The Dead Daisies have announced former Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen as their new singer. The news follows the exit of John Corabi and the retirement of Glenn Hughes. The band also revealed a new single, “Lift Me Up,” along with a new album and a run of US dates for next year.
The Dead Daisies’ announcement read: “The Dead Daisies are proud to announce a new Singer, Single, Video, Album & Tours! We are thrilled to share this with you and trust you will enjoy it!”
Kelly Hansen said about the announcement: “When I left Foreigner after 20 great years, I told everybody I wasn’t retiring, just moving on to other things. This project gives me the opportunity to stretch out with some new melodies, a new vibe and fresh energy. We’re gonna rock it!”
Guitarist Doug Aldrich also said: “Lift Me Up started off as a dead simple guitar riff and heavy groove. As the song progressed, the melody just grew from there. It’s very melodic, and the lyrics reflect positively and a vibe to lift us up in these crazy times.”
“We’re working on more cool music for the album right now, and I’m excited about where it’s heading. It’s also gonna be amazing to be onstage with Kelly again after all these years! His vocal range is exceptional, and he’s a badass frontman. Can’t wait to get out there and see you all in 2027!”
The Dead Daisies announced former Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen as their new singer after former singer John Corabi’s exit and Glenn Hughes’ retirement. The band also announced the new single “Lift Me Up” and a run of US dates for next year.
The change at the microphone marks another chapter for a band that has long been defined by movement rather than stability. Hansen’s arrival follows a long and eventful tenure with Foreigner, and it also reunites him with a familiar face in the lineup.
Kelly Hansen joined Foreigner in 2005 and spent about 20 years as the band’s frontman before moving on. He also has an earlier connection to Doug Aldrich, as the two were bandmates in Hurricane in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with Aldrich joining the Los Angeles hard rock band ahead of its 1990 album Slave To The Thrill.
Hansen addressed his departure from Foreigner directly. “When I left Foreigner after 20 great years, I told everybody I wasn’t ‘retiring’ just moving on to other things,” he said.
The Dead Daisies’ revolving-door nature is not a recent development. The group is “built around a rotating collective of world-class musicians,” and its DNA includes an impressive roster of players such as David Lowy, Doug Aldrich, John Corabi, Michael Devin, Tommy Clufetos, Glenn Hughes, Marco Mendoza, Richard Fortus, Dizzy Reed, Frank Ferrer, Darryl Jones, Charley Drayton, Deen Castronovo and Jon Stevens, among others. The band’s official lineup page confirms the same rotating-collective approach that has kept the group in a near-constant state of evolution since its founding.
That history stretches back more than a decade. The Dead Daisies formed in Sydney, Australia, in 2012 and have operated with a rotating cast of well-known rock musicians throughout their career. On the record side, the band’s recent studio run is well documented. The group has released Light ‘Em Up (2024), Radiance (2022) and Holy Ground (2021), following the covers album Locked And Loaded (2019). Those releases and the lineup shifts that accompanied them have typically been paired with touring cycles, a pattern that now continues with Hansen at the front.
