Robin Meade's new sophomore album Count On Me hits Target store shelves and iTunes this week after impressive early reviews. Her musical follow-up features 12 songs, 7 of which Meade wrote, adding to a resume that already lists her as HLN's popular morning anchor of "Morning Express with Robin Meade" (M-F, 6 a.m. - 12 noon ET), and a New York Times best-selling author.
"I'm going to be brutally honest about her new CD, Count On Me... It is simply phenomenal," says Dan Harr at Music News Nashville. "She's a powerhouse behind a mic, with a clear, strong voice that is sure to capture your attention and make you fall in love with her all over again...There are a number of songs on this CD that deserve airplay."
Heading to radio soon is the lead single that Meade and platinum-seller Lee Brice wrote and recorded together: "Get Up" is an up-tempo rocker with a fist-pumping hook. Its call-and-answer chorus is instantly catchy, making it a promising track for radio programmers hungry for a hit.
Among the other originals Meade wrote for Count On Me: the anthemic "Here For You", featuring soaring background vocals by 80's chart-topper Kenny Loggins (as part of Blue Sky Riders), the swampy "Slow It Up" with blues artist Keb' Mo', "Your Glory Days" penned with Sugarland's Kristian Bush, "Gonna Be Days", "There's You", and "This Just In", a title that nods to her news job.
But the covers are also not to be missed. Meade's banjo-tinged version of Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors," is, according to Music News Nashville, an "absolute treasure."
"You can't help but love that song," says Meade. "I already had an emotional connection to it. So when producer, Victoria Shaw, suggested not only that song choice, but that we do it up bluegrass-style, I loved the idea, and thought the message was a perfect fit."
Shaw, who produced Lady Antebellum's huge debut album, says Meade has evolved since their debut album together (Brand New Day which hit #24 on Billboard's Heatseeker's chart).
"Robin has grown since her first album. That allowed us to go to exciting new places. Robin's a true artist with a deep understanding of who she is."
TV Guide's Stephen Battaglio says Robin has proven her music is "much more than a celebrity vanity project." Perhaps the final song, "I'll Stand By You"- a unique cover of the Pretenders classic- offers proof that she knows exactly what she is, and why people count on her as artist or host.
And Meade's genuine nature shines through on the album: Country Weekly's Bob Paxman notes that "if there were no such term as 'unbridled enthusiasm,' it would have to be invented for Robin Meade." Paxman singles out "Get Up" and "Your Glory Days" as respectively, "rocking" and "touching."
"We all want to feel included, supported and accepted," says Meade. "There's a universal need for a shared emotion, the feeling you're being talked with, not to, and that we're in this together. That's the vibe musically, too."
To purchase Count on Me head to iTunes and in Target stores. And check out behind the scenes clips from the making of the album Count On Me at hlntv.com/robin
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