Vote at the MRAs 2011 here!



Friday, January 15, 2010
In the Spotlight This Week: Colbie Caillat



Colbie Marie Caillat is an American pop singer-songwriter and guitarist from Malibu, California. She debuted in 2007 with Coco, which included hit singles Bubbly, Realize, and The Little Things. In 2008, she recorded a duet with Jason Mraz, Lucky. Caillat released her second album, Breakthrough, in August 2009.

On December 2, 2009, Breakthrough was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards. She was also nominated twice for Best Pop Collaboration, for her featured vocals on Jason Mraz's Lucky and her background vocals and writing on Taylor Swift's Breathe, and nominated Album of the Year her background vocals and writing on Taylor Swift's Fearless.

I Never Told You is the second single from the album and will be released in February 01, to coincide with the Valentine's Day. It was previously released as digital download on Imeem on November 06, 2009.

Threats:
Katharine McPhee

View Everything Colbie: HERE

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Music Reviews 10 @ 8:49 PM | comment link here





Friday, January 8, 2010
In The Spotlight This Week: Ke$ha



Kesha Rose Sebert, better known mononymously as Kesha (stylized as Ke$ha), is an American recording artist. Her breakthrough came in early 2009 after appearing on Flo Rida's number one single Right Round. Her debut single, TiK ToK, was released in August 2009, it reached number one in four countries and set the female weekly download record in the US. Her debut album, Animal, will be released in early 2010.

Kesha gained exposure in the mainstream media in early 2009 after appearing on Flo Rida's number one single, Right Round. The collaboration came about when Kesha was hanging out in studio with Flo Rida and Dr. Luke, who was producing the song; Flo Rida decided that the song needed a female voice and Kesha was then suggested for the part by Dr. Luke. Flo Rida liked the end result so much that they did two more songs. She is not credited for Right Round and did not collect any money for the part; she also refused to appear in the video because she wanted to become a legitimate artist in her own right.

Soon after, it was announced that Kesha had signed with RCA Records through Dr. Luke, after being sought after by many major labels, and was working on her debut album. On March 27, 2009, she appeared onstage alongside 3OH!3 at a concert at Avalon Hollywood to perform their duet, My First Kiss. She later made her official stage debut at that year's Lollapalooza as part of the BMI Stage. Her debut single, Tik Tok, had been released digitally in the US in early August, but was only sent to radio in October. By then, Kesha had co-written the title song for Miley Cyrus' The Time of Our Lives EP, made appearances on Pitbull and Taio Cruz's albums and appeared on the cover on Women's Wear Daily.

A number one placing in New Zealand for TiK ToK gave Kesha her first number one, this was followed by number one positions in both Canada and Australia. It later reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 as well, the first number one of the decade, and reached the top five in many other countries. For its second week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, TiK ToK set the female download record and became the second best-selling single in a week, after Right Round, for shifting 610,000 copies.

Kesha later supported Calvin Harris on tour in the UK and toured with Mickey Avalon in the US. She also performed at Madison Square Garden on December 11, 2009 for the Z100 Jingle Ball. She has been announced as one of the acts for the 2010 revival of Lilith Fair. Her debut album is called Animal and is due to be released on January 5, 2010 in the US.

She has expressed interest in releasing a country music album in the future because of her love for the genre. Kesha's songwriting is rooted in her life experiences and influenced by the storytelling style country music. She has expressed frustration at the double standard for the objectification of women in songs; in her song Boots and Boys, she makes it a point to sing the same way men traditionally sang about women.

Kesha described her dress sense as "garbage-chic" to Entertainment Weekly and named Keith Richards as her fashion inspiration. Paul Lester of The Guardian called her "the degenerate Hannah Montana" and stated that "her whole shtick appears to be predicated on the idea that she's a rebel in American Apparel." He also compared her music to "chav pop", "trailer trashy to the max – only it's so full-on it's almost like some postmodern arthouse joke." On the dollar sign in her stage name, Kesha states that she was being ironic in that she does not believe in placing an emphasis on earning money. It came about after her Flo Rida collaboration achieved success worldwide and yet she did not receive any money to show for it.

