Amber Riley is marking this year's Pride Month with a new single that offers a reimagining of Jimmy Webb's 1968 song "MacArthur Park." The stage and screen star teamed up with pianist and pop star Micah McLaurin on the project, which can be heard in the music video above.
Riley will perform the song with McLaurin at Chicago Pride June 23, their first live performance of the song. The track is also available on all major music streaming services.
The track features an orchestral arrangement by Larry Gold and an arrangement by McLaurin. Riley is backed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. For the video, Nick Patrick served as producer and Drew Dempsey as editor. Sunset Sound was director of photography.
Best known as Mercedes Jones from TV's GLEE, Riley is also a musical theatre favorite with stage credits that include Cotton Club Parade at New York City Center, Hair at the Hollywood Bowl, Dreamgirls in London's West End, Little Shop of Horrors at Pasadena Playhouse, and, currently, the world premiere of The Preacher's Wife at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre. She released her debut solo album RILEY in 2020.
Trained at Curtis Institute of Music and Juilliard, McLaurin has performed as a soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Orquestra Filharmónica de Montevideo, and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. He's a winner of the Gilmore Young Artist Award, and a laureate of the Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists, Hilton Head International Competition, and Thomas and Evon Cooper International Piano Competition. He released an instrumental album in 2023 titled Diamonds, recorded with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. As a pop artist, he recently released a single titled "Don't Give Up On Love."