Pages: Click on Each to Open

Monday, September 11, 2023

#NewYorkNotes @Diane_Warren @ringostarrmusic @PTXofficial @UMG @amgreetings "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAUTIFUL," A NEW SINGLE FEATURING PENTATONIX AND RINGO STARR ON DRUMS, WRITTEN BY AWARD-WINNING SONGWRITER DIANE WARREN, LAUNCHES TODAY WITH UNIVERSAL MUSIC ENTERPRISES (UMe) & AMERICAN GREETINGS

STREAM / DOWNLOAD / SHARE "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAUTIFUL" HERE

Today, a new birthday song has been released - "Happy Birthday Beautiful." (RAF/UMe) written by Grammy® and Emmy Award winning, 14-time Oscar nominee and Honorary Oscar® recipient Diane Warren and performed by three-time Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum selling group Pentatonix and multi-Grammy®/ Emmy and Oscar Award-winning Ringo Starr. You can download and share the song by clicking HERE.


"I wanted to write a song that breathed new life into the classic birthday songs we know and love," said Diane Warren. 

"Happy Birthday Beautiful,” will debut on AmericanGreetings.com via a collection of birthday ecards.

"Happy Birthday Beautiful," will also debut on AmericanGreetings.com on Saturday, September 9, 2023 via a collection of birthday ecards including the song specially designed by American Greetings.

If September 9 is your birthday, you're not alone. According to real birth data compiled from 20 years of American births, more people are born on September 9th than any day of the year. Whenever your birthday, now you can celebrate with a new birthday song written by Diane Warren and performed by Pentatonix with the legendary Ringo Starr on drums.

"We are so honored to collaborate with industry legends Diane Warren, Pentatonix and Ringo Starr to introduce the next great birthday song," said Rob Matousek, executive director, direct-to-consumer business at American Greetings. "As a global leader in celebrations, we thought there was no better way to help release the song than with an ecard collection to allow the celebratory message to be shared and cherished by our users and these incredible artists' fans."

The eloquent lyrics of "Happy Birthday Beautiful" call out the birthday person as a "natural wonder" that "broke the mold" and promises to "raise a glass" and "shout it loud" in celebration of them on their big day. The timing of the song and ecard release could not be more appropriate as mid-September is the most birthday-packed time of the year. Even Warren herself celebrates her birthday on September 7th.

"I wanted to write a song that breathed new life into the classic birthday songs we know and love," said Warren. "Collaborating with such talented artists as Ringo Starr and Pentatonix, as well as the designers at American Greetings, allowed us to blend musical and design elements together to add new excitement to birthday celebrations."

"I was happy to play drums on this song when my friend Diane asked, and I think it's great it is coming out around the time of her birthday - Happy Birthday beautiful! Peace and love, Ringo."

To match the upbeat and celebratory theme, the "Happy Birthday Beautiful" ecard collection features vibrant colors and contemporary birthday imagery along with messages that acknowledge the song's lyrics. It is available now on www.americangreetings.com, www.bluemountain.com and the American Greetings and Blue Mountain ecard apps. American Greetings ecards can be shared via email, text or on social media. Digital subscribers have the ability to send an unlimited number of digital greetings from the many brands over the course of their membership period.

ABOUT PENTATONIX
As one of the most innovative, inventive, and inimitable vocal groups of all time, Pentatonix reimagine, reinvigorate, and redefine a cappella. Since emerging in 2011, the three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning and Daytime EMMY® Award-nominated vocal quintet—Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, and Matt Sallee—have reached unprecedented heights, toppling charts, selling 10 million albums worldwide, generating billions of streams, and performing everywhere from The White House and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to The Hollywood Bowl. Their catalog boasts back-to-back #1 albums on the Billboard 200, namely the gold-certified Pentatonix [2015] and platinum-certified A Pentatonix Christmas [2016]. Internationally, these albums performed equally as well with five albums being certified gold, platinum, or double platinum in Canada and ranking in the Top 40 albums six times in New Zealand. Their single, "Hallelujah" also achieved international success as a platinum-certified single in Canada and gold-certified in Germany and Switzerland. They notably made history as "the first a cappella act to win 'Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella' at the GRAMMY® Awards" in 2015 and 2016. A year later, they earned another GRAMMY® Award in the category "Best Country Duo/Group Performance" for their duet with Dolly Parton on her song "Jolene."

Along the way, the collective also graced the stage of The Kennedy Center Honors for Tom Hanks, covering "That Thing You Do" as President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama watched from the crowd. Plus, they have collaborated with Kelly Clarkson, Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, and Lindsey Stirling, to name a few. Beyond standout awards show and late-night television appearances, Pentatonix leapt onto the big screen with a cameo in the blockbuster Pitch Perfect 2. Not to mention, they have supported organizations such as Make-A-Wish, Do it for the Love Foundation, and more.

