Find Me (Christina Grimmie EP)

Recording and development

Grimmie began posting covers of songs on her official YouTube account [zeldaxlove64] in the summer of 2009 (July, 17). According to Grimmie, her friend persuaded her to post her videos on the popular video sharing website. After receiving positive feedback for her performance, Grimmie began to regularly upload videos of herself performing covers, usually entitled "Me singing ...". For example, she posted videos of herself performing covers of the Miley Cyrus hits Party in the U.S.A. and When I Look at You. Getting more popular on YouTube, Grimmie eventually got in contact with Kurt Hugo Schneider (through fellow YouTube musician Tiffany Alvord whom she recorded a duet with). Schneider and Grimmie then recorded a medley of Miley Cyrus songs that quickly became one of Christina's most-viewed videos. After watching this video, Selena Gomez's stepfather Brian Teefey contacted Grimmie to be her manager.

Due to her popularity, Grimmie began getting media attention, leading The Hollywood Gossip to post an article about Grimmie and her music, comparing her to Selena Gomez. After the article was posted, buzz around Christina rose, and many began comparing her to fellow singer Rebecca Black, who rose to fame on YouTube as well. The comparisons only led to more interest in Grimmie. After gaining over 17,000,000 views on her videos, Grimmie focused on recording more original material. Despite wanting to post singles on iTunes, she stated she was instructed by her manager not to do so until she had a full album's worth of material. Hollywood Records's Selena Gomez & the Scene's former guitarist Ethan Roberts, wrote Liar Liar and Unforgivable with her.

Release and promotion

The album had been anticipated since the beginning of 2011, when Grimmie announced she was working on an album, to be released later that year. The album was finally released digitally on June 14, 2011. The album saw no physical release, as it is only an extended play, and not Grimmie's official debut album. The eight track set was released not only in the United States, but also in Canada, Australia, Europe, and the United Kingdom. Find Me was offered for a low price of $5.99, which Grimmie said was so everyone could afford to buy it. The album was promoted mainly through the use of Grimmie's official YouTube channel. Christina often posted videos informing her viewers of the album's release date. The day before the album was released, Grimmie posted a twenty to thirty second clip of each song on the album on her official channel. Also, on June 13, Grimmie made an appearance on Good Day New York, in which after giving a short interview, she performed her debut single, "Advice." Later that day, she also did an interview on ABC News, in which she talked about the album, the tour, and her YouTube popularity.She also had interviews with music channel MTV, as well as ClevverTV. Grimmie also promoted the album by performing at the Concert For Hope, along with Selena Gomez & the Scene. During the concert, Christina performed two original songs, as well as one cover.

Aside from her televised performances, Grimmie also promoted the album by touring throughout the Summer of 2011, as the opening act for Hollywood Records's Selena Gomez & the Scene. Selena Gomez's father is Grimmie's manager, and booked the shows for Grimmie. The tour has 31 shows, which Grimmie will be a part of all of. All of the shows will be held in North America, and will span from cities such as St. Augustine, Florida to Las Vegas, Nevada. Grimmie will perform first on the tour, followed by Allstar Weekend, who will then introduce Gomez & the Scene. The tour, titled the We Own the Night Tour, will kick off on July 24, 2011 in Costa Mesa, California, and end on September 12 in Puyallup, Washington, lasting nearly six weeks.

In 2012, Grimmie released an acoustic version of the song Find Me in conjunction with DS2DIO for their show REMIXED.

Singles

Critical reception

Selena Gomez voiced her support for the album on her Twitter account, encouraging fans to buy the album and calling "Liar Liar" her favorite track.

Commercial performance

Find Me debuted at number 35 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US. The album entered the Top 10 of the Independent Albums in the US, debuting and peaking at number 6. The album also had success on the Billboard digital albums chart, opening at number 11.