It was Sony executive Clive Davis’ idea for Santana to do a “Supernatural”-esque album but unlike the 1998 smash hit record where the iconic guitarist collaborated with the likes of Rob Thomas, Wyclef Jean and Juelz Santana on an all-new material, this new compilation would still feature collaborations from an array of artists like Chris Daughtry and Nas, but on old material and not his old material, classic old material – Def Leppard, The Beatles, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones, to name some.

Which is why Santana greeted the idea presented by his boss and mentor with surprise and hesitation. “I was like, ‘No, I don’t know if I want to do this one, Clive. This one’s a little challenging,” said Santana in an interview with Billboard. But Davis was clearly persuasive, staying on the phone for close to an hour with him, and it proved to be effective. Santana was swayed by Davis’ passion and commitment. The same fervor which inspired the artist to create “Supernatural”, is the same kind of fervor and force behind Santana’s present work.

The album, which is yet to be named, doesn’t have a final track list yet but every track that Santana wanted to put a new spin and flavor on has already been recorded, all he has to do is choose which ones make the cut and apply the finishing touches. Among the songs recorded for the covers album are The Rolling Stones’ “Can’t You Hear me Knocking”, Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”, Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing”, Def Leppard’s “Photograph”, Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water”, and Santana’s favorite, The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Weeps”, to name a few.

Chris Daughtry, rapper Nas, Chris Cornell, Joe Cocker, Scott Weiland, cellist Yo Yo Ma and R&B artist India Arie are just some of the artists who’ll be singing (except for Ma) the classic rock tunes as spun by Carlos Santana. Rob Thomas will also be appearing in this album, the same way he did in “Supernatural”.

What began as hesitation is now filled with confidence and vulnerability – both from the artist and his version of the classics. “What I brought to the table is my heart, knowing that I complement, I don’t compete,” spoken like a true artist aiming not for another chart-topper, but for a record to satisfy everyone’s listening pleasure and musicality, and also to pay homage to his contemporaries.

In fact, even before the album is released, Santana already has a fan in George Harrison’s widow, Olivia Harrison, whom Santana sent a copy of his rendition of The Beatles classic to and has this to say thru e-mail: “Carlos, I listened to the song and I started crying and jumping with joy at the same time. And I want you to know that George really loved you, because he understood your passion for compassion.”

Santana is also planning to entice his fans during his tour by sampling some of the tracks from the covers album with Steve Winwood. Winwood has been invited by Santana to do a recording session with him and his band, in a similar fashion as what he did for his covers album. Santana wants to go astray from the predictable, as what he has accomplished with “Supernatural”, and hopefully, if positive reviews would be granted, with the forthcoming covers album, too. “I would like to go to the Bob Marley repertoire or Marvin Gaye or African music by King Sunny Ade or really, really obscure other-side-of-the-tracks. So I’m crossing my fingers.” Clearly, the rock icon would want to test the waters now on an entirely different genre and if this pushes through, whether with Winwood, Rob Thomas or a new and different artist, as long as Santana’s there, it will surely be a revival masterpiece.

The covers album will be the artist’s studio follow-up to 2005’s “All that I Am” and will hit the shelves by September. After which, the guitarist will be releasing an all-instrumental compilation entitled “Shape Shifter”, most probably early next year.

Santana is also busy on the road with a North American tour and a series of Vegas residency shows in the summer, and a European tour in the fall.

A new “Now That’s What I Call Music! volume, with tracks from Adam Lambert, Kris Allen and Daughtry debuted with sales of 135,000 units. “Now That’s What I Call Faith,” another compilation, features tracks from Jordin Sparks, Carrie Underwood and Daughtry, debuted with sales of nearly 4,000 units.

Adam Lambert was the sole act from American Idol on Billboard’s 200 chart to see an increase in album sales last week. Given he hasn’t been in the country for promoting the album that wasn’t bad. “For Your Entertainment” had sales of over 8,000 units, which was an increase of six percent over the prior week.

Danny Gorkey in the meantime saw a significant drop off for the third week in a row after his impressive debut. For the very first time, he dropped under the 10,000 weekly sales mark.

The show’s official name is “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010” will also be featuring The Black Eyed Peas who will be performing live in Las Vegas at City Center’s Aria. The celebration in Las Vegas will be hosted by Fergie and will also feature performances from Robin Thicke, Orianthi, Colbie Caillat, Keri Hilson, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez.

The festivities for New Year’s will be kicking off with an ABC prime time show beginning at 10:00 pm ET. Starting at 11:30 pm “Rockin Eve” Part 1 will be featuring musical performances from New York’s Times Square as well as Las Vegas. Melissa Rycroft, special correspondent of “Good Morning America” will be reporting live on the night’s festivities.

After the traditional midnight countdown, “Rockin’ Eve” will continue on with the Part 2 segment of the show, featuring live music from Las Vegas and New York City until 2:00 am.

The quintet based out of North Carolina will be hitting the road starting in Topeka, KS on October 19. They will be stopping in 36 city arenas across the country. The tour includes the supporting acts of Cavo and Theory of a Deadman. The tour will wind down in Evansville, IN on December 20.

