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New Web Site Will Let You Sing With The King

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The Associated Press

Published: December 19, 2008

So you fancy yourself a singer, eh ... alone, in your car, with the windows up, when no one's looking.

Well, now you can test your pipes against Martina McBride and Elvis Presley in private, and if you like what you hear, you can share them with your friends via email.

As a promotion for "Elvis Presley Christmas Duets" album, Sony BMG Music Entertainment has created a Web site that allows you to record "Blue Christmas" as a duet with Presley, singing McBride's part from the album.

The site, www.singwiththeking.com, provides a phone number and access code so you can belt out your lines over the phone. If you're pleased with the recording, you can send it in a Christmas ecard.

Or, if you discover you sound more like Alvin and the Chipmunks than Presley and McBride, you can send the album version of the song instead.

The whole thing is free.

"Someone in our digital area came up with the concept," said JJ Rosen, executive vice president of Sony BMG Music Entertainment's Commercial Music Group. "It fits the duets concept of the album so well."

Because the campaign leans heavily on technology, Rosen said it brings Presley and his music to a younger generation. "We're always trying to keep the Elvis brand alive."

The site launched Dec. 5 and has drawn 30,000 people from nine countries. It's scheduled to end sometime in January.

The promotion has been successful enough that Sony plans a similar one for Mariah Carey's upcoming release "The Ballads" for Valentine's Day.

Given Carey's vocal range, it could take some serious chops to keep up.

"Dreamlover" anyone?

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