JON MCLAUGHLIN IS OK NOW

When last we saw him, 25-year-old HOTTIE Jon McLaughlin was giving a show-stopping performance of the Oscar-nominated "So Close," the song he sang in the hit Disney movie Enchanted, on the worldwide telecast of the 80th Annual Academy Awards ceremony.

Flushed with that success, McLaughlin entered an L.A. recording studio last year intent on undergoing both a musical and stylistic transformation.  The heartland piano player expanded his palette by working with new producer John Fields (Rooney, Jonas Brothers, Lifehouse, Switchfoot). "Beating My Heart" - the first single - is an introspective, existential tune about nothing less than the meaning of life, with an elaborate pop-rock production that evokes Coldplay, thanks to the soaring synths and a crackling backbeat.  Watch the video below.  Is Jon hot or what?  And that voice. (melt)

Jon McLaughlin's second studio album OK NOW is now available from Island Records.  You can also visit him at his MySpace page.