This is for all Hello Kitty fans, I was a bit surprised when I first saw this but hey Hello Kitty rules!

Sanrio, Inc. is thrilled to announce the release of “Hello World”, the first-ever Hello Kitty album available on Lakeshore Records. The album will offer 11 tracks of original pop tunes, performed by a number of up & coming young artists. The result is an upbeat and perky compilation that reflects the life-embracing mood of the Hello Kitty brand.

The album launches October 7th exclusively at Wal-Mart and the first single “Come On, Come On”, with early airplay reported from Radio Disney, will be available on iTunes starting September 30th. Additional distribution, including SANRIO stores and www.sanrio.com, will begin in January 2009. A merchandise program featuring t-shirts and accessories emblazoned with the album’s colorful Japan-Pop artwork will coincide with this expanded release.

More info and tracklisting after the jump…

“Hello World” was created in partnership with New York’s Cherry Lane Music Publishing Co. Inc., home to the catalogues of Elvis Presley, the Black Eyed Peas, Wolfmother, John Legend and Quincy Jones. ‘Hello World’ is the first endeavor resulting from the multi-year joint venture between SANRIO, Inc. and Cherry Lane to produce original music for Hello Kitty and other character brands under the SANRIO umbrella.

Belting out the Hello Kitty headline track, “Come On, Come On”, actress, musician & Hello Kitty fan Keke Palmer mirrors the fun and friendship that’s synonymous with Hello Kitty and the entire SANRIO family of characters. A SAG-nominated & Image Award winning actress, Keke is part of DAS Communications’ impressive roster and has starred in the critically-acclaimed Akeelah & the Bee and Jump In, as well as the recent film The Longshots, with Ice Cube. Keke also has a debut solo album, ‘SO UNCOOL’, which was released in September 2007. Keke models girl empowerment, an integral trait of the Hello Kitty brand.

Cori Yarckin performs the album’s follow up single “Do You Really Wanna”. Named by Rolling Stone Magazine as “One of the Girls of MySpace” (in a feature on young female performers), Cori’s upbeat power pop sound will have listeners rocking out to this track. The video, currently in production, will launch online and made available on sanrio.com, YouTube, and multiple social networking sites.

For ‘Hello World’, writers and performers were hand-picked by SANRIO and Cherry Lane and primarily came from Cherry Lane’s impressive roster. “Come On, Come On” was co-penned by Nini Camps and Gary Phillips (producer of the popular Kidz Bop albums). Other ‘Hello World’ songwriters and producers include Toby Gad, the writer behind Fergie’s #1 song, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”and Gen Rubin, who brings his Grammy-nominated talents to three ‘Hello World’ songs in total.

Hello World Tracklisting:
1. Come On, Come On – Keke Palmer
2. Getaway – Cheryl Yie
3. Hello Kitty – Mandy Ventrice
4. Hey Yeah – Gen
5. Hello World – Ainjel Emme
6. To All The Girls – Jennifer Marks
7. Get This Party Started – Cheryl Yie
8. I Smile – Lindsay Dennis
9. Take It Easy (Chococat’s Jam) – The Seventeens
10. Sweeter Than Sweet – Emma Hunton
11. Do You Really Wanna – Cori Yarckin