Sounds like Alicia Keys finally has her much-anticipated third studio album cookin' on a front burner.
The multi-Grammy-winning singer's reps recently announced that because she's been busy in recent months concentrating on her acting commitments, the street date of her new CD was being pushed back from June to October. Now, however, "She's in a musical cocoon working on her ideas for the new album," reports renowned producer/musical director Ray Chew, a regular collaborator of the songstress.
Chew says he doesn't believe Keys' record label "is trying to tie her into a delivery date. I think they're allowing Alicia to do what Alicia does, write her songs and create her great recordings. She's proven to be an artist you can put out any time and she'll sell."
The longtime musical director of "Showtime at the Apollo," stresses that Keys' rep for delivering the goods is well earned. "I've worked with people going way back to Donny Hathaway, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Chaka Khan, and nobody outworks this kid," says Chew. "A lot of artists think once they get somewhere, surrounded by publicity and all the stuff there is to do, that they've arrived, and a lot of them stop working at their craft. She continues to work and grow at her craft. Her success is the result of great talent married with a great work ethic."
Chew -- who was recently hired by Donald Trump as the musical director for Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Miss Universe pageants -- also reveals that Keys' live performance at the Hollywood Bowl last year is on its way to DVD release. "I'm very proud of it," he notes. "She did Alicia Keys with a Harlem Renaissance theme incorporated into her hit songs, and I arranged and conducted a 64-piece Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. It's unique."
Source: U-entertainment (By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith)
Link:
http://www.u-entertainment.com/ci_5793775?source=rss
