Foreigner Scraps Retirement Plans, Picks Luis Maldonado as New Lead Singer
The rock icons Foreigner won’t retire after all. Luis Maldonado will take the mic from Kelly Hansen when he steps down this October. “There’s just a lot of forward movement,…
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – JANUARY 13: Lindsay Ell and Kelly Hansen of Foreigner perform at the Bobby Bones & The Raging Idiots’ 5th Annual Million Dollar Show at the Ryman Auditorium on January 13, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee.
(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)The rock icons Foreigner won't retire after all. Luis Maldonado will take the mic from Kelly Hansen when he steps down this October.
"There's just a lot of forward movement, and the band is incredibly excited," said bassist Jeff Pilson to Billboard.
After their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honor last October, they started what should have been a final tour in summer 2023. But plans shifted when Hansen missed shows across South America and Canada. Maldonado filled in, and his vocals struck a chord.
Hansen's run with the band will end at their last U.S. shows in Atlantic City on October 10-11. "The time has come. We have more or less lived our lives on the road for almost eighteen years," Hansen said about the planned farewell two years back.
No one saw the Maldonado switch coming. "He [Luis] was trying to talk Kelly into staying," Pilson shared. "And when it became clear Kelly really wants to live a life now ... Luis just stepped up, and oh my God, that voice came through."
Since 2021, Maldonado played guitar for the group. He switched to vocals during Hansen's recent absences from international shows.
After their Hall of Fame spot, fans flocked back to the band known for "I Want to Know What Love Is" and "Cold as Ice." The switch brings no bad blood: Pilson stressed that Hansen "deserves to have a wonderful life."