Threats:
Lady Gaga, Katy Perry

View everything Ke$ha: HERE
Get Animal: HERE

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Music Reviews 10 @ 5:22 PM | comment link here





Friday, December 25, 2009
In the Spotlight this Week: Katharine McPhee



Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American pop singer, songwriter, actress, model, and television personality. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol in 2006, eventually finishing as the runner-up.

Her self-titled debut album was released on RCA Records and debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200; it has sold 378,000 copies to date. The album's first single, Over It, was a Pop Top 30 hit and was certified Gold in 2008. She also established an acting career, most notably co-starring in The House Bunny in 2008.

Her sophomore album, Unbroken will be released on Verve Forecast Records on January 5, 2010. The album's first single is AC Top 30 hit Had It All.

Threats:
JoJo

View everything Katharine McPhee: HERE
Watch Katharine McPhee's I'll Be Home For Christmas performance on Larry King Live: HERE
Get Katharine's Unbroken album in m4a format: HERE

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Music Reviews 10 @ 10:08 PM | comment link here





Friday, December 18, 2009
In The Spotlight This Week: Alicia Keys



Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American recording artist, musician and actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began to play classical music on the piano. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16 as valedictorian. She later attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue her music career. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.

Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for Fallin'. Her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003 and was also another success worldwide, selling eight million copies. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005. Later that year, she released her first live album, Unplugged, which debuted at number one in the United States. She became the first female to have an MTV Unplugged album to debut at number one and the highest since Nirvana in 1994.

Keys made guest appearances in several television series in the following years. She made her film debut in Smokin' Aces and went on to appear in The Nanny Diaries in 2007. Her third studio album, As I Am, was released in the same year and sold six million copies worldwide, earning Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. The following year, she appeared in The Secret Life of Bees, which earned her a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards. She released her fourth album, The Element of Freedom, on December 15, 2009. Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time.

Alicia Keys' The Element Of Freedom is set to take the top spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart next week.

Threats:
Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Fantasia

View Everything Alicia Keys: HERE
Get The Element Of Freedom: HERE
Get The Essentials: Alicia Keys: HERE
Watch Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart: HERE

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Music Reviews 10 @ 3:19 PM | comment link here





Friday, December 4, 2009
In The Spotlight This Week: Allison Iraheta



Allison Iraheta released her debut album Just Like You this week so I decided to do the Spotlight feature on her. Prior to Idol, Allison joined a singing competition called Quinceañera: Mamá Quiero Ser Artista, in which she won a $50, 000 cash prize and a recording contract. The recording contract never materialised, thus only the prize money was granted.

Allison auditioned in San Francisco singing Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin and advanced with all 4 judges agreeing to let her go to Hollywood. On the Top 36 night, she was in Group 2 with Kris Allen and Adam Lambert (coincidentally the first 3 that got signed), and On May 6, 2009, Iraheta was eliminated from the competition in 4th place. Slash declared that "Allison didn't deserve to be voted off so soon. She has amazing potential." Similarly, American Idol music director Rickey Minor was "absolutely shocked" at her departure. First season winner Kelly Clarkson, along with Season 6 alum Melinda Doolittle, and Entertainment Weekly's Michael Slezak all have expressed Allison as their favourites on the show.

After weeks of speculation, it was confirmed that Allison had inked a recording deal with Jive Records and 19 Entertainment and had been taking time off the American Idols LIVE! Summer Tour to record her debut disc Just Like You. She made a trip to Sweden to work with hitmaker Max Martin, who penned her debut single Friday I'll Be Over U, which has been well-received by critics. Just Like You was released this week on the 1st of December, which Jive Records expects Allison to sell 75, 000 copies of in its first week of release.

Threats:
Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, P!nk

View everything Allison: HERE
Get debut album Just Like You: HERE
Vote for Allison at the MRAs 2009!: HERE
The polls are located at the sidebar.

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Music Reviews 10 @ 2:17 PM | comment link here





Saturday, November 14, 2009
In The Spotlight This Week: Jordin Sparks



Jordin Sparks won the sixth season of American Idol when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner. She followed her American Idol victory with the release of her self-titled debut album in 2007, which has gone Platinum in the United States, having sold about 2 million copies worldwide. Due to the success of her debut album and its singles, she has won an American Music Award in 2008 and received her first Grammy nomination in 2009.

