American Idol’s Jessica Meuse will have her first full-length album, “Halfhearted,” released on August 3rd via Warrior Records/eOne.
Penned by Meuse, the 15-song album is a retrospect of her life, loves, and breakups, which is aptly being released to coincide with National Girlfriend Day.
“I am thrilled to release my debut album, ‘Halfhearted!’ It’s my first major release since my time on American Idol, and it truly embodies who I am as a singer, writer, and musician,” commented Meuse. “My dedicated fans have been waiting for a while, and I’m happy to say the wait is going to be completely worth it! This is my best work yet, and I hope everyone loves it as much as I loved creating it. This is only the beginning!”
Jessica’s song, “Love Her Better,” has risen for 14 weeks up to #2 currently on The Iceman’s Top 40 New Country Artist Chart and is also #1 this week on the Euro Academy of Country Music Chart, with over 100k views of the music video on YouTube. The track will become available June 1st, along with the album preorder, on all retail outlets. Subsequent songs from “Halfhearted” will also become on June 15th (“High”), June 29th (“California Dream”), and July 13th (“Thank God It Didn’t Work”), with the full album releasing on August 3rd.
Thematically, Meuse’s collection of songs delves into the heartfelt dedication that has always driven her to succeed.
“The album is titled, ‘Halfhearted,’ which can be interpreted in several ways — which was also my intent,” said Jessica. “For me, ‘Halfhearted’ is about the duality of everything, from the macro-cosmic concept of good versus evil to the darkness and light within each and every one of us. It’s about taking the two extremes…because they are a part of something much, much bigger.”
The album also features a guest appearance duet by friend and fellow American Idol alumni, Bo Bice, on Jessica’s composition, “Without You.” Commercially, Meuse became the first person in the history of American Idol to perform her own original song, “Blue-Eyed Lie,” during the show’s finals.
“I wrote most of these songs after Idol, and they are a direct reflection of everything I have gone through emotionally and mentally in the time that’s followed,” relates Meuse. “It means the world to me to be a songwriter and be able to take a thought — a simple line or even just a word — and turn it into something real. A lot of the songs on “Halfhearted” came to me like a slap in the face. They just happened. Music has always been a therapeutic and healing power for me, so writing this album was what has held me together. It’s my heart and soul opened up for the world to see.”
Jessica Meuse’s Halfhearted Release
The past year has been a busy one for Jessica with the new album production, increased touring, a 2017 Female Vocalist of the Year Nomination (Texas Country Music Awards), and 2018 Best Female Vocalist Finalist (14th Annual International Acoustic Music Awards). The summer will see Meuse in concert at various festivals and an extensive radio tour through the fall, beginning Memorial Day Weekend with a May 27th performance at Brat Fest in Madison, WI, where she and her band go on before Black Stone Cherry.
