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Aqualung's 'Strange And Beautiful'

British singer-songwriter Matt Hales is making his American debut with "Strange and Beautiful." If Hales' name is not familiar, perhaps it's because his stage name is Aqualung.

Don't miss his performance on The Saturday Early Show's Second Cup Café, as he sings selections from his first American album.

Raised above his parent's record and book shop in the south of England, Hales was immersed in music almost his whole life. At the age of 4, the child prodigy wrote his first song and at 17, he had his first symphony performed by a 60-piece orchestra.

"Strange and Beautiful (I'll Put a Spell on You)" is the very first song that Hales wrote. It was used in a Volkswagen television ad for the U.K. It also became the first in a batch of 11 tracks that would comprise Aqualung's self-titled debut, released in 2002. Now, it is included on his American album by the same name, which combines the best tracks of "Aqualung," and his second CD, "Still Life," released in 2003.

"It's kind of a Frankenstein album, in a nice way," Hales says about "Strange and Beautiful," but points out the remixes were designed to sonically bridge the gap between the two U.K. discs.

He says, "I really wanted the whole album to still have the authentic flow and feel of an album in its own right, rather than have it be, sort of, cut and paste."

Don't miss his performance Saturday morning.

Also, if you happen to be in New York City on July 8, Aqualung also will be performing at the Housing Works bookstore café in Soho. Housing Works Inc. is a non-profit organization that helps provide housing, healthcare, advocacy and other services to homeless people living with HIV and AIDS in New York City. Tickets are $20. For more information, click here.

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