bhb

Ballas Hough Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 10, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hollywood Records
• ASIN: B001PK47AS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (151 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,297 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Do You Love Me

2. Devastated

3. Closer

4. She Was The One

5. Longing For

6. Birthday

7. Fall

8. Do It For You

9. Break Through

10. Together Faraway

11. Underwater

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Anyone who's given the hit TV series Dancing With the Stars even a cursory glance knows the names Mark Ballas and Derek Hough. Since 2006, the two professional ballroom dancers both led their celebrity partners to victory in successive seasons, trading in months of grueling practice and competition for one highly coveted Mirror Ball trophy. "I love to entertain people," says Mark, who took the crown on season 6 with Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi (Derek won in season 7 with Brooke Burke). "Seeing people smile and enjoy themselves, that's what I live for."

But entertaining audiences never took one form for Mark or Derek. The two best friends have been playing and making music together for more than a decade, in between touring theatrical productions and ballroom competitions. And like every achievement they've crossed off their collective to-do list, a career in music was a dream they worked towards tirelessly. "To play gigs in London, we often had to take the Tube," Derek recalls. "We'd carry all our gear -- amps, guitars, keyboards -- down those mile-long escalators and onto the train. For a while, we were doing that almost every weekend!"

Mark and Derek's love of music was apparent from a very young age. Mark got his first guitar when he was seven, around the same time Derek began playing the drums. By the time they were in their early teens, the two had both mastered the guitar and began writing songs that showcased their unique talents: three and four-part harmonies (a skill honed during years in the musical theatre circuit), Mark's percussive, Flamenco-flavored playing style and a natural affinity for irresistible melodies.

Music of all forms and genres constantly filled the Ballas' London home, where Derek lived since the age of 12, and was also a key component to their dance routines, so the pull was natural. The guys' musical bond, however, came from a seemingly unlikely place: a Korn concert at London's Wembley Arena. "Until that point, I wasn't allowed to listen to bands like Nirvana," says Derek, who, along with his sister Julianne (herself a two-time Dancing with the Stars champion), was raised in a very conservative household. Mark, however, was determined to open his friend's mind. "I was like, 'Dude, stop being a wuss,' and I took him to see Korn for his first concert," he says. "We threw him on top of the crowd and it was like the transformation had been made."

While still years away from entering a pub legally, the conversion stirred hopes of becoming a touring band and Mark went to task finding players to round out the as-yet-unnamed project. He didn't have to search far. Harry Sullivan, whose parents were close with the Ballas family, was enlisted to play drums, and Emily Grace, a classically trained pianist and classmate from London's Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, was a no-brainer for keyboards. They found their bassist, Sam Marder, by cold-calling Surrey's prestigious Academy of Contemporary Music. "We phoned up the school and sort of made up this story about how we were getting signed and needed a bass player," says Derek. "They gave us three phone numbers and Sam was the first person we called."

That impulsiveness served them well in the years to come. Case in point: when the guys were both offered spots on the U.S. version of Dancing with the Stars, they accepted, though they worried that music would end up taking a backseat. "Moving from London to Los Angeles, where we didn't know anyone... We just weren't sure," Mark explains. "But then we thought, we've been sitting around in England for years struggling. Forget it, let's just go. So we arrived in LA with no car and nowhere to live, just a guitar and a suitcase. And since then, we've been working towards our dream."

Product Description

"We wrote the majority of our album ourselves. It's not like we looked through a catalog and picked out some songs." To that end, the Ballas Hough Band's debut puts a deeply personal spin on pop, with songs like "Fall" and "Devastated," which recount worldly lives that left a trail of broken hearts. "When we first started playing our music for the label, our A&R guy was, like, 'Man, what's wrong with you guys? We need more positivity!' All our songs were negative and hurtful, because Mark and I have been in a lot of relationships that have really hurt us. We were just going off life experience. He was probably thinking we're not old enough to know, but we do. We get music from hurt, so we had a lot to work with."

To channel those emotions in the studio, they turned to in demand producer John Fields (Jimmy Eat World, Jonas Bros., Andrew W.K.), who, not unexpectedly, didn't have high hopes for an album by a couple of dancers. "When we first went in to work with him, you could tell he was pretty skeptical," says Derek, who was a big fan of Fields' work with Switchfoot. "He'd only agreed to do one song, but once we started laying down tracks, he saw that we could write and play and we had this great chemistry. We ended up doing nine songs with him." Adds Mark: "Once he jumped on board, it was like a freight train. He has amazing vision and we were on the same wavelength 100 percent of the time. Everything turned out exactly like I hoped it would." On the Maroon 5-flavored "Devastated" and "She Was The One," Ballas Hough Band worked with Eric Valentine, who produced the latest album by All American Rejects. "Where John is, like, boom, boom, boom, Eric is more about cool and controlled mayhem," says Derek. "He doesn't wear shoes, he's very soft-spoken, and he looks at music as a science."

Of the songs that aren't BHB originals, the first single, "Do It For You," was co-written by new American Idol judge Kara Dioguardi and makes for the perfect introduction to the band's pop sensibilities. "It's really catchy, like one of those songs you walk away singing that gets stuck in your head," says Mark, "It's rhythmic, hooky and huge." But he's perhaps most proud of the song "Longing For," the final song he wrote for the album. It features Mark's intricate guitar-work, Emily's wistful harmonies, tug-at-your-heartstrings melodies and lyrics that read like the love letter ever girl pines for: I remember the first time that you and I met / And the look in your eye was something I could never forget / When you're with me baby you never need to pretend / Tell me what do you need / I want to be the reason you breathe.

"We've been working extremely hard, putting in 14-hour days, playing two shows a night," Derek confesses. "But we do it because it's what we love. And hopefully, this album will speak to an audience who will look at us as singers, writers, and players. We want to be known for our music."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars BHB Catchy and Clean, March 25, 2009

By 

S.L. (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: bhb (Audio CD)

In listening to this cd for the first time I found myself thinking that it would be really good music for the beach or a pool party, when you have to be aware of those around you. There is absolutely nothing offensive in the lyrics, the music is upbeat and catchy, and is more N Sync in style than Hannah Montana or Jonas Brothers. I do think the entire record would have been much more enjoyable if the female backup vocals were heard more-her voice is lovely. Safe for the young and old, not as obnoxious as some for the parents.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasantly Surprised!, March 25, 2009

By 

Sage and Savvy Mom - See all my reviews

This review is from: bhb (Audio CD)

I admit that I was pleasantly surprised with the Ballas Hough Band. Who knew that these awesome dancers could also sing? And they wrote many of the songs themselves!

Many of their songs are about their own experiences with love and heartbreak (Fall, Devastated), but despite such emotional subjects, some of these songs just make you want to dance (Do You Love Me, Birthday).

Their first single from the album, Do It For You, is one of my favorite tracks. It was co-written by new American Idol judge Kara Dioguardi, and it's just another one of those songs that I can't get out of my head. I also enjoy Together Faraway--a mellow song with a very catchy chorus, and Longing For--a sweet ballad.

The CD is also an interactive CD--just pop it into your computer to go directly to various Ballas Hough Band sites, such as their Facebook and MySpace pages.

I really enjoyed Ballas Hough Band's debut album, BHB, and I already can't wait for their sophomore album!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maroon 5 sound!, March 13, 2009

By 

M. J. Fathel "sellit926" (pa, usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: bhb (Audio CD)

This CD is fantastic. It mixes sounds like Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake and other great pop artists, and they wrote the majority of their songs, which is phenomenal! Definitely check out this CD. It will be money well spent!