The award-winning composer shared the new single during a Feb. 12 radio interview in which he revealed that he wanted to release Scherzinger's "Memory" as a single, but he is having difficulty getting a record label to release it.
Lloyd Webber said that label executives are skeptical as to whether there is still an audience interested in singles from theatrical productions, but the composer commented that he still believes the general public would respond to the song.
"I can't get it issued," he said, adding that record executives want to hold off on issuing the single until a full album of Cats is released. Lloyd Webber also hinted that a new Cats cast album may arrive next Christmas.
Seeking feedback about the single's potential for public appeal, Lloyd Webber brought a recording of Scherzinger singing "Memory" to test the waters. The single, which boasts a powerfully-sung interpretation from Scherzinger, was recorded in London earlier this week.
Lloyd Webber is hopeful that Scherzinger will reprise her performance when Cats arrives on Broadway. "We are going to be taking Cats to Broadway. I just hope and pray that she's gonna agree to do it there. Because I think she'd take America by storm," Lloyd Webber said. An official announcement or targeted season for the show's NYC return has not been announced.
Raving about Scherzinger's performance of "Memory," which has been recorded by such artists as Elaine Paige, Betty Buckley and Barbra Streisand, Lloyd Webber said it was the "best recording of anything of my music ever done," adding that he was deeply proud of the single, which he characterized as "kind of the best thing I've ever, ever been involved with."
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The West End revival of Cats, which features musical updates, began at the London Palladium in early December 2014. The production recently extended through April 25.
Based on T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats," the musical became an international phenomenon and has continuously toured the U.S. for 30 years in various union and non-union productions. In 1991 Cats became the longest-running continuous tour in U.S. history. The show produced the standout single "Memory."
Cats opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre Oct. 7, 1982, where it ran for 7,485 performances before closing Sept. 10, 2000. It held the title of Broadway's longest-running musical, but was surpassed by Lloyd Webber's other hit, The Phantom of the Opera, which currently holds the title. Cats won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Lighting and Best Costumes.
