Easton Corbin's New Album 'About to Get Real' Influenced By Country Legends

Easton Corbin

Kristin Barlowe

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Easton Corbin was done with recording his third album for Mercury Records. All the tracks were recorded and just waiting to be released by the label. And then...

“We had worked on it for about a year and thought we were finished,” he tellsBillboard. “We were just waiting for Mercury to give the green light. So we decided that we would go back and search for some new songs and see if we could find anything out there that might be as good or better than anything we had cut.”

At the end of the day, Corbin and producer Carson Chamberlain did just that. “We actually found three new songs for the record. I think those songs made the record that much better.”

Easton Corbin: CRS 'New Faces' Spotlight

The disc, About to Get Real, was released this past Tuesday. Leading the way for the project is Corbin’s current single, the melodic “Baby Be My Love Song,” which has so far peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. The single has climbed the charts since its release in September. Corbin admits that he tries not to worry about the charts, preferring to leave that aspect of his career to his promotion team.

“I try not to pay attention to it too much,” he says. “I mean, you’ve got to. But I don’t dwell on it a lot. There’s guys at the label, and that’s what they do. I try to look at the highlights of things and see where they are going, but I try not to get too in-depth in it.”

The Florida native says he’s simply trying to make music for his fans, and they have been asking for some new material for a while. “A lot of people have been asking us about new music. I’m definitely ready. It’s always great to have some new and fresh material out there for the listeners.”

Easton Corbin Aims to Top Debut With 'All Over the Road'

Having grown up influenced by such singers as George Jones, Sammy Kershaw and Keith Whitley, Corbin says it was another country legend that came to his mind when he heard the album’s title cut. “That song felt like a modern day Conway Twitty song,” he said. When I heard it for the first time, it took me back in time to some of his biggest hits. It’s a great song.” He is also quick to praise Chamberlain’s work behind the board on the track. “The production helped make things flow a lot better, and really pushed it along."

Of the three songs that made the later cut on the album, the singer feels that “Yup” is going to be a crowd favorite. “I think it’s going to be a fun one for the live show. It’s definitely different than anything I’ve ever done. It’s a song that I think everyone can relate to. I think every guy has been in a bar, and the girl comes along -- and he’s hooked.”

“Wild Women and Whiskey” is also one key song from the album, written by two of his favorite singers in Nashville: Ronnie Dunn and Terry McBride. “It’s great to have them represented on the album,” he says. “I grew up loving Brooks and Dunn, and Ronnie Dunn is one of the best singers out there -- such a great artist and a great writer. It’s an honor to be associated with him, as well as Terry McBride, who has written so many great songs.”

Mercury Records Co-Founder Irwin Steinberg Dies at 94

Corbin’s name is also listed as a co-writer on three cuts on the album, something he takes a great deal of pride in. “I’m very honored to be represented as a songwriter along with some of the best in the business. I think I’ve grown quite a bit as a writer over the past few years. I think that comes with age and coping with life experiences.”

It’s been a whirlwind five years for Corbin, who topped the charts with his first two singles, “A Little More Country Than That” and “Roll With It,” in 2010. He’s also chalked up four gold singles during that time span. “I can’t believe how quick it’s been,” he says. “It seems like it was just yesterday. We’ve had a great five years, and maybe we can get another five or more out of it. As an artist, that’s what you hope for.”

Detroit News: Gilbert's name-calling devalues 'the important work that was done here'

• Kenny Corbin

Update 7:00 p.m., July 1, 2015: Detroit News response to Gilbert's radio interview has been included below.
In response to a data-driven investigative report by The Detroit News on Quicken Loans' record in Detroit, the mortgage lender's founder Dan Gilbert took aim at the coverage in a WJR interview on Wednesday. 

Speaking on conservative Frank Beckmann's show Wednesday, Gilbert claimed the News' reporters — Joel Kurth and Christine MacDonald — who co-wrote the story were unprofessional in their approach. The pair have won multiple awards over the years for their work at the News. 

"She seems like a pretty smart girl," Gilbert said on WJR of MacDonald, who is an adult.

As part of a series that examines the effect of foreclosures in Detroit, the News found Quicken Loans, which relocated to the city in 2010, "had the fifth-highest number of mortgages that ended in foreclosure in Detroit over the last decade — and half of those properties are now blighted."