Following 2021's Evergreen, which tallied over 100 million streams and earned the group a Grammy nomination for "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album," Pentatonix launched one of their biggest tours to date, Pentatonix: The Evergreen Christmas Tour. In 2023, the group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Pentatonix's album, "Holidays Around the World," was released on October 28, 2022 and marked the group's ninth Top 10 entry on Billboard's Top Holiday Albums Chart. The group closed out 2022 with the completion of their largest U.S. arena tour to date.

Most recently, Pentatonix announced details for their highly anticipated 2023 North American Christmas tour, Pentatonix The Most Wonderful Tour Of The Year. The tour kicks off on November 14th in Greater Palm Springs, CA at Acrisure Arena, rolls through major markets coast to coast, and concludes on December 21st in Austin, TX at Moody Center. The band is also set to unveil a new holiday greatest hits album, The Greatest Christmas Hits (RCA), this fall.

ABOUT RINGO STARR
Throughout his career he has received nine GRAMMY® Awards, and has twice been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- first as a Beatle and then as solo artist. Between 1970 and 2023, Ringo has released 20 solo studio records and 3 consecutive EP's in 2020, 2021 and 2023. He has acted in over 15 films, received an Academy Award®, and has been nominated as an actor for an Emmy®. Ringo has published 6 books; had a stint as a male fashion model, and that same year went behind the lens as the photographer for some Foo Fighters PR photos. Ringo is also a visual artist, and has had numerous exhibitions of his work and his "Peace Sculpture" is on permanent display in the Beverly Hills Park. In 2008 Ringo began dedicating his July 7 birthday to promoting Peace and Love and the movement has grown to include events all over the planet and into the stars with support from NASA. In 2018, Ringo was knighted and in 2019 he celebrated 30 years of touring with his All Starr Bands. In 2022 Ringo received an honorary degree as a Doctor of Music from Berklee College of Music.

ABOUT DIANE WARREN
High resolution Diane Warren photo here Credit: Erik Melvin

The newly released single joins a beyond-impressive songwriting resume that includes countless staples of modern music history including "Because You Loved Me" (Celine Dion), "Can't Fight The Moonlight" (LeAnn Rimes), "How Do I Live" (by both LeAnn Rimes and Trisha Yearwood), "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" (Whitney Houston), "I Learned From The Best" (Whitney Houston), "Love Can Move Mountains" (Celine Dion), "Can't Take That Away" (Mariah Carey), "Look Away" (Chicago), "Have You Ever" (Brandy), "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" (Aerosmith), and dozens more. The list of legends and icons Warren has written for, from Aretha Franklin to Willie Nelson to Reba McEntire to Cher, is jaw-dropping. But she also continues to work with many of today's most popular acts, including Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Christina Aguilera, Snoop Dogg, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Andra Day, Demi Lovato, Common, Janelle Monáe, Zendaya, Emeli Sandé and Mickey Guyton. She's penned nine #1 and thirty-two top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001. Warren is an Honorary Oscar recipient,14-time Oscar nominee, Grammy, Emmy and 2-time Golden Globe award winner whose songs have been featured in more than 150 motion pictures and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her independent spirit has also made her a pioneer in the entertainment business: She is the sole owner of her publishing company Realsongs, the most successful female-owned and-operated business in the music industry.

Connect with Diane Warren:

ABOUT UMe
Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) is the centralized global catalog division of Universal Music Group (UMG). Working closely with all of UMG's record labels, territories and operating companies, UMe provides a frontline approach to catalog management, a concentration of resources, opportunities in new technologies and an emphasis on strategic marketing initiatives to engage all types of consumers across multiple entry points and platforms.

ABOUT AMERICAN GREETINGS
American Greetings is a global leader in the large and enduring Celebrations marketplace. The company helps people celebrate holidays, each other, and all of life's special moments, in-person and online, guided by a mission to "make the world a more thoughtful and caring place every single day." American Greetings offers products wherever and however people wish to purchase them – online, in-store, or curbside pickup. Celebrations happen throughout the year, driven by traditional holidays, key milestone moments such as weddings, baby showers and graduations, as well as recurring everyday events such as birthdays and anniversaries. The company's brands include American Greetings, Papyrus, Recycled Paper Greetings, Paper Rebel, Carlton Cards, Today and Always, DesignWare party goods, and Plus Mark gift wrap and boxed cards. Its digital business unit, AG Interactive, is a leading provider of digital greetings and premium celebrations content through proprietary technology platforms and apps. Our popular digital brands include American Greetings, Blue Mountain, SmashUps™, justWink™, Pics & Wishes™ and Creatacard™.