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Legend Rock band foreigner He says goodbye to lead singer Kelly Hansen.
After the band Star Performance In the finale of Tuesday’s “The Voice,” Hansen, who joined the group in 2005, broke the news of the departure along with his bandmates.
“After 20 years of magical years facing this band, this will be my last year. foreigner“Hansen, who will place the microphone after the band’s summer tour, told the crowd: “At the end of this summer, a new, wonderful voice will sing these songs for you. My friend Louis Maldonado.”
Kelly Hansen joined the foreign national in 2005 as the lead singer. (Tomask Buper/Getty Images)
“Being a foreign voice was one of the greatest honors of my life,” added Hansen, who joined the group in 2005. “But it’s time to hand over the microphone. Lewis has a voice, energy, soul.
Foreigners reveal how their music resonates from generation to generation
The foreigner was formed in New York City in 1976 by guitarist Mick Jones, vocalist Lou Gram, drummer Dennis Elliott, keyboardist Al Greenwood, bassist Ed Gagriardi and multi-instrumentalist Ian MacDonald. Hansen has been a foreign lead singer since 2005.
Maldonado, the third from the right, takes over Hansen. (Griffinnergel/NBC)
Mick Jones is still the only founding member of the band. Current members include Maldonado, Bruce Watson, Michael Brusin, Chris Frazier and Jeff Pilson.
“In 1976, my goal was to build a group of the best musicians I could find. The results showed that it worked! About 30 years later, Jason Bonham encouraged me to do it again and create a brand new foreigner. Rolling Stone.
“I was particularly lucky with my lead singer choice,” Jones continued. “Kelly Hansen is one of the best front men in our business and over the past 20 years he has breathed new life into our songs.”
“We look forward to seeing Kelly make his next effort after the summer tour and welcoming Lewis to his new position,” Jones added. “Lewis was my choice as a guitarist and he already showed us what he can do with lead vocals by stepping into incredible reviews of South American bands.
Foreigners overcome pressure, feud before winning the highest honor of music
Kelly Hansen in 2017 will continue to perform with the band throughout the summer tour. (Getty Images)
Since his musical career began in 1976, British-American rockers have made fame with major hits, including “Cold As Ice” and “I Want to Know What Love Is”.
In October, Hansen and founding member Greenwood spoke about the highest and lowest of the tour with Fox News Digital, how health challenges have affected the band, and what it’s like to receive one of the “highest honors of music” ahead of being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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“When you’re starting out in a band and you’re about to become popular, there’s a lot of pressure on you. There’s a lot of pressure on musicians,” explained Greenwood.
The band members Louis Maldonado, Kelly Hansen, Chris Frasier, Bruce Watson, Jeff Pilson and Paul Milkovicheon will be performing in the “Fox & Friends” Summer Concert Series at Fox Studios on July 22, 2022 in New York City. (Photo: Roy Rochlin) (Getty Images)
“There was a fight. There was definitely a discussion and something like that in the early days. But… you’ll get through it.”
“The band is really family. You have all different personalities and everyone has to fit together. You have to play every night…it’s work, and that’s a joy,” Greenwood continued.
In their process 50 years of music careerSeveral band members suffered from serious health issues. Gagriardi and McDonald died of cancer in 2014 and 2022, respectively. GRAMM was diagnosed as a type of brain tumor in 1997. Jones is currently battling Parkinson’s disease.
Stephanie Giang-Paunon of Fox News Digital contributed to this post.
