Air Supply Frontman Russell Hitchcock Records Solo Country Album

Keith Urban is no longer the only Australian in country music! Fellow Aussie (and one half of '80s group Air Supply) Russell Hitchcock has a country album coming out next month titled 'Tennessee: The Nashville Sessions.' Hitchcock has released two previous solo pop albums, and this new record will be his first dabble into country.

"This is not a departure for me," he says. "I simply stepped outside the Air Supply box to dip a toe into other waters, an ocean of music that I've admired from afar."

The album, recorded in Music City's Curb Studios, features Nashville songwriters like Josh Thompson, Hal Ketchum and Wes Hightower. The 2-disc CD will include 20 songs, of which Hitchcock says, "I am more than pleased with this project. This compilation will touch hearts the same way Air Supply music does -- just when fans close their eyes as they listen, they'll hear and feel a different musical vibe. I feel like we ended up with a great piece of art!"

He adds, "Recording in Nashville enabled us to create an organic product; the Southern hospitality, passion and extraordinary talents of the musicians, one and all, bled through into the studio."

Producer Rob Rappaport raves, "Russell is a master and has great taste in music and -- whether you're a lifelong Air Supply fan or a true blue country music fan -- you'll not be disappointed. It's a melting pot of French horns, strings, fiddle and pedal steel; there's something for everybody."

The first single, 'Hold Me Like You Love Me,' will be at radio later this month. 'Tennessee: The Nashville Sessions' can be pre-ordered now at Hitchcock's official site, and it will be in stores on May 10 along with a 24-page booklet full of pictures, lyrics and more.