MATTHEW MORRISON DEBUT ALBUM SET FOR MAY 10th RELEASE ON MERCURY RECORDS – TO INCLUDE DUETS WITH STING, ELTON JOHN, AND GWYNETH PALTROW

22-city, 6-week U.S. summer tour opens June 18th in Minneapolis

(New York, NY) Nationals competition is on the horizon, and Gleeks across the country will have their spirits lifted with news of a triple-play of star-crossed duets that have been recorded for Matthew Morrison’s self-titled debut album scheduled for May 10th release on Mercury Records.

Matthew’s album duet partners include Sting on his classic ballad “Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot” (from his 1996 album, Mercury Falling). AOL will premiere the audio of the duet on May 6th followed by the premiere of Matthew’s incredible AOL Sessions performance on May 10th, including key tracks from the album http://music.aol.com/sessions. Matthew then teams up with Gwyneth Paltrow (who plays his recurring flame Holly Holliday on Glee) for a duet on Judy Garland’s Wizard Of Oz standard, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” And Elton John is already raving about his duet: “…It’s great, really fantastic. He [Matthew] sings great on it. It’s a medley of ‘Mona Lisas and Madhatters’ going into ‘Rocket Man’…”

Morrison recently premiered the album’s debut single, “Summer Rain” on American Idol host Ryan Seacrest’s nationally syndicated morning radio show on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, followed by performances of the song live on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and NBC Universal’s The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “Summer Rain” was co-written by Matthew with Claude Kelly and the Norwegian duo known as Espionage (Espen Lind and Amund Bjørklund), who produced the track in New York City. “Summer Rain” is available on iTunes and all digital partners.

Meanwhile, Gleeks and Glee Club members everywhere are grabbing up tickets for Matthew’s 6-week, 22-city summer tour, which will feature songs from his album along with many Glee fan favorites. In conjunction with the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, the tour will offer regional Glee Clubs the chance to compete for the ‘opening act’ performance slot. The VH1 Save The Music Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education programs in our nation’s schools, is a proud partner in the competition. Entries can be submitted at www.matthewmorrison.com/gleeclubcontest .

Matthew Morrison is best known to millions as the eternally optimistic high school teacher – and de facto glee club director – Will Schuester, on the FOX television network’s runaway hit comedy series Glee. He has been nominated for Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe awards, and shared the 2009 SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical, for “Glee.” In December 2009, Morrison was on hand at the 32nd annual Kennedy Center Honors (broadcast on CBS-TV), where he delivered a show-stopping Real Life, I Think I Love My Wife, and Music And Lyrics.

MATTHEW MORRISON On Tour

Date City Venue
June 18 Minneapolis, MN Orpheum Theatre
19 St. Louis, MO Fabulous Fox Theatre
21 Rosemont, IL Rosemont Theatre
22 Columbus, OH Palace Theatre
23 Detroit, MI Detroit Opera House
27 Philadelphia, PA Mann Center for the Performing Arts
28 Newark, NJ New Jersey Performing Arts Center
29 Boston, MA Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre

July 1 New York, NY Beacon Theatre
2 Atlantic City, NJ Caesar’s – Circus Maximus
6 Washington, DC DAR Constitution Hall
7 Greensboro, NC War Memorial Auditorium
8 Duluth, GA The Arena at Gwinnett Center
10 Tampa, FL David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Perf. Arts
11 Orlando, FL Bob Carr Performing Arts Center
13 Boca Raton, FL Mizner Park Amphitheatre
14 Jacksonville, FL Moran Theater
16 Grand Prairie, TX Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
17 Austin, TX Bass Concert Hall
19 Phoenix, AZ Comerica Theatre
20 San Diego, CA Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay
23 Los Angeles, CA NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE