"American Idol" runner-up Diana DeGarmo, who turned 17 yesterday (June 16), was in the studio last weekend with Melissa Manchester, cutting a new version of the latter's 1979 No. 10 hit, "Don't Cry Out Loud."
DeGarmo's double-A sided single, "Dreams" / "Don't Cry Out Loud," will be released June 29 by RCA. The single will also include DeGarmo's version of "I Believe," which she and winner Fantasia Barrino both sang on the final night of the series' third season competition. Barrino's single, featuring "I Believe," a remake of Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools" and her rendition of the classic George Gershwin tune "Summertime," is scheduled for release on June 22 via J.
DeGarmo recorded a first take of "Don't Cry Out Loud" over the weekend, and then was joined in the studio by Manchester. "We talked about the song and what it meant to each of us and how we interpreted it," DeGarmo tells Billboard.com. "On my lyric sheet she drew a square and said, 'Write the first initial of the person you're going to sing the song to. Now you see that person's eyes? Sing it to that person ... like you're having a conversation about how hard a struggle it has been.' It really added something ... it ended up being even better. She was amazing to work with."
Having Manchester coach DeGarmo was just one connection to the original hit single. "We thought it would be cool to have Diana sing over Melissa's original master track," says Steve Ferrera, Senior Vice President of A&R for the RCA Records Group. Manchester's original was a hit on another BMG imprint, Arista, so Ferrera had access to the original master tapes. "It was recorded on 24 tracks, all labeled very meticulously. We pushed up the faders and the record mixed itself."
Even though Manchester was in the studio, she didn't add any vocals to DeGarmo's recording. "She doesn't sing on Diana's track," Ferrera explains. "There were no backing vocals on the original version, and [there are] no backing vocals on the new recording."
"Don't Cry Out Loud" will be available for streaming through AOL's "First Listen" program beginning tomorrow.
The other half of the double-A sided single, "Dreams," was written by Desmond Child, Andreas Carlsson and Chris Braide. Child has written hits for Ricky Martin, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and Cher, among many others. Carlsson has penned hits for Celine Dion, the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync. Braide's most recent hits include "This Is the Night" and "Invisible," both recorded by last year's "American Idol" runner-up, Clay Aiken.
DeGarmo's double-A sided single, "Dreams" / "Don't Cry Out Loud," will be released June 29 by RCA. The single will also include DeGarmo's version of "I Believe," which she and winner Fantasia Barrino both sang on the final night of the series' third season competition. Barrino's single, featuring "I Believe," a remake of Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools" and her rendition of the classic George Gershwin tune "Summertime," is scheduled for release on June 22 via J.
DeGarmo recorded a first take of "Don't Cry Out Loud" over the weekend, and then was joined in the studio by Manchester. "We talked about the song and what it meant to each of us and how we interpreted it," DeGarmo tells Billboard.com. "On my lyric sheet she drew a square and said, 'Write the first initial of the person you're going to sing the song to. Now you see that person's eyes? Sing it to that person ... like you're having a conversation about how hard a struggle it has been.' It really added something ... it ended up being even better. She was amazing to work with."
Having Manchester coach DeGarmo was just one connection to the original hit single. "We thought it would be cool to have Diana sing over Melissa's original master track," says Steve Ferrera, Senior Vice President of A&R for the RCA Records Group. Manchester's original was a hit on another BMG imprint, Arista, so Ferrera had access to the original master tapes. "It was recorded on 24 tracks, all labeled very meticulously. We pushed up the faders and the record mixed itself."
Even though Manchester was in the studio, she didn't add any vocals to DeGarmo's recording. "She doesn't sing on Diana's track," Ferrera explains. "There were no backing vocals on the original version, and [there are] no backing vocals on the new recording."
"Don't Cry Out Loud" will be available for streaming through AOL's "First Listen" program beginning tomorrow.
The other half of the double-A sided single, "Dreams," was written by Desmond Child, Andreas Carlsson and Chris Braide. Child has written hits for Ricky Martin, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and Cher, among many others. Carlsson has penned hits for Celine Dion, the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync. Braide's most recent hits include "This Is the Night" and "Invisible," both recorded by last year's "American Idol" runner-up, Clay Aiken.
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