New York (Top40 Charts/ 19 Recordings/ RCA Records) - 19 Recordings and RCA Records have teamed up exclusively with Walmart to release "American Idol Season 8" on June 30th, 2009. The album will only be available at Walmart and Walmart.com at a retail price for $10.00. This compilation album marks the first time the favorites sung by this season's Top 10 finalists have been made available on CD.
The CD includes two tracks from American Idol champion Kris Allen - his hit single "No Boundaries" (written By "Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi, Cathy Dennis and Mitch Allan) and his version of Donna Summer's "She Works Hard For The Money." There are also two tracks from runner-up Adam Lambert - his version of "No Boundaries" and his acoustic take on Tears for Fears "Mad World," based on the arrangement by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules from the "Donnie Darko" soundtrack. The album also features one track each from all of the other Top 10 contestants before culminating with runner-up Adam Lambert's recording of "No Boundaries" as well.
Catch the top 10 American Idol contestants featured on the compilation CD on tour all summer, kicking off July 5th in Portland, OR and ending on Sept. 15th in Manchester, NH.
Please find the track listing below:
1. Kris Allen - No Boundaries
2. Danny Gokey - Stand By Me
3. Allison Iraheta - I Can't Make You Love Me
4. Matt Giraud - Human Nature
5. Adam Lambert - Mad World
6. Kris Allen - She Works Hard for the Money
7. Lil Rounds - I Surrender
8. Scott MacIntyre - Just The Way You Are
9. Michael Sarver - You Are Not Alone
10. Megan Corkrey - Walkin' After Midnight
11. Anoop Desai - Always On My Mind
12. Adam Lambert - No Boundaries
"No Boundaries," Kris Allen
Kris Allen performed this song on the first evening of the two-night "American Idol" Season 8 finale. In no time at all, Kris' recording was No. 1 on the iTunes top 100. The song was written by "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi, along with Cathy Dennis and Mitch Allan.
"Stand By Me," Danny Gokey
One of the most classic songs of the rock era, Danny Gokey performed the Jerry Leiber-Mike Stoller-Ben E. King composition when the finalists chose songs from their birth year. While "Stand By Me" was originally a No. 4 hit in 1961 for King (and a No 9 hit for him in 1986 when it was the title song for the movie directed by Rob Reiner), the song was also a country hit in Danny's birth year, 1980, when Mickey Gilley's version was included on the soundtrack of "Urban Cowboy."
"I Can't Make You Love Me," Allison Iraheta
The only Season 8 finalist born in the '90s, Allison Iraheta chose to sing Bonnie Raitt's 1992 hit "I Can't Make You Love Me" when she had to choose a song from her year of birth. The judges loved her performance, with Randy Jackson comparing her to Kelly Clarkson and Kara DioGuardi declaring she wanted to make an album with Allison.
"Human Nature," Matt Giraud
It was the week the top 10 finalists performed and the theme was Michael Jackson songs. Matt Giraud, a longtime Jacko fan, chose one of his favorites - "Human Nature," from one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, "Thriller."
"Mad World," Adam Lambert
"Mad World" was a No. 3 hit for Tears for Fears in 1982, the year of Adam Lambert's birth. Michael Andrews and Gary Jules recorded an acoustic version for the film "Donnie Darko" and topped the U.K. chart in 2003. "It's haunting and beautiful and it gets in your head and the words are amazing and I wanted to do it because I knew it would be different and not showy," says Adam, who sounded very vulnerable singing over an ambient, acoustic arrangement.
"She Works Hard For The Money," Kris Allen
Admittedly not a fan of disco music, Kris wasn't very happy when his friend Adam Lambert suggested "disco" as a theme for Season 8. But Kris found a song he liked, with lyrics that told a story, and turned Donna Summer's pulsating 1983 hit into an acoustic masterpiece.
"I Surrender," Lil Rounds
Celine Dion recorded "I Surrender" for her album "A New Day Has Come," and performed the song onstage at her Caesars Palace show in Las Vegas for four years. Kelly Clarkson and Anthony Fedorov performed the song during Seasons 1 and 4 of "American Idol," respectively, and Lil Rounds won praise from the judges when she performed it during "Top Downloads" week.
"Just The Way You Are," Scott MacIntyre
Billy Joel had a No. 3 hit with "Just The Way You Are" in 1978, seven years before Scott MacIntyre was born. A piano man himself, Scott performed the song during "Top Downloads" week accompanying himself on the piano, but without the "American Idol" house band. "I wanted to create a moment that I was completely responsible for," Scott explains. He was rewarded with high praise from Simon Cowell, who called it Scott's "best performance by a country mile."
"You Are Not Alone," Michael Sarver
If you thought an oil rig worker from Texas would naturally be a country singer, think again. Michael Sarver can sing country, but he leans more to R&B and proved it when the judges loved his version of Michael Jackson's No. 1 hit ballad from 1995, "You Are Not Alone."
"Walkin' After Midnight," Megan Joy
Ask her which of her Season 8 performances was her favorite and Megan Joy won't hesitate at all. She'll look you right in the eye and answer, "Walkin' After Midnight," the Patsy Cline hit from 1957 that Megan sang during "Grand Ole Opry" week.
"Always On My Mind," Anoop Desai
He might favor R&B, but Anoop Desai won raves from the judges during "Grand Ole Opry" week when he performed "Always On My Mind," a classic song that has been recorded by many artists, including Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee and the Pet Shop Boys.
"No Boundaries," Adam Lambert
Just 24 hours after the season finale, Adam Lambert had 12 songs on the iTunes top 100, and one of those most-downloaded tracks was his version of the finale song, "No Boundaries."
