Jesusfreakhideout.com Music News, October 2008: MELISSA GREENE TAKES THE NEXT STEP WITH NEW SOLO ALBUM AND DEAL WITH KOCH RECORDS

MELISSA GREENE TAKES THE NEXT STEP WITH NEW SOLO ALBUM AND DEAL WITH KOCH RECORDS

FIRST RADIO SINGLE "WONDER" SHOWS EARLY SUCCESS WITH RADIO

NEWS SOURCE: BookEnd Media
October 30, 2008

(NASHVILLE, TN) OCTOBER 30, 2008 --Best known as a member of the award-winning group Avalon, Melissa Greene recently announced that she will release a new solo album, aptly titled Next Step, through KOCH Records on March 10, 2009. Greene assures her fans that this does not mark a departure from Avalon but rather an opportunity to share a musical side of her that they have not yet seen. "I'm so excited for people to really get to hear the real me," enthuses Greene.

Produced by Bernie Herms (Natalie Grant, Avalon), one of the clear messages Greene presents with this sincere new collection of songs is that God will help us take the next step -- whatever that step may be -- even when we feel too paralyzed with pain to move. Greene speaks to this miraculously encouraging characteristic of God through the songs on her new album, which were greatly influenced by the struggle and heartbreak she faced when she and her family found out her brother-in-law, who was only 32, was diagnosed with stage-four cancer. "I think every one of the songs I ended up choosing, and then later ended up writing, were all out of going through this struggle," shares Greene. Sadly, Greene's brother-in-law succumbed to cancer in September, 2007.

Despite the heavy inspiration behind the album, Greene creatively combines a deep spiritual truth with a fun musical backing. Next Step is filled with spiritual determination and also an entirely different musical color for the singer/songwriter, primarily because it's driven by gritty, electric guitar grooves and danceable licks.

Greene's first single "Wonder" has already caught the attention of Christian radio. Stations such as WCVO, WCSG, WBDX, WGRC, WCRH, WLJN, KCFB and KCBI have already added the song to their rotations. "The song has tested extremely well for us with Women 35-54 scoring a 4.03 with only 8% burn and 78% familiarity!" shared Mike Russell, MD of WCVO/Columbus, OH.

KOCH Entertainment, founded in 1987 and now in its twenty-second year, is the leading and fastest-growing independent music company in the U.S. KOCH's operations encompass record and video labels, music publishing as well as distribution companies in the U.S. and Canada. KOCH Entertainment is the market leader among independent labels and distributors in both the U.S. and Canada. Its record label KOCH Records is the # 1 independent label in the U.S. and had the largest number of Billboard charting albums among independents for seven years in a row (2001 - 2007). KOCH Entertainment is a subsidiary of Entertainment One Ltd. which is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market (ticker symbol "ETO.L").

For more information on Melissa Greene and her new album, please visit www.melissagreenemusic.com or www.myspace.com/melissagreenemusic

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