He funded it in part with a highly successful Pledge Music Campaign.
And he told BroadwayWorld.com that he wanted the album to stand out in one very important way.
“I’ve always been a songwriter, and that’s the side of my career that hasn’t been too featured,” Chris said. “I was signed to Sony a long time ago, and I made an original record, and it never came out. It’s very important to be that I be able to share songs that I have written and loved in the past.”
That’s something he really didn’t get to do after finishing fourth on Season 2 of The Voice either, though the show led to a label deal with Universal Republic.
In 2012, he released an album called “Roads.” But it was full of covers, ranging from “Need You Now” to “Ava Maria.” It included just two Chris Mann co-writes, “Falling” and “Cuore.”
In contrast, the new album features an impressive array of original music. Highlights include two mid-tempo pop songs — “Rain Like This” and “Comeback” — and a trio of ballads — “Echo,” “Love and War” and “To the Moon and Back.”
There’s also a song called “City of Fire” that Chris says was inspired by the events of 9/11.
And there’s a cover, “The Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera. Which is wholly appropriate since Chris is playing the lead role in the U.S. tour of classic. That tour, by the way, will land at Kennedy Center in D.C. from July 13 to Aug. 20.
Chris, who turned 34 last week, also told Broadway World that the inclusion of so many originals explains the new album’s title.
“These are some of the songs I’ve written over the past ten years, and each of them to me is a star that represents a part of me, and together they’re a constellation.”
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