“Lips of an Angel” hit-makers Hinder have been left high and dry by their singer Austin Winkler.
According to Billboard Winkler took a leave of absence earlier this year while the band was on tour. They enlisted the help of Saving Abel’s Jared Weeks to fill in. No, the singer has made it official that he has left the band due to “personal reasons”.
Winkler had a stint in rehab in 2012, which he told Billboard in an interview, "I was in a very, very, very dark addiction. I think you can definitely hear the turmoil in my voice."
Winkler has been with the band started in 2001. Hinder have four albums, Extreme Behavior, Take It To The Limit, All American Nightmare, and Welcome To The Freakshow, all under the Universal Records label. The band’s debut Extreme Behavior was their biggest album, going multi-platinum and producing their most well-known song “Lips of an Angel”.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, season seven American Idol winner David Cook was approached to fill in on vocals, as well as season ten’s James Durbin, before Jared Weeks was asked.
As Weeks filled in for the 2013 tour, no replacement has been announced yet.