Sir Rockwell premiers X Factor Alums latest release…

X Factor alum Chris Rene has released a brand new single “Summertime Santa Cruz” that premiered on the highly syndicated online, caribbean formatted morning show “The Wake Up and Live Show” on RockDaBox.net. Show host “Sir Rockwell” was the first Caribbean radio personality to have Rene on air after the X Factor competition and has continued to support his work.  The song, a collaboration with Bruce Lincoln Benjamin and the Stamina Allstars has been released on the Actual Music Label lauds the attributes of their hometown Santa Cruz California.

Christopher “Chris” Rene (previously René; born December 25, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He was in a band called Diversion and also had a solo career, releasing the album Soul’d Out. Chris auditioned for the first season of The X Factor USA with one of his original compositions “Young Homie” and was one of the finalists during season one, with L.A. Reid as his mentor. He finished third overall in the competition, behind winner Melanie Amaro and runner-up Josh Krajcik. He is most popular in New Zealand, with his single “Young Homie” reaching number one in the New Zealand charts.^[1]personality

Christopher “Chris” Rene (previously René; born December 25, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He was in a band called Diversion and also had a solo career, releasing the album Soul’d Out. Chris auditioned for the first season of The X Factor USA with one of his original compositions “Young Homie” and was one of the finalists during season one, with L.A. Reid as his mentor. He finished third overall in the competition, behind winner Melanie Amaro and runner-up Josh Krajcik. He is most popular in New Zealand, with his single “Young Homie” reaching number one in the New Zealand charts.^[1]

On September 21, 2011, Rene auditioned by singing one of his original songs, entitled “Young Homie“, getting a standing ovation from the audience and four “yeses” from the judges. Judge Simon Cowell said of his audition, “…always my favorite feeling in the world… is when I sit in this chair and I meet a star for the first time”.^[5] Cowell was not the only judge to praise Rene; L.A Reid stated, “I’ve worked with some of the greatest hip-hop artists, from Jay-Z to Kanye West, and all of my boys, they would be proud of me today to tell you that you are the truth.”^[5] During the competition, he performed two of his original compositions (lyrics and music). They were “Young Homie” (during auditions, week 5 of the live shows and his performance in the final) and “Where Do We Go from Here” (in week 7 of the live shows, on December 7, 2011). He also sang a mix of “Let It Be“/”Young Homie” on November 22, 2011 in Week 5 of the live shows of the series,^[6] and also in the finale of the show.

Rene is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic,^[15] who revealed he had just been out of rehab at Janus Rehabilitation Center of Santa Cruz, and had been clean for just ten weeks before taking part in The X Factor auditions. His song “Young Homie” is “about learning how to be a grown-up,” says Rene. “When you’re young, you feel like there’s no limit, no consequences to your actions. So it’s me talking to my younger self and to all the young brothers out there, telling them that life’s too beautiful to live like that.”^[16] While the song contains a heavy subject matter, it is reflective of Rene’s personal life.

Rene plays piano, guitar, bass, drums, among others. He began writing songs and playing guitar at age 12, teaching himself the pentatonic scale and beyond.

Rene is the grandson of Leon René, a famous composer of R&B and rock and roll songs in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s and a founder of a number of record labels including Class and Rendezvous Record Company. He is also famous for writing “Rockin’ Robin“, a hit for Bobby Day and for Michael Jackson.