Jordin Sparks' sophomore album Battlefield was released in July 2009 worldwide and has released two singles from the album, Battlefield, and S.O.S. (Let The Music Play) which peaked at #10 and did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively. She recently performed on the VH1 Divas 2009 along with many other accomplished female musical acts such as Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis, Adele, Jennifer Hudson among others.

Jordin Sparks is signed under Jive Records along with fellow Idol contestants David Archuleta, Kris Allen, and Allison Iraheta. In terms of album sales in the United States, she is 8th with a total of 1, 154, 000 behind Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, and David Cook.

Threats:
Kristinia DeBarge, Leona Lewis

Watch: S.O.S. (Let The Music Play) live in the UK
View: Everything Jordin Sparks
Watch: Battlefield (Music Video)
Watch: S.O.S. (Let The Music Play) [Music Video]
Download: S.O.S. (Let The Music Play)
Download: Battlefield (live @ American Idol)
Download: Battlefield (Music Video)
Download: Battlefield

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Music Reviews 10 @ 6:38 PM | comment link here





Friday, November 6, 2009
In The Spotlight This Week: Carrie Underwood



Carrie Marie Underwood won the hearts of America back in Season 4 of American Idol where she dominated the voting each week and was declared the winner of that season. Since then, she's been a reigning Grammy award winning, multi-platinum selling recording artist, Academy of Country Music Awards Entertainer of The Year, and has since been inducted into the Grand Ole Opry and the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. She is also the first country artist in history to achieve nine number one singles from her first two albums on the Country Charts.

Carrie Underwood released her third album, Play On, on November 3, 2009. Her first single on the album, Cowboy Casanova, was released to country radio on September 14, 2009. Underwood now has the most top 10s on the country chart with the advance of Cowboy Casanova, among solo women this decade, followed by Faith Hill and Martina McBride each with 9. Prior to the release of her third album, Play On, three promotional singles were released to iTunes. Mama's Song released on October 12 followed by Temporary Home which was released on October 20 and Undo It released on October 27.

Underwood made a promotional stop in Singapore to promote her upcoming album, Play On, to the Asian media. The album will be released on November 2 in Singapore and various parts of Asia, followed by a November 3 release in the United States.

Threats:
Jessie James, Reba McEntire, Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler

View: Everything Carrie Underwood
View and download: Play On [2009 album]
Watch: I Told You So + Cowboy Casanova [live in Singapore]
Watch: Mama's Song [live in Singapore (also the first time ever live anywhere around the world)]
Watch: Cowboy Casanova [Music Video Premiere]
Read: Carnival Ride (Album Review)

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Music Reviews 10 @ 8:20 PM | comment link here





Sunday, November 1, 2009
In The Spotlight This Week: Avril Lavigne



Canadian singer/songwriter Avril Ramona Lavigne has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, making her one of the top-selling artists who release albums in America. Lavigne broke into the music industry with her debut album, Let Go, released in 2002. As of 2009, over 16 million copies were sold worldwide, more than 6 million of which were sold in the United States. Her second and third album, Under My Skin and The Best Damn Thing, reached number one on the Global charts. Lavigne has scored five number-one singles worldwide, including Complicated, Sk8er Boi, I'm With You, My Happy Ending and Girlfriend. Avril Lavigne married Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley in a Catholic ceremony attended by about 110 guests on July 15, 2006 at a private estate in Montecito, California. When asked if they were ready for kids the couple said "not right now but somewhere down the road."

It was announced on September 17, 2009, that Lavigne and Whibley split up and that divorce papers would soon follow. On October 9, 2009, Lavigne filed for divorce.

Avril is now working on her fourth studio album due for release early 2010.

Threats:
Allison Iraheta, P!nk

View Everything Avril Lavigne: HERE
View The Best Damn Thing album review: HERE
View Let Go album review: HERE

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Music Reviews 10 @ 9:55 PM | comment link here





Sunday, October 25, 2009
In The Spotlight This Week: Vanessa Hudgens



Things have been pretty quiet for Miss Hudgens here, now that High School Musical is done and she's no longer affiliated with Hollywood Records after releasing 2 albums with them - V and Identified. With the nude photos and everything, her squeaky clean image has been somewhat tarnished, but who cares now. She finished a new film called Bandslam and was praised for her performance in the show. She is currently filming Sucker Punch, a film in which will be released in 2011.

