Debuts At #6 On Billboard 200
Grammy® award winning alternative rock band Weezer has achieved their sixth consecutive top ten album release with their Epitaph Records debut, Hurley, which entered the Billboard 200 at #6. Hurley marks the bands first release with independent label Epitaph Records.
Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo said, "I'm super-pleasantly-surprised and stoked that Hurley charted at #6 this week. 'Thanks' to all the Weezer fans who are spreading the word via Twitter and Facebook."
Brett Gurewitz, Founder and CEO of Epitaph said, "I have been a fan of the band from the beginning which made the signing in itself exciting for me. With coming in at #6, I'm truly happy about the great job my team has done. For Epitaph to perform as well or better than a major in getting the Hurley record out is something I am very proud of. Weezer made an amazing record and I'm happy when great records get heard on a large scale like this."
The chart news comes on the heels of Tuesday night's media frenzied, surprise performance from Weezer at the Dunes Inn Hotel in Hollywood, Calif. for AXE Music's "One Night Only" concert series, where the band slayed a packed crowd with a "best of" set list. The show featured guest appearances from new friend of band and Hurley cover model Jorge Garcia, who joined the band on stage to trade vocal duties with Rivers Cuomo on "Perfect Situation," as well as the band My Chemical Romance who joined in for a raucous version of "My Name Is Jonas." Other celebrities in attendance were Los Angeles Lakers' Lamar Odom and wife Khloe Kardashian, actress Vanessa Hudgens and Mark Salling from "Glee." Check out photos and video from the event here: http://tinyurl.com/2556uqk
Critics nationwide have praised Hurley:
Entertainment Weekly: "... cheerful, scruffy, and sly, a winning blend of Beach Boys sonic richness, hard-rawk guitar riffs, and Cuomo's trademark mix of irony and sincerity."
SPIN: "...a solid collection of precise and persuasively melodic rock."
Philadelphia Inquirer: "... relevant, sharp, and most important, fun"
Los Angeles Times: "...10 songs home in on Cuomo's favorite themes of romantic struggle and painful self-examination, packing plenty of jokes and addictive choruses into each bright sonic flare."
Weezer continues to make waves and headlines. The group kicked of Hurley's release date with a "YouTube Invasion" that found them incorporated into videos from top YouTube celebrities. The invasion videos generated millions of views in the first day of posting. Weezer also teamed up with long-time friend Johnny Knoxville and the Jackass crew to film a rambunctious new video for the Hurley's first single, "Memories," which features shredding skaters, outrageous stunts and a high-energy performance from the band. Check out the video here: http://tinyurl.com/33zhcoy. An alternate version of "Memories"(with the Jackass crew featured more heavily on vocals and Chris Pontius adding guitar work) will be featured on the soundtrack to the highly anticipated new movie "Jackass 3-D."
Weezer will issue official news about their upcoming tour shortly.