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Ferras (pronounced Fer-AHSS) approaches a big pop hook the way a Formula One driver approaches a straightaway: he floors it. At each turn on the 25-year-old's debut album -- the sensual "Take My Lips," the anthemic "Liberation Day," the tour de force title track, "Aliens and Rainbows," and the soon to be hit single, "Hollywood's Not America," to name but a few -- it's evident a daring young artist has arrived. While inspired by Bowie, The Beatles and Elton John, Ferras' songs are infused with a distinctly personal sensibility.

Growing up in a small, southern Illinois town, Ferras always felt out of place. The feeling was only compounded when, shortly after his parents' divorce, his father took him to the airport, promising a trip to Disneyland, but instead spiriting him away to his homeland -- Amman, Jordan. Ferras took solace in the Casio keyboard his father bought him and began writing songs. His mother eventually succeeded in bringing him back to Illinois, but the sense of alienation persisted until they moved to Southern California and he began pursuing a music career in earnest.

Produced by The Matrix (Avril Lavigne, Jason Mraz, Korn) with Gary Clark (Natalie Imbruglia, Lloyd Cole), Aliens and Rainbows is a potent reminder that sometimes it takes an outsider to give voice to the emotions buried deep inside us all. And its message clearly resonates. Well in advance of its April 2008 release, Ferras performed on the "Today" show and lead single "Hollywood's Not America" was tapped for two episodes of the hit Fox series "American Idol."