El DeBarge grateful for 'Second Chance'

Throughout the '80s, El DeBarge engaged listeners with a heaven-sent falsetto and a sonorous spell of R&B-pop melodies so magically cast that the only comparison was Michael Jackson in his (first) youthful heyday.

El DeBarge's ebullient voice and debonair demeanor (that pencil-thin mustache) got squelched when he was arrested for domestic violence in 2007, then jailed for a bit following a 2008 drug possession arrest. Now, he's more than a little glad to be back.

"Drugs were an interruption, not only to my personal life but to my career," says DeBarge, sounding anxious about his return to pop after the double debacle kept him at bay.

"Now that I'm clear and now that I'm clean from all that, I wanted to be free of what I did. That was my prayer, you know - that I wish I had never done any of that. Let me write. Let me sing. Let me perform."

It's not just the old songs that he wants to do as he relays a list of past hits with his famous family group DeBarge and solo smashes such as "Time Will Reveal" and "I Like You." He has new songs. "There's so much in me," he explains.

Ask if anything positive came from his prison sentence, and he blanches. There's no joy or cred from his jail or drug time. "Nothing good comes from drug abuse. The good only came from me. I just have to nourish and develop that good. The drugs suppressed the good."

El DeBarge knows the game has changed - the biz, the sound. Despite having not made an album in 16 years, he has appeared on songs from DJ Quik and RZA. "I heard the radio and knew what was going on. I wanted to fill a void - the empty space where people wanted to feel good. I want to give people permission to love again."

He wants people to hear the heights-topping falsetto and creamy melodies on his new CD, Second Chance. Of course, that's an apt title. "I'm honored that God has given me that second chance," says DeBarge, mentioning the just-decided Nov. 30 release date.

DeBarge says he digs writing about love and other joyful topics as he does on the title track and the duet-filled likes of "When I See You" (with Babyface), "Lay With You" (with Faith Evans), and two with 50 Cent ("Switch Up the Format") and Fabolous ("Five Seconds").

In regard to Second Chance's rapping guests, DeBarge knows that someone like him, with such a romantic eclat, might not seem suited to Fiddy's rough edges. "My voice is just a spirit," he says. "Hip-hop is but a style. I've been sampled by Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac - the greats. When RZA and Quik came to call, I gave them the real thing, something authentic."

The most authentic display of El DeBarge's sweet croon and suave manner came at this year's BET Awards when he performed without previous announcement. "I was so nervous - the audience was either going to love me or hate me. I didn't have the leverage of preshow hype. I was so happy I got all that love. I embraced that." El DeBarge insists he'll continue to embrace his comeback forevermore and savors the opportunity afforded him. But he also sees it in a broader perspective. "

"A lot of people, not just me, need second chances. People lose jobs, their homes. I'm here because of the grace of God. Everyone deserves that hope. I'm not giving up. I'm here to stay."