In an interview, Quicken told the newspaper: "It's very hard to make any causation between these loans and the fact that (homeowners) walked away or could not afford the payments and some eventually became blighted." 

According to the News' meticulously reported investigation, about one-in-four loans — 24 percent — Quicken issued in Detroit was considered "subprime," meaning they "were written at 3 percentage points or higher than treasury rates of comparable maturity" — showing the company wasn't a "major player in the subprime mortgage industry" active in Detroit between 2004-2006.  About 68 percent of all loans in the city issued during that time were considered subprime, city records show. 

In the chat with Beckman, Gilbert — who has been credited with reviving a sleepy downtown — said that "ninety percent of the problem" in Detroit was over-assessed properties and extremely high property taxes. He also plainly suggested there needs to be more accountability of journalists.

"Someone needs to hold these muckracker [sic] people accountable," he told Beckmann. Gilbert has been vocal in the past over previous reports on Quicken Loans' record. 

Gary Miles, the News' managing editor, said Wednesday evening that Gilbert's remarks were disappointing.

"Mr. Gilbert didn’t so much challenge the facts of our reporting on foreclosures and blight in Detroit as he did attempt to assail the character and reputation of two of the most trusted and decorated journalists in Detroit and the credibility of The News," Miles said in a statement to MT. "That’s disappointing. We’re happy to discuss our findings or analysis, as we did with him and his team prior to publication. Their positions were well represented. To respond to the name-calling would only serve to devalue the important work that was done here."

Quicken executives have asserted the company didn't issue subprime loans. 

"Every loan that we did in the City of Detroit in the 10 years they studied — between 2005 and 2014 — were conventional FHA, VA loans with average interest rates of 6%," Gilbert said in the WJR interview.

Gilbert told the News he believed subprime loans were any with interest rates above 13 percent, similar to what a company spokesperson conveyed to MT in a cover story last fall.

"[I]f you are using the word 'subprime' as is most commonly used in today's world, which refers to toxic loans with 12%, 13%, 14% or even higher interest rates that was responsible for the collapse of the US mortgage market and even the US economy: NO, QUICKEN LOANS NEVER PARTICIPATED NOR ORIGINATED THESE TYPES OF LOANS," the spokesperson wrote in an email, loudly.

Records MT reviewed showed in one instance that, in 2007, Quicken issued a $171,000 loan to a Detroit homebuyer that was a five-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage. This initially allowed the borrower to make payments that didn't even cover the monthly 6.875 percent interest cost. 

At any given time, the borrower was afforded the ability to pay a larger amount to pare down the principal. After five years, the interest rate could then begin to change, records show, with a maximum interest rate capped at 11.875 percent. At that point, the borrower could have begun to make interest-only payments. But the buyer failed to make payments and lost his home to foreclosure in 2010. 

Analyses of the industry from 2004-2007 have shown that as many as 90 percent of borrowers who received this type of loan — called an option-ARM — only made the minimum less-than-interest payment each month. One veteran of the industry previously described option-ARMs as being "guaranteed to blow up." 

'X FACTOR'S DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA: Paula Abdul Asked To Show Up As Judge Without Done Deal; Nicole Scherzinger Didn't Want Corbin Bleu As Co-Host; Now Steve Jones Done Deal As Replacement

EXCLUSIVE:Simon Cowell sureknows how to turn up the behind-the-scenes drama on TV shows, whether he’s appearing on them or producing them. I’ve just learned thatPaula Abdul has been asked to show up for the judges panel for his U.S. version of The X Factor in Los Angeles on Sunday. But here’s the thing: I’m told her deal still isn’t done yet but is in “final negotiations.” Reps are working all day and probably all night to get it done before tomorrow’s 1 PM and 6 PM tapings of auditions with wannabe contestants when the full judgespanel assembles for the first time at USC’s Galen Center. But Simon Cowell is counting on his former American Idolsidekick to show up anyway because,hey, they’re friends. “But will she reallyshow up? No way her reps will let her go if that deal isn’t done,” an insider just told me. The sticking point at first was that CBS still had a hold on Abdul stemming from her deal to headline another TV talent series as lead judge, Live to Dance, which debuted in January 2011 only to be canceled after one season. CBS wasn’t letting Paula go to Fox at first. That now seems to have been ironed out, but there still are several deal points to finalize. “She’s been asked to show up tomorrow whether her deal is done or not,” an insider explained to me.

