Maxwell Soaring up the Charts as 'Pretty Wings' Rockets to #1 on Urban Adult Radio

Columbia Records artist Maxwell returns to the top of the charts this week as "Pretty Wings," the first single from his long-awaited fourth studio album BLACKsummers'night, soars to the #1 slot on America's Urban Adult radio stations in record-breaking time less than eight weeks after its release. The single had a run earlier this month as the nation's #1 Greatest Gainer/Most-Added song at the Urban Mainstream format.

A deeply emotional soul ballad evoking loss and transcendence, "Pretty Wings" became available through digital service providers on Tuesday, April 28 while a haunting video for the song, directed by Philip Andelman, premiered that same day on BET's "106 & Park" and on musze.com, Maxwell's website.

BLACKsummers'night, the heavily-anticipated new studio album from Maxwell, will be released on CD, and in a Limited Edition Deluxe CD/DVD set, on Tuesday, July 7.

BLACKsummers'night is the first full-length Maxwell release since Now, his critically-acclaimed third studio album, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 in August 2001.

BLACKsummers'night is the sensuous opening installment of the artist's monumental BLACKSUMMERS'NIGHT trilogy. (The trilogy's subsequent chapters, blackSUMMERS'night and blacksummers'NIGHT, are slated for release in 2010 and 2011 respectively.)

BLACKsummers'night reunites Maxwell with long-time collaborator Hod David, who serves as co-producer and co-writer of the album. Striving for an emotional authenticity and real world sound for the album, Maxwell and Hod recorded the entire album live in the studio with an a-list ensemble of elegantly sympathetic musicians.

Maxwell -- who is scheduled to headline the main stage of the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans on July 4, 2009 -- is taking his new music on the road with a major North American tour in support of BLACKsummers'night. The emerging Irish soul singer-songwriter-performer Laura Izibor is opening for Maxwell through the artist's July 4 concert at the Essence Festival. The chart-topping Grammy-winning American R&B artist Chrisette Michele joins Maxwell's summer tour beginning July 12 in Nashville.

"Wednesday... was the right time (and) DeVos Performance Hall was the right place," wrote Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk in his review of Maxwell's tour opening concert The Grand Rapids Press:

"...The DeVos Hall audience was primed and ready to sing along, and at length, on songs such as '...Til the Cops Come Knockin' plus several more hits, including an a cappella version of 'Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)' ...the audience erupted for his opening song, 'Get to Know Ya'.... The cheers were even bigger with the opening notes of 'Fortunate,' his biggest hit.... Grand Rapids, in short, showered the soul singer with love."

  Maxwell - BLACKsummers'night North American Tour - Summer 2009



  Wed-Jun-17        Grand Rapids, MI      DeVos Performance Hall
  Fri-Jun-19        Hammond, IN           The Venue/Horseshoe Hammond
  Sat-Jun-20        Milwaukee, WI         Riverside Theatre
  Tue-Jun-23        Seattle, WA           Paramount
  Wed-Jun-24        Vancouver, BC         The Centre
  Fri-Jun-26        Las Vegas, NV         Pearl
  Sun-Jun-28        Los Angeles, CA       BET Awards
  Mon-Jun-29        Phoenix, AZ           Dodge
  Wed-Jul-1         Austin, TX            Bass
  Thu-Jul-2         San Antonio, TX       Majestic Theater
  Sat-Jul-4         New Orleans, LA       Essence Festival (Superdome)
  Sun-Jul-12        Nashville, TN         Ryman Auditorium
  Mon-Jul-13        Louisville, KY        Palace Theatre
  Wed-Jul-15        Columbus, OH          Palace Theatre
  Thu-Jul-16        Cleveland, OH         Allen Theatre
  Sat-Jul-18        Pittsburgh, PA        Heinz
  Sun-Jul-19        Buffalo, NY           Sheas PAC
  Tue-Jul-21        Albany, NY            The Palace
  Wed-Jul-22        New Jersey            NJPAC
  Fri-Jul-24        Atlantic City, NJ     Borgata
  Sat-Jul-25        Foxwoods              Foxwoods
  Mon-Jul-27        Norfolk, VA           Chrysler Hall
  Tue-Jul-28        Savannah, GA          Johnny Mercer
  Thu-Jul-30        Clearwater, FL        Ruth Eckerd Hall
  Fri-Jul-31        Miami, FL             Waterfront Theatre at the American
                                           Airlines Arena

  Additional tour dates & information TBA

Maxwell began redefining classic soul music for a new generation with the release of his critically-acclaimed debut album, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite, in April 1996. Fueled in part by the RIAA gold single, "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)," the Grammy-nominated Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite was certified platinum in March 1997, less than a year after its release, and achieved double platinum status, in recognition of sales of more than 2 million copies in the US alone, in 2002. Maxwell followed up with his MTV Unplugged EP, released in July 1997 and certified gold in September 1999. His second full-length album, Embrya, was released in June 1998 and certified platinum in May 1999. Another Maxwell single, the hit "Fortunate," was certified gold in June 1999. To date, Maxwell has achieved 10 gold and platinum certifications from the RIAA for his albums and singles.

  musze.com
  myspace.com/maxwell
  twitter.com/_maxwell_

  columbiarecords.com

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SOURCE: Columbia Records

CONTACT: Yvette Noel-Schure of Columbia Records, Media, New York,
+1-212-833-4483, Yvette.Noel-Schure@sonymusic.com; or Rebecca Shapiro of Shore
Fire Media, +1-718-522-7171 x16, rshapiro@shorefire.com, for Columbia Records

Web Site: http://www.columbiarecords.com/