"Here Comes Goodbye", written by Sligh and Clint Lagerberg, will go to radio next week with an add date of January 26 and appear on Rascal Flatt's upcoming new album, Unstoppable, out April 7.
With a strong desire to establish himself as a songwriter in addition to a singer, Sligh wrote or co-wrote every song on his '08 debut, Running Back to You. "Here Comes Goodbye" is Sligh's first song to be cut by another artist, as well as the first song he turned in to his publisher, Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, something he is quite in awe about.
"Clint and I wrote this song on a Monday, recorded the demo on a Tuesday and that Wednesday Flatts' label put it on hold," he recalls.
"To have Rascal Flatts be the very first artist to cut a song I've written is pretty unbelievable," he said.
"Songwriting has always been something I love, but this is just beyond any expectations I could have ever had. Clint and I felt it was a special song, but the band's recording gives us chills and we've heard the song for almost a year. I can't wait to see what happens with it."
Sligh's follow-up single to his hit "Empty Me", "Arise", "Arise" is No 1 New & Active on R&R's Christian AC Indicator Chart and No 30 on its Christian AC Monitor Chart.
As Sligh's debut CD,"Running Back to You" became one of the best-selling Christian album on iTunes, the project that has wowed critics from USA Today to CCMmagazine.com also had the highest debut on Christian SoundScan in it's first week as well.
Named as one of Entertainment Weekly's "Best Idol Auditions Ever", Sligh auditioned for American Idol more or less on a whim. To his surprise, his performance swept him onto a fast track to the final rounds.
His willingness to take chances, his ironic wit, and his startlingly powerful vocals embedded him into the popular imagination, while his distinctive blend of talent, humour, confidence, and unpredictability led to an exchange with Simon Cowell that delighted the other judges, host Ryan Seacrest, and much of America. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3LHQRTFTj8&feature=related ).
An official American Idol commentator for Entertainment Weekly online during this past season, Sligh operated on a three week rotating schedule with two other commentators (Jon Peter Lewis and Nadia Turner), and wrote funny and informative commentaries through the lens of his experiences on American Idol.