Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas has premiered the first single from his new solo album Cradlesong, which hits store shelves on June 30. The new single is titled “Her Diamonds,” and is streaming live on the Billboard.com Web site.
Thomas has also lent another song from Cradlesong, titled “Give Me The Meltdown,” to the NBA for use in promoting its 2009 playoff season. The song can be heard in promo spots airing on ABC and ESPN, according to Billboard.com.
Thomas is also busy preparing for a North American tour slated to begin in the fall, with confirmed dates expected to be announced in a few weeks. Fan can catch a preview of Thomas in concert with his scheduled performance on NBC’s Today show summer concert series on July 3.
According to the Billboard.com article, Thomas’ new solo album will bear the rhythmic influence of his collaborations with several South American and African percussionists.
“We started off with the idea of doing a newer version of [Paul Simon's The] Rhythm of the Saints,” Thomas told Billboard.com. “And that kinda carried us a long way through. It gave us a whole new bed to work with, like ‘How do I get my pop sensibility around this and work it into that?’ It was a lot of fun.”