It was released through the jazz label Concord Records on June 26, 2012, one year after Abrams competed on the Fox reality television series.

Humorous subject matter is dealt with as well, such as in the songs "Wore Out My Soul", which is a double entendre about shoes, and "Stuck in London", which contains nonsense lyrics.

However, a cover of the Ray Charles standard "Hit the Road Jack" is included as well and features a duet with fellow American Idol season 10 contestant Haley Reinhart.

Some reviews compared Abrams to Jason Mraz, while others singled out the two jazziest songs, "Dry Spell and "Hit the Road Jack", as highlights.

[1][2] This caused Kate Ward to write an article for Entertainment Weekly, in which she called Abrams the "most musically talented contestant" from that season and suggested a petition to get him signed.

In addition to the double bass, Abrams played the cello, the drums, the acoustic guitar, the melodica, the recorder, the shaker, and a wurlitzer on the album.

[3] American Idol judge and fellow upright bass player Randy Jackson served as an executive producer on the album.

[12][13] Before recording the album, Abrams had mentioned an interest in working with Ellen DeGeneres, who judged American Idol the year before he competed.

[8] Commenting on Terefe, who produced many of Jason Mraz's albums, Abrams said, "I think he’s probably the nicest, but weirdest guy I've ever met...If something’s not working, he'll let you down very easily and if something's good, he’ll be your biggest cheerleader".

[16] Since Abrams played live, sounds of the city, such as buses, clock towers, and birds, made it onto the recordings and can be heard on the finished album. "

[4] One Ray Charles standard did make it onto this album - "Hit the Road Jack",[3][4][7] which Abrams performed as a duet with fellow American Idol season ten finalist Haley Reinhart.

[7] The track's producer Steve Jordan suggested that they do a "funky" version of "Hit the Road Jack", after Abrams mentioned his desire to cover a Ray Charles song.

He likes "Stuck in London", because it has "kind of an odd meter" and "different time signatures", and he has described "Midnight Girl" as a "very sweet" song that can be played "with just an acoustic guitar or with a full band.

[24] A music video for "Get Out" was then released in February 2013, featuring multiple versions of Abrams, each playing one of the tracks instruments in a subway busking band.

It was called a "hoot" by Michele Amabile Angermiller of The Hollywood Reporter[25] and was named the second best 2013 music video for an American Idol alumni by Mark Franklin of The York Dispatch.

[16][25] Leading up to the release of the video, Abrams managed to pique public curiosity in his affairs by asking several of his friends from American Idol to launch a Twitter hashtag called #wherescasey.

Although the scenario is purely fictional, Abrams really did walk down Hollywood Boulevard in his bare feet, while carrying a "giant stuffed gorilla" (which is also featured in the video) as a publicity stunt.

[16] Although "Stuck in London" and "Great Bright Morning" were never made into singles, music videos for the songs were released in October 2013 and February 2015 respectively.

[29] Abrams said that appearing on the show again was nerve-racking and that he was "star-struck" by that season's new judges, Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, and Keith Urban.

[3] During the same week as the album's release, an extra original song, called "Chip on Your Shoulder", was made available as an online music video.

For every one of Abrams' fans who registered at the website to view the music video, a donation of one dollar was made to Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America.

Jason Cheah of Malaysian newspaper The Star, wrote that ahead of the concert, some people questioned whether Abrams had strong enough jazz credentials to be a proper fit.

It'd be like getting angry at a puppy that only wants to get pets.Lipp found Abrams' cover of "Hit the Road Jack" to be "more relaxed" and "slowed-down" than the original "with a more prominent bass line.

[19] In a three out of four star review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that Abrams carries a bright disposition throughout the album by mostly avoiding sad subject matter.

"[34] Commenting on whether Abrams lived up to his American Idol hype, Franklin wrote, "Mission accomplished in a mellow, just-having-fun sorta way.

Lipp lamented that his "ferociousness and quirkiness" do not come off as strongly on the album as she would have liked, but recognized that "what works on the Idol stage does not always translate into real world record sales.

[8] He pointed to "all the good cheer, the jazzy runs and scats, [and] the way [Abrams] leans just a little too hard into his phrases whenever he wants to seem soulful" as examples.

In addition to her jazzy favorites, "Dry Spell" and "Hit the Road Jack", she pointed to "Blame It On Me" and "Great Bright Morning" as the album's best tracks.

Worrying that some might overlook "Great Bright Morning" because of its subtlety, she praised it as "heartfelt" and noted that its "warm acoustic work make[s] it worth going back to.

"[33] "Blame It On Me" was called the "funkiest thing here" by Erlewine,[8] and Lipp wrote that the song's "steady-rocking, propulsive pop" is a good fit for Abrams' style of singing.