New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ CineMedia Promotions) A concept recording of the brand new musical love story will be released digitally on February 7th and on CD on February 11th, 2014 to coincide with Valentine's Day. The CD is now available for pre-order at https://amzn.com/B00HQ31WDI. There will be a special 54 BELOW album launch concert January 29th at 9:30 pm and January 30th at 9:30 pm where attendees will be able to buy the album 2 weeks early.
This contemporary pop/rock concept album consists of songs from the forthcoming new musical Samson &
Delilah with music and lyrics by Ron Yatter, former
William Morris agent. Newly married lovers, and American Idol stars, Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo perform in the title roles. The songs are a unique combination of classic legit theater and pop/rock, creating a new musical sound that tells the epic, tragic love story of the biblical couple from two different worlds. Delilah, the beautiful young Philistine, falls in love with the mighty Samson, but when overcome by misguided jealousy, she betrays the man she loves.
Though they both launched to stardom after appearing in different seasons on American Idol, it was in the Broadway revival of Hair where Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo met and fell in love. "Their love informs their beautiful and exciting portrayals of the album songs," noted Ron Yatter.
"We are thrilled to add Ace and Diana to the Broadway Records family. Their credits span both theater and pop music and their own love story make them the perfect portrayers of the album's emotional musical journey," stated Van Dean, Co-founder of Broadway Records.
For more information on the 54 BELOW album launch concert, please visit https://54below.com/artist/diana-degarmo-ace-young/
DIANA DEGARMO:
From Broadway to the Hollywood Bowl, Diana is no stranger to the stage. At 16, she stole America's heart on "Idol" before becoming the first alum to star on Broadway. Starring in such shows as Hair, where she met her husband, Ace Young, 9 to 5, Brooklyn: The Musical, Hairspray and The Toxic Avenger, she then moved to Los Angeles to play the role of "Angelina," a fan favorite on the number one daytime series "The Young and the Restless". In 2008, she released an acoustic EP "Unplugged in Nashville" and recently released a Country EP, "Live To Love", composed of songs co-written with Ace.
ACE YOUNG:
This athletic, 6'1" runt of 5 boys moved to Los Angeles from Boulder, Colorado over ten years ago to pursue a career in music. Since then Ace has worked with musical stars ranging from
Brian McKnight to Desmond Child. He is a GRAMMY-Nominated Songwriter with number one hits in the U.S. and Sweden. Ace has performed for the masses at festivals, concerts, parades, bars and hole-in-the-wall joints around the world. After being a contestant on "Idol", he pursued a Broadway career, starring first in Grease and then in Hair, where he met his wife, Diana DeGarmo. They recently released a Country EP "Live To Love", composed of songs co-written by the two of them.
RON YATTER enjoyed a twenty-five year career at The
William Morris Agency where he rose to Senior Vice President. He represented talent and packaged entertainment productions. Over the course of his career, his clients included Diana Ross, Yoko Ono, Michael Crawford, Ben Vereen, Cybill Shepherd and theater visionary director Tom O'Horgan. Ron witnessed Tom's revolutionary creations of the original Broadway rock musicals Hair and Jesus Christ
Superstar that went on to become worldwide musical phenomena. After
William Morris, Ron founded The Producers Agency where he continues to represent entertainment productions. While a successful agent, Ron also enjoyed playing the sax, trumpet and piano. Samson &
Delilah is Ron's first venture as a show creator and composer/lyricist. Ron feels a cosmic connection with Ace and Diana as they met and fell in love while starring in the recent Broadway revival of Hair which was such an important part of Ron's early career.
