Tamar Kaprelian Comes Marching In With ‘Sinner Or A Saint’

While we discover most of our favorite new songs on the Interwebz, we do still find that a song will stick in our head if it’s used at just the right moment in a TV show. And that’s exactly what happened last year when we heard Tamar Kaprelian’s “New Day” on MTV’s The Hills as the show bid a final farewell to its big star, Lauren Conrad.

Now we know where Tamar learned to create such honest-but-catchy choruses — she was weaned on the classic, anthemic pop of Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and The Sound Of Music. Since then, she’s been honing her songwriting and paying her dues (she wrote “New Day” partly about overcoming setbacks in both life and the music biz, she says). We’re thrilled to be able to unveil the cover of her debut album, Sinner Or A Saint, and to introduce a talent you need to know.

“New Day” will be the first single from Sinner Or A Saint — because, and we know this is going to sound crazy, not everyone watches The Hills. We’re also crushing on the hopscotch pop of “Delicate Soul”, which you can hear on her MySpace. (Check her acoustic version at Vevo).

[wpaudio url=”//static.idolator.com/uploads/2010/05/Tamar-Kaprelian-New-Day.mp3″ text=”Tamar Kaprelian – New Day” dl=”0″] Tamar’s big break came after she entered a contest to see who could record the best rendition of OneRepublic’s smash “Apologize”. (She had actually planned to post her own cover of the song on YouTube anyway as a way to build buzz, at the advice of her producer, Xandy Barry). Tamar won the contest — with this — and soon landed herself a contract with OneRepublic’s label. (Ryan Tedder and songwriter Butch Walker both contributed to Tamar’s album). Sinner Or A Saint will be out July 13. But here’s your first look at Tamar’s album cover.

Anyone else see just a hint of Tapestry here? (And what a fine place to look for inspiration too.) What do you think of Tamar’s sound?