Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth released her fourth album yesterday, and made an appearance at the Fifth Avenue Barnes Noble in Manhattan on Tuesday to celebrate. Fans reportedly faced a lengthy queue to meet Chenoweth and have their albums/merchandise/body parts signed.
Entitled “Some Lessons Learned,” this album marks new territory for the 43-year-old helium-voiced actress and singer. While past Chenoweth releases have focused on show tunes, Christian AOR, or Christmas singalongs, this is a country pop record. Chenoweth says she’s relieved to be returning to the music she was reared on:
“Look at my recording career and it’s kind of funny. It’s all so different!…This album is more along the lines of what I grew up singing, like the music I sang in church in Oklahoma. When I was hired at nineteen to sing at Opryland in Nashville, that’s what I wanted to do. I never anticipated my career going in all these great directions — which I’m grateful for! I’m finally getting to do what I want.”
The debut single from the CD, “I Want Somebody (Bitch About)”, was released May 31. The album contains songs penned by Hillary Scott, Jodi Marr, and Dolly Parton, with the latter (one of Chenoweth’s heroines) referenced in the track ‘What Would Dolly Do?’
Reviews for the album are thin on the ground right now, though Allmusic gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, calling it “a convincing first attempt to embrace the mainstream, which suggests that Chenoweth can now add authentic country-pop singer to the list of her many talents.” Anybody picking this up?
More pics over on Playbill.com.
