The Idol Chatter blog at USA Today a couple days ago noted that Fayetteville’s Paris Bennett had signed a record deal with an indie label but didn’t identify which one. Well, she’s kept it in the family. Paul Jones, her uncle, is heading the label in question, 306 Entertainment, which is based out of the Twin Cities, where Paris grew up. He noted that the site has not been updated with Paris’ name yet but there are three other artists on the label: J. Isaac, Jamecia (her mom) and Knowledge MC. (The 306, Jones said, stands for the room number of the hotel in Memphis where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot in 1968.)
Jones said Paris is still working on her first album, due out in March and not surprisingly, it will be R&B pop. “It will be something all her ‘American Idol’ fans will love,” he promises. “She loves ‘American Idol’ everything. She loves what they’ve done for her. She’s appreciative.”
I was sent a couple of her songs, including a mid-tempo dance tune “B-Bye” and a Mary J. Blige-style R&B tune “Dreamin’ ” which has a hook that reminds me a bit of Blu Cantrell’s “Hit ‘Em Up Style.” Jones said “Dreamin’ ” is going to be made available in January on iTunes. Among the producers she’s working with are Jon Jon Traxx, who has worked with Beyonce; Darren Lighty (who wrote the hit “Too Close” by Next) and Rodney Jerkins, who has produced for Mary J. Blige, Beyonce and Mariah Carey, to name a few.
She’s working on her her album primarily in Minneapolis but still considers Fayetteville her home base and hopes to eventually find a place in Atlanta for herself at some point, Jones said.
Paris’ publicist in New York, Double XXposure, is setting up an interview for me by phone for next Thursday so if you have any questions for Paris, email me at
rho@ajc.com.
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