Mike Posner’s ‘31 Minutes To Takeoff’ 5-Year Anniversary

Happy 5th Anniversary, 31 Minutes To Takeoff!

It’s five years to the day since Mike Posner released his debut album, 31 Minutes To Takeoff, in the US.

My #1 favorite song off the album is “Bow Chicka Wow Wow,” with “Please Don’t Go” and “Cooler Than Me” at #2 and #3. Overall, it’s a solid album all the way through.

I remember catching him on his Up In The Air Tour at the House of Blues in Dallas, TX on September 21, 2010. I arrived there super early, along with a friend, and we stood front and center. Mike was amazing throughout the show, just completely present and in the moment. I was already a fan for about a year, but seeing him perform live for the first time turned me into a diehard fan. That concert changed my life. (view my concert photos here)

Mike Posner's 31 Minutes To Takeoff 5th Anniversary

Mike Posner – 31 Minutes To Takeoff

Released: August 10, 2010
Buy: Amazon (CD) • Amazon (MP3) • Best Buy • Google Play • iTunes • Walmart

31 Minutes to Takeoff
Please Don’t Go
Bow Chicka Wow Wow
Cooler Than Me
Déjà Vu (ft. Boyz II Men)
Do U Wanna?
Cheated
Gone in September
Save Your Goodbye
Synthesizer
Delta 1406
Falling

Bonus Tracks:

Another Love Song (iTunes Bonus Track)
XO (Bonus Track from other countries)

What you need to know about this epic Album

31 Minutes To Takeoff is the debut studio album by American singer Mike Posner. It was released on August 10, 2010 by J Records.

Posner’s idea for the album was to make something that didn’t sound like anything that was already out. In an interview with Billboard, Posner argues: “My music doesn’t sound like anyone else’s, and it’s important for me that it stays that way”, and that “I want to make songs that will bring people together”, Posner has stated that he draws a great deal of influence for his music from his hometown “Where I grew up was a huge influence on my music.” He also said that “A lot of people have trouble putting into words what my music is, and it’s because of where I grew up”. Meanwhile, speaking to Blues & Soul about the album’s stylistic diversity, he described it as “A 21st Century album – meaning that, instead of listening to 12 different artists on your iPod, with my record you can just listen to ONE! Because every song is refreshing and different from the one before, and at the same time BETTER than the one before!”

The title of the album, 31 Minutes To Takeoff, is in fact a reference to something that occurs exactly 31 minutes into the record. As Posner himself describes it “Something happens 31 minutes into the record … All I can say is that both the listener and I will be in a higher place when it’s over”. 31 minutes into the CD, during “Synthesizer,” there is a sound of an airplane taking off. Making the most of his raspy, soulful tenor, Posner relates stories about his life, chronicling his imploded relationships (“Cheated”) and his own dubious behavior (“Gone In September”), as well as his struggles with balancing family and career (“Delta 1406”) and depression (“Save Your Goodbye”). Other highlights include the libido-driven smash “Bow Chicka Wow Wow”, the Ray Lamontagne sampling “Do U Wanna,” the flat-out club stomper “Please Don’t Go,” and the slinky, dream-like “Falling,” which Posner describes as a cross between “a girl song and a song about my obsessive ambition to make my mark with music.”