Diana Degarmo's debut single to be released June 29

LOS ANGELES (RCA Records) - Diana DeGarmo, the 17-year old from Snellville, Georgia who was the runner-up on the third season of American Idol, will join the ranks of' Idol finalists with hit records as RCA releases her first single on June 29, 2004. The double-A sided "Dreams" and "Don't Cry Out Loud" also features DeGarmo's version of "I Believe," performed by both DeGarmo and Fantasia Barrino on the final night of competition of the wildly popular TV series.

DeGarmo, who has been singing since she was five years old, auditioned for American Idol in Hawaii and made it into the top 32. She was the first contestant voted into the top 12, and held off all competitors to finish in the top two.

Her first single leads off with "Dreams," 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, 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.

"Dreams" is a double-A side with "Don't Cry Out Loud," originally a top 10 hit for Melissa Manchester in 1979. Clive Davis, who headed Arista Records when the label released Manchester's original, personally selected the song for DeGarmo to sing on the May 18 edition of American Idol. Davis was the celebrity judge on the show that night, and joined Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson in overwhelming praise of DeGarmo's performance.

With DeGarmo scheduled to go into the studio to record "Don't Cry Out Loud," Manchester volunteered to come in and give Diana some tips on the song. "We remained faithful to the original version which became the basis of our new production, then we added Diana's vocals, recorded some new overdubs and mixed it," according to Steve Ferrera, Senior Vice President of A&R for The RCA Music Group.

"Don't Cry Out Loud" is available for streaming through AOL's "First Listen" program. AOL users are able to hear the song by going to AOL Keyword: First Listen.

The third track on DeGarmo's debut single is "I Believe," written by first season American Idol finalist Tamyra Gray, Sam Watters and Louis Biancaniello. This is the song performed by both DeGarmo and Barrino on the May 25 finale of American Idol.