Ryan Star signs to Island Records

Ryan Star landed a new deal with Island Records and a guest spot on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” next week thanks to the surprise success of his single “Stay Awhile.”

The Dix Hills native believed in the catchy midtempo rocker so much that he paid to record the song and film a video for it himself when his former label Atlantic Records didn't want to support it. “I put all my cards on the table with this song,” he said. “I decided I would be a free agent and I found a believer beyond believers for it in Island Records.”

Today, Island Records President Steve Bartels announced the company signed the singer-songwriter and that “Stay Awhile” – already at No. 38 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 charts – would be released Aug. 14, the same night Star is set to make his “Tonight Show” debut. Star starts recording his new album next month for an early 2013 release.

Star said he decided to sign with Island after consulting with his new labelmate Jon Bon Jovi, whose band has been on Island for 30 years and who Star got to know after opening for Bon Jovi. The label's reaction to “Stay Awhile” meant a lot to him as well.

“They made me feel like this was a song the world needs to hear,” he said. “There's just something about this song's genesis. I heard it playing back to me in my head even while I was finishing it and I could see myself performing it at The Grammys.”