Meanwhile, there’s also been behind-the-scenes drama regarding picking the hosts for The X Factor. Cowell told me recently he wants a known female performer and a young Hollywood actor to co-host. His initial picks were 32-year-old former head Pussycat Doll and ABC’s Dancing With the Stars standout Nicole Scherzinger, always his first choice to host, and Corbin Bleu, the 22-year-old African-American co-star of the High School Musical franchise. With both talents able to sing and dance, the possibilities for their hosting seemed myriad. But, according to an insider, at their first meeting, “Nicole walked in and saw Corbin and his baby face and asked, ‘What are you, 15?’ And then she walked out.” So, just like that, Bleu was nixed. Instead, veteran UK emcee Steve Jones was flown in for an audition, and insiders say he had “chemistry” with Scherzinger. So now he’s a done deal for the gig. Like UK and now U.S. version X Factor judge Cheryl Cole, Jones isn’t known to American audiences. “But Simon’s goal is to bring fresh talent and fresh faces to the U.S. and he’s doing it,” a source close to Cowell explains to me. A Fox insider laughs off concern there are too many Brits now on board this American show: “We are going to have an advertising integration with Berlitz, so we are going to make a few extra bucks on the accents.”

Corbin Bleu: "I Consider Myself Black When It Comes to Film Roles"

The Italian-Jamaican actor on High School Musical, guilty pleasures and cutting his 'fro.

By Evelyn Diaz

Posted: 04/19/2013 08:30 AM EDT

Filed Under Celebrity News, Movies, Television, Broadway, Celebrity Quotes

Corbin Bleu isn't one of those actors who stumbled into fame. He's been preparing for it all his life. The former child actor, who landed his first gig at age two in a commercial for Life cereal, became a tween idol after High School Musical and is now navigating the tricky transition to full-grown star.

The Italian-Jamaican actor talks to us about his new gig on the long-running soap One Life to Live, being biracial in the business and his relationship status.

It must be scary to be the new guy on One Life to Live, a show that's been on the air for 40-plus years. What's that been like for you?
That's actually one of the reasons why I wanted to do it. It's television history. I get a chance to work with people like Erica Slezak, who's been on the show for more than 40 years, and I'm learning a lot from her. It's a little crazy though, because there is a whole history of story lines, and I don't necessarily know what's going on. I don't know who used to be married to so-and-so, who has a hidden kid, who died and came back to life. But it definitely keeps it interesting every day.

Soap operas can easily be defined as guilty-pleasure television. What are some of your favorite shows that you keep on the down-low?
I watch cooking shows all day long. There's something therapeutic about them. And cartoons. I still watchSpongebob Squarepants and Tom & Jerry.

Like your High School Musical co-stars Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron, you're in the process of transitioning to a grown-up career in Hollywood. Has that been challenging?
There is an image that people have of you from what they've seen in your work, and the physical look that they know from you. But I'm 24 years old now, and the challenge is really to get people to see me that way. That's why recently I've done a lot of different films, a lot more edgy stuff. Even producers and casting directors are surprised when I walk into a room, and they go,"Whoa, you look completely different than what I expected."

Did that have something to do with you cutting your 'fro?
That was more about, it was time for a change. I was ready for it. I didn't do it all at once. It gradually went down. I had it at half-way when I was doing Broadway, then it just kept on going down until I did a movie called Sugar and I needed to have a mohawk. Once I was done with that, I trimmed it all the way down.

You have a pretty diverse background, an Italian mother and Jamaican father. How do you identify yourself?
No matter what, I consider myself Black when it comes to film roles. That's how general society sees me. But I have always been able to identify with both my cultures. I have my Italian side of the family, and when we have dinner it feels like you're in Tony Soprano's living room. And then my Jamaican family, my grandmother and my great grandmother both have thick Jamaican accents. My life is a blend. In fact, my mother is an amazing cook and I always wanted us to open an Italian-Jamaican fusion restaurant. Like, jerk chicken pizza and curried goat pasta.

Between High School Musical and One Life to Live, you're bound to have a lot of female fans. Do you have a girlfriend, or are you still browsing?
[Long silence.] Yes, I do. And that's all I'm going to say about that! That's just the one part of my life I want to keep personal.

