Michael Bolton with Rahman

Pop star Michael Bolton who is set to release his 21st studio album titled ‘Gems – The Duets Collection’ on June 21, 2011. The new album will feature productions by acclaimed songwriters, producers and musicians including Grammy Award Winning Country Super Group, Rascal Flatts, International Pop Superstar, Seal, Australian singing sensation, Delta Goodrem, the famed late vocalist Eva Cassidy and of course Academy Award winning singer-composer A.R.Rahman.

He’s better known for his soft romantic ballads like ‘When a man loves a woman,’ and so when you have international pop star Michael Bolton belting a similar sentiment in a lingo familiar closer home, it’s no longer plain curiousity.
“It was an incredibly rewarding experience recording this album,” says Bolton . “The opportunity to work with legendary talent like David Foster, Dan Huff, A.R. Rahman and some of the absolutely greatest singers and recording artists in the entire world was inspiring. I can’t wait to share the special music we all created with the world.”

“We heard that Michael wanted to write something with us. We all kept telling ourselves, ‘It’s like, Michael Bolton! Come on – he’s one of the greatest singers on the planet,” says Rascal Flatts. “He wanted to get the whole band involved and make this thing really fresh and new. It was just so cool that we had a chance to get together and write this killer song called ‘Love is Everything.’”

“When I first met Michael, we got to talking about music, philosophy, the universe, and many things that we had in common,” shares A.R. Rahman. “I wanted Michael to do a bit of singing that he’s never done before, without compromising on his musicality.”

The singer’s comeback album (Gems – The Duet Collection releasing in June)has him enlisting in his words “the greatest singers and recording artists in the entire world’ including Indian maestro AR Rahman to create “special” music. The Oscar-winning composer lent Bolton his soundtrack Sajna that he composed for a Hollywood film Couples Retreat.

Vijay Mohan Iyer, who represents Rahman’s music label, reveals, “Bolton wanted to come out with an album that reiterated some popular musicians’ works including those by Seal, Eva Cassidy, Rascal Flatts, Delta Goodrem and of course, Rahman. Since Rahman had to meet some deadlines and did not have the time to compose an all-new track for Michael, he gave him a song Sajna that he composed for the film Couples Retreat to work on. He felt the song suited Michael’s voice and texture.”

Largely an English song, Bolton also sings the Hindi portion in it. “I wanted Michael to do a bit of singing that he’s never done before, without compromising on his musicality,” says Rahman. “It was an incredibly rewarding experience,” says Bolton in a statement. “The opportunity to work with legendary talent like David Foster, Dan Huff, AR Rahman and some of the absolute greatest singers and recording artists in the entire world was inspiring.I can’t wait to share the special music we all created with the world.”