CJ Solar Announces First Full-Length Album

CJ Solar today announced August 5, 2022 as the release date for his first full-length album, The Future's Neon, on Raining Bacon Records. Produced by CJ with Nick Gibbens, the nine-song collection includes the current radio hit, "All I Can Think About Lately," which was recently featured in Billboard. Pre-save/stream the new album here.

"After releasing three EPs, I'm so excited for my first full-length album," said CJ of The Future's Neon. "Most of these songs were written during 2020, but a few have been favorites that were on hold in the past and slipped through cracks, so I'm glad to give them a voice. The project feels like a mixture of all of my influences, and I'm really proud of the whole thing!"

CJ co-wrote all nine tracks and partnered with Devon Barker, Kenton Bryant, Bart Butler, Frankie Courtney, Corey Crowder, Jackson Dean, Bob DiPiero, Aaron Eshius, Jeff Garrison, Blake Griffith, Michael Hardy (HARDY), Joey Hyde, Lynn Hutton, Jason Lehning, Jim McCormick, Billy Montana, and Lydia Vaughan on the songs.

Three tracks have been released to streaming services: "The Future's Neon," "Hungover Enough," and "All I Can Think About Lately." Respected music journalist Tom Roland was so taken by the most recent release, he penned a lengthy "Makin' Tracks" feature on the single.

"Dictionary.com defines an earworm as 'a tune or part of a song that repeats in one's mind.' Which makes CJ Solar's new single, 'All I Can Think About Lately,' a sort of self-defining earworm. The chorus' hook - which benefits specifically from the way the word 'lately' sits within the line's sonic tension and release - is so overwhelmingly sticky that it can indeed become all the listener can think about for hours on end, to the point that the earworm becomes a mild addiction."

The single is currently at #26 on the MusicRow chart, #2 on the CDX TRACtion True Indie Chart, and #43 on the Billboard Indicator chart.

Roland also highlighted CJ in another recent feature in the weekly Billboard Country Update (May 9, 2022) entitled "Country Grit: Males With Sandpaper Voices Redefine The Sound And Balance Of The Genre." In it, he emphasizes "a wave of new rough-edged male singers, bringing additional grit to the (country) format."

CJ will perform a special album release concert at Nashville's popular 3rd & Lindsley venue on Tuesday, August 2. Doors will open at 6 p.m., a special guest will perform at 7:30 p.m., and CJ will hit the stage at 8:30 p.m.

Prior to a recent sold-out appearance at Baton Rouge's Texas Club, visual artists Jacob Zumo and David "DLo" Losavio presented CJ with a painting celebrating his upcoming album release, The Future's Neon. The creation is split into four distinct quadrants, reflecting the retro and current interpretations of Solar's music. Zumo's style of the painting in "realism" conjures up the old, while DLo's colorful pop style connects with the new. A limited edition of 50 prints, signed and numbered by the two artists and CJ, available on CJ's website HERE.

As an artist, CJ has released three EPs yielding the Top 15 hits "American Girls" and "Airplane" and the Top 10 "Coming My Way" and garnered over five million overall streams. He received the MusicRow Independent Artist of the Year Award in 2019. He tours coast-to-coast headlining his own dates and opening for the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, 38 Special, Gary Allan, Chris Janson, Hank Jr, Aaron Watson and others.

CJ recently signed an exclusive writing agreement with Edgehill Music Publishing in Nashville. A native of Baton Rouge and Belmont University graduate, Solar has penned #1 singles for Morgan Wallen ("Up Down" featuring Florida Georgia Line) and Jameson Rodgers ("Some Girls"). He won ASCAP Awards for both songs and also co-wrote Jason Aldean's "I Don't Drink Anymore," Justin Moore's "Between You & Me," Jerrod Niemann's "The Regulars" and Top 30 "Blue Bandana" and more.

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