Currently the band is in the midst of a theater and club run of 14 dates. It continues in Los Angeles on August 19 and will wrap up in Las Vegas on August 22. The August 18 show in Tempe, AZ was postponed due to namesake and frontman Chris Daughtry having viral laryngitis. The show in Phoenix was moved to October 13. According to the Twitter feed from Daughtry the Los Angeles show was still on as scheduled.

In a recently press release for the forthcoming arena dates Chris Daughtry said, we dreamed how it was going to feel to play our songs in front of packed arenas. We are so excited about getting our chance. We’ve planned a great show. I can’t wait for us to get on the road so we can share with our fans out there.

The second set from Daughtry, “Leave This Town,” is a follow up to the band’s self titled 2006 album. It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s 200 chart. Currently it is in the No. 6 spot on Billboard’s top albums chart.

The first single of the new album, “No Surprise” was debuted in May on “American Idol.” The song peaked on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart at No. 15 and is streaming currently on the MySpace page for the band.

It marks the second consecutive album for Daughtry to make it to No. 1 on Billboard’s 200 chart. In January 2007 the self-titled debut album for the band was No. 1 as well.

Falling to No. 2 was “BLACKsummer’snight” from Maxwell with 103,000 units sold, according to retail data from Nielsen SoundScan and reported by Billboard.

At No. 3 was the soundtrack “Hannah Montana 3” slipping down from No. 2 with 73,000 copies sold. Also falling one slot to No. 4 was “Now 31” a hits compilation album that had 69,000 units sold. Holding at No. 5 was “The E.N.D.” by the Black Eyed Peas with 54,000 copies sold.

Rounding the Top 10 out were No. 6 “Horehound” by The Dead Weather’s with 51,000 copies sold; No. 7 “Signature” by Joe with 49,000 units sold; No. 8 “Catagory F5” by Twista with 45,000 copies sold; No. 9 “Fearless” by Taylor Swift with 37,000 units sold; and No. 10 “Only By the Night” from Kings of Leon with 33,000 units sold.

The band is comprised of Chris Daughtry, “American Idol” finalist, Josh Paul, bassist, Joey Barnes, drummer, and Josh Steeley and Brian Craddock, guitarists. The group will be kicking off their trek in Lake Buena Vista, FL on August 2. The summer run of 13 dates will work its way east to west and wrap up in Las Vegas on August 22.

In a recent press release Chris Daughtry, frontman for the band said, we wanted to thank our loyal fans with this club tour. It’s a really great way to see us performing up close and at a really cheap price.

In each market the first fifty fans who pre-order Daughtry’s new album at their website will be receiving a free ticket for a local Daughtry show.

Summer show tickets are going on sale to the general public on July 11. Limited VIP packages are also available through pre-sales that are taking place July 8-10.

Daughtry’s US trek is backing “Leave This Town,” the much anticipated second album from the band. It will be released on July 14. The self-titled debut for the group was released in 2006. It peaked in the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s 200 chart and sold over five million worldwide copies.

“No Surprise,” the first single from the new album, was debuted live in May on “American Idol.” Currently the song is streaming on Daughtry’s MySpace page. It peaked on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart at no. 15.

An extensive tour of North America is scheduled for this fall.

Earlier this year Daughtry toured with the veteran band Bon Jovi. They will head back out on the road, kicking off in Las Vegas on August 15. The band will be crisscrossing the US and stopping in Ontario in Canada. They will also be playing shows for both of the national political conventions to help promote ONE Campaign, an organization that works to raise the awareness of global hunger, disease and poverty.

On September 9 Daughtry will be releasing an expanded version based on the band’s quadruple platinum debut album. It topped Billboard’s 200 chart and after 89 weeks is still on the chart. The self-titled album has spawned six hit singles and is the fastest selling debut for a rock album in the history of SoundScan as well as the largest selling album over the last two years.

The deluxe edition will feature the original 12 songs from the album along with four bonus tracks that include acoustic performances of “What About Now,” “Home” and a cover of “Feels Like the First Time,” the Foreigner classic. There will also be a bonus DVD with videos for five hit singles from the album as well as exclusive interviews with members of the band and lives performances.

Fans of Daughtry will also be given the opportunity to rock out virtually with the band. “What I Want,” their hit single, is part of the latest version for the video game “Guitar Hero.”

The band Daughtry was established by Chris Daughtry, “American Idol” finalist, who was able to rise to fame quickly in 2006 when he made it to the final four in the Fox TV series contest. After he was voted off “American Idol,” the namesake of the band turned down Fuel’s offer to replace their lead singer. He decided to form his own band instead.

Two hundred show tickets are being auctioned at eBay. Everyone placing bids on the tickets must be at last 21 years old. The auction will be closing on March 31.

Later on parts of the performance will be available on-demand at rollingstone.com and Rhapsody.com/daughtry.

The global advocacy organization The One Campaign works to foster lasting, significant improvements for those who struggle with preventable disease and brutal, extreme poverty. The organizations works to help mobilize, motivate and educate people for building political will for issues where the biggest differences can be made. The effort is designed for helping to ensure the poorest people in the world’s voices are heard.