American Idol's Ethan Harris Talks with Hallels About His New Christmas EP

American Idol's Ethan Harris is preparing for the holidays with his brand new Christmas EP "This is Christmas."  The EP which features 6 songs includes Harris' rendition of classics such as "O Holy Night," "Silent Night," "Joy to the World," and a brand new song "This is Christmas."

Ethan Harris, who hails from Central New York, is a singer-songwriter who loves many genres of music, especially Country, Pop and Gospel.  His music career started taking shape when Grammy nominated Track engineer, Bob Acquaviva cast Ethan in a Theatrical Performance of the concept album, "The Book."  

Throughout 2011, Ethan collaborated with Acquaviva writing songs and recording demos at Wayne Manor Studios in Central New York.  After months of hard work and dedication to his music, Ethan released his self-titled debut album on May 23, 2012.  His music can be purchased on iTunes, Amazon and cdbaby.  Numerous performance videos can be found on YouTube at:  youtube.com/kecjp and youtube.com/ethanharrismusic.

Some of his most memorable performances were performing on the American Idol stage and singing at the famous B.B. Kings in Nashville, TN during the CMA fest in 2013.  Ethan has opened for numerous artists such as National Recording Artist, Melinda Doolittle, Disney's Peyton List and Country stars, Thompson Square, Trailer Choir and James Wesley.  Along with being the first recipient of the Terry Doyle Music Scholarship award, he was also an American Idol, Season XIII Semi-finalist as well as a Semi-finalist in the Unsigned Only Music Competition.  He was an X-Factor competitor and WSRKfm Central New York Idol Champion. 

We are so honored to be to be able to catch up with Ethan for this Hallels' exclusive interview.

Hallels: Ethan, thanks for doing this interview with us. Tell us a little about yourself and how you became involved in music?

Thank you for this opportunity!  I am from a small town in Upstate NY.  I began singing when I was very young, but never in front of anyone until I was 17.  I entered a local singing competition at 17 and sang in front of an audience for the first time there.  I was so excited to win, and it gave me a great confidence boost to pursue music. 

Hallels: How would you describe your style of music? And who are the singers that influenced your style?

I would definitely say that my music is very Country based.  I love to experiment with other genres and make any song my own, but Country is my true passion.  I have been inspired by so many artists over the years.  The first singer I ever listened to or got into was Shania Twain.  She is a huge reason I ever wanted to be a musician.  I also really enjoy Keith Urban, Hunter Hayes, and Carrie Underwood.  I appreciate their style as well as the quality of their lyrics. 

Hallels: You have been involved with American Idol before. Can you tell us about your experience?

American Idol was a true blessing to me.  I learned so much about myself and the music industry from the show.  I met so many incredible musicians and people who truly love music and can relate to it in such a powerful way.  It was such an eye opener, which I think is great for any artist to experience, if they are going to pursue music as a career.  You really have no idea what it takes to make a TV show until you are a part of one. 

Hallels: Recently you have also released a Christmas EP "This is Christmas." I believe the title cut is an original, for our readers who have not heard it, tell us, what is the song about?

I am so excited to be releasing my very first Christmas EP!  I have always wanted to release one and now felt like the perfect time.  "This Is Christmas," is a song I wrote about how I envision Christmas.  The song begins a few days before Christmas and ends the night of, when you are with your family, saying a prayer around the table, and wishing them all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I thought back to my childhood and wrote down all of the amazing memories I had.  I feel like people can relate to this song in the sense that, this is usually what happens during the Holidays. 

Hallels: You have also included some of the most cherished Christmas songs on the EP like "O Holy Night," "Silent Night" and "Joy to the World." Since these are very popular carols, how do you put your own mark on them?

I was very certain when making this album that I wanted to keep the Traditional Christmas songs alive.  I think that it is important that people, especially new generations, remember and understand the true meaning of Christmas.  I knew I wanted it to be different in some way.  These songs are traditionally sung more slowly... which sound great, but  I wanted to perform them in a way that stayed true to the message, and also gave it a bit of an upbeat kick.  So, I talked with my producer and band members and we all agreed that we should give them an up tempo, country sound.  If you listen to the lyrics, you will hear that the songs are happy and joyous.  So why not make them sound that way?

Hallels: For our readers who would like to purchase your music or/and find out more about you, where can they go?

You can check out my official website, www.ethanharrismusic.com and also my musician/band page on Facebook.  I am on twitter @ethandharris as well!  Thank you so much for the interview! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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