VIVA ELVIS Breaks Into Billboard 200

Viva ELVIS - The Album, a 21st century celebration of Elvis and his music featuring the voice of the King in a whole new soundscape, is gathering worldwide momentum in the wake of its recent release through Legacy Recordings, in cooperation with Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. and Viva ELVIS by Cirque du Soleil at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.  Released stateside on November 9, Viva ELVIS - The Album has debuted in the upper half of the Billboard 200.

Conceptualized and realized by producer/arranger Erich Van Tourneau, Viva ELVIS - The Album is a multi-faceted audio extravaganza creating a larger-than-life musical portrait of Elvis through newly re-imagined versions of "Blue Suede Shoes," "That's All Right," "Heartbreak Hotel," "Love Me Tender," "King Creole," "Bossa Nova Baby," "Burning Love," "Can't Help Falling In Love" and "Suspicious Minds" as well as instrumental interludes based on "Memories" and "You'll Never Walk Alone" (piano interlude).

Three of the tracks on Viva ELVIS - The Album including "Suspicious Minds," the album's first single, were mixed by Grammy Award winning producer BrenDan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen).  Four of the album's tracks were mixed by Serban Ghenea with the remaining five mixed by Robert Meunier & Erich Van Tourneau.

"Suspicious Minds," the first single from Viva ELVIS - The Album, impacted radio in late October and is a bonus track on NOW 36, the latest installment in the best-selling chart-topping Now That's What I Call Music anthology series of contemporary Top 40 smash hits.

USA Today selected "Suspicious Minds" as a Pick of The Week noting that the new version "...dispenses with its signature guitar pattern, starting like a cross between a gospel hymn and 'Everlasting Love' before transforming into something like a U2 anthem."

Overwhelming international response to Viva ELVIS - The Album led to the creation of special regional editions of the album showcasing popular local artists "dueting" with Elvis on "Love Me Tender."  Regional artists participating on non-US editions of the album include Anna Puu (Finland), Lisa Lois (Netherlands), AMel Bent (France), Russian Red (Spain), Thalia (Latin America), Jessica Mauboy (Australia), Dani Klein (Belgium), Marie-Mai (Canada) and Aurea (Portugal).

Viva ELVIS - The Album is already charting round-the-world, going Top 40 or better in Canada, Sweden, the Netherlands, the UK, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark and France while climbing the charts in Spain, Australia and Germany.

Music critics and other cognoscenti have rallied behind Viva ELVIS - The Album, basking in the record's celebratory delights: