Melanie Amaro, the winner from the first installment of the U.S. "X Factor," appears to have been dropped from her record label before even releasing a debut album. According to reports released on Thursday, the singer was quietly removed from the Epic Records' online artist roster.
During her time on FOX's "The X Factor" in 2011, Amaro tackled big ballads from Adele, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston with ease. She would end up being the series' first winner in the U.S. with a record-breaking $5 million label contract. In advance of her debut album titled “Truly,” Epic Records issued three buzz singles with Amaro.
The soulful singer did not connect with a wide audience on the dance-pop singles as they all failed to make an impact on the music charts. Her first song with Epic, “Don't Fail Me Now,” would peak at no. 8 on Billboard's dance chart, but not do much elsewhere. The “Truly” album would keep getting pushed back with each single that flopped commercially.
With her apparent release from Epic Records, it seems that Amaro will be the first from a major singing competition to be dropped from a label before putting out an album. “American Idol” has let their past eleven winners either succeed or fail with at least one album as did “The Voice” with its first champion.
Amaro touched upon the issue with Epic in a Ustream video on Thursday, but like the label, she did not confirm the news. The singer did say, though, that she will keep going strong with or without a label and that fans should still expect an album from her in the future. She hopes that any new music will reflect more of her R&B sound.
Check out Amaro's Ustream video about her future plans here
UPDATE: Despite her struggles with the label, Epic Records talked with The L.A. Times on Saturday and claimed that the singer is still signed with them. The label also explained the online artist roster situation, saying that the page is "not a reflection of our entire roster." Here is to seeing an album from Amaro soon with new music that suits her best.
For e-mail updates whenever a new article is posted, please subscribe at the top of the page; also follow me on Twitter @MyPrerogative15.
Comments