One Life to Live premieres on Hulu and iTunes on April 29.

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What's Corbin Bleu Up To? Between 'High School Musical' & 'Megachurch Murder' He's Been Busy On Broadway & TV

At the risk of sounding like every other nostalgic corner of the Internet, let me point out a startling fact: It's almost been 10 years since High School Musical premiered on Disney Channel. Can you believe it? The phenomenon introduced us to Zac Efron as Troy, Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella, Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay, and a young actor named Corbin Bleu as High School Musical's Chad. Bleu played Troy's best friend and teammate on the East High School basketball team. The gang graduated in the 2008 feature film High School Musical 3: Senior Year and Bleu's been pretty busy since then. He plays Marcus in the Lifetime TV movie Megachurch Murder, premiering Saturday, and has acted on Broadway, in several TV shows, and foxtrotted on Dancing With the Stars.

The 25-year-old Brooklyn native was born Corbin Bleu Rievers and started his career as a model for the Ford Modeling Agency in New York City, according to People's biography. As a child he appeared in commercials for companies such as Gap, Macy's, Target, and Toys R Us. In 1996, he and his family moved to Los Angeles, where he started getting lots of guest roles in TV shows, eventually leading to 2004's Catch That Kid and 2006's High School Musical.

These days, Bleu's all grown up, has shorter hair, and is engaged to actress Sasha Clements. Get familiarized with Bleu's work since High School Musicalbelow, before watching Megachurch Murder on Lifetime on Saturday night.

Broadway

Famously in 2010, Bleu took over the lead role of Usnavi in the musical In the Heights, which was originated by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show's music and lyrics writer. Those are big shoes to fill in the Bronx-set musical, but Bleu knocked it out of the park during his run as the main man in the barrio.

In 2012, he returned to Broadway to take on a starring role with even bigger shoes to fill — Jesus (yup) in the revival of Godspell, replacing Hunter Parrish at the Circle in the Square theater in New York City.

Dancing With the Stars

In the fall of 2013, Bleu made his dance-floor debut on the ABC competitive reality show and he finished as runner-up with pro partner Karina Smirnoff. It shouldn't be a surprise — not only is the actor a seasoned singer, but he was also one of the first students to study dance at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy.

"Once this is all over, regardless of the outcome, I now have a new skill under my belt," he wrote for People's DWTS blog. "I can walk away from this saying I know all these ballroom styles. I've taken away a whole new group of friends. Everybody here has been a joy to work with. And I have Karina, who is definitely one of my new best friends. She's been incredible. I've learned a lot about myself throughout this whole process."

TV Appearances

Over the years, Bleu has had lots of guest roles in TV series, but since High School Musical, you may have caught him in Hannah Montana, The Good Wife, Franklin and Bash, Blue Bloods, Psych, and more. He was a series regular in the short-lived Mischa Barton-led CW models drama The Beautiful Life: TBL and the online revival of soap opera One Life To Live.

Corbin Bleu

Other works

In summer of 2003, he performed in a student-written stage play, Baby Blues. Along with this stage performance, The Thrill of Art and Victorian's Closet was performed, written by Jamie Isaac Conde and Lucas Barron.

Album "Another Side" with Hollywood Records released May 1st 2007.

In 1996, he performed in the off-Broadway production of Tiny Tim Is Dead, written by the prolific playwright Barbara Lebow. He played the nameless mute son of a homeless woman who tries to put on a Christmas play, but fails miserably.

He appeared in the music video for the song "Don't be shy", the debut single from the band Small Change.

Appeared on stage with "mentor" Debbie Allen in Brothers Of Knight while attending her academy of dance.

Commercial for Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades.

Album: Speed Of Light, Hollywood Records. Released March 10th, 2009.

(2008) Modelled for OP (Ocean Pacific) clothing line.

He appeared in an episode of the Broadway cast of Spring Awakening's Youtube series. The episode was titled "Notesey".

Writer and performer of "Moments That Matter", Free Style (2008) Soundtrack.

Minuetmen Soundtrack, (Various Artists,) Song: "Run It Back Again".

"Word Of Promise: The Next Geneoration" (Audio Bible) Voice of Peter.