Threats:
Ashley Tisdale, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus

View Everything Vanessa Hudgens: HERE

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Music Reviews 10 @ 11:39 AM | comment link here





Thursday, October 15, 2009
In The Spotlight This Week: Michael Bublé



Michael Bublé was born in the city of Burnaby, British Columbia in Canada to Lewis Bublé, a salmon fisherman, and his wife Amber Bublé. He is the only son and eldest of 3 children with two younger sisters, Crystal (an actress) and Brandee. For his education, he attended Seaforth Elementary School and Cariboo Hill Secondary School. The first time that his family noticed his singing talent was at Christmas time when Michael was 13 years old and they heard him singing "White Christmas."

His first singing engagements were in nightclubs at the age of 16 and were facilitated by his Italian grandfather, who was a plumber coming from the county of Preganziol, about 40 kilometres from Padua, Italy, offering plumbing services in exchange for stage time for his grandson. His Italian grandfather also paid for his singing lessons. One of his vocal instructors was Joseph Shore, the opera baritone. His paternal grandfather never stopped believing that he would become a star. Michael's grandmother was also Italian from Abruzzo, Italy.

At the age of 18, Bublé entered a local talent contest and was informed by organizer Bev Delich that he had won, but was disqualified because he was underage. From there, Delich entered Bublé into the Canadian Youth Talent Search which he won. Following the win, Michael asked Delich to be his manager. Delich signed on and represented Bublé for the next seven, not-so-fruitful, years. According to Delich, Bublé would do every gig imaginable; including talent shows, conventions, cruise ships, malls, hotel lounges, bars, clubs, corporate gigs, theatres, music revues, and even the occasional singing Santa Claus gig.

In 1996, Michael appeared in TV's "Death Game" (aka Mortal Challenge) as a Drome Groupie. Also in 1996, Michael appeared (uncredited) in 2 episodes of The X-Files as a Submarine Sailor.

Michael's first national TV performance was on a 1997 award-winning Bravo! documentary titled Big Band Boom! which was directed by Mark Glover Masterson. Bublé received two Genie Award-nominations in 2000 for two songs he wrote for the film Here's to Life (I've Never Been in Love Before, Dumb ol' Heart). He recorded three independent albums (First Dance, 1996; Babalu, 2001; Dream, 2002). But by 25 years of age Bublé had moved from British Columbia to Toronto, Ontario and was ready to give up the dream of professional musicianship to move back to Vancouver, British Columbia to pursue a career in journalism when his lucky break came in 2000.

In 2000, Bublé's career breakthrough came from a surprising chain of events. Michael McSweeney saw Bublé's performance at a business party and received a copy of Bublé’s self-financed independent album from Michael. McSweeney, an aide to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, showed the album to Mulroney and his wife. Subsequently, Bublé was invited to sing at the wedding of Mulroney's daughter Caroline, where he sang Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife". At the wedding, Bublé was introduced to David Foster, a multi-Grammy Award winning producer and record executive who had worked previously with artists such as Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Céline Dion, Barbra Streisand, Kenny G., Cher, Josh Groban, and Andrea Bocelli.

Initially, Foster was reluctant to sign Bublé to his 143 Records label because he “didn’t know how to market this kind of music.” Bublé moved to Los Angeles for a brief period, with his agent, to convince Foster to sign him. Eventually, Foster agreed to produce an album for him if he raised $500,000 to cover the costs of the production, which Michael did. Foster ended up covering the costs of production in the end under his 143 Records label, with no assurances of support from Warner Brothers, and after Bublé received the personal stamp of approval and support of Foster's friend Paul Anka. Bruce Allen (manager of artists like Bryan Adams, Anne Murray, and Martina McBride) who Bublé had been trying to get to manage him for years, also signed Michael after David Foster agreed to produce Michael’s debut album.

Michael did some acting in this period; in 2000, as a karaoke singer in Duets opposite Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis, and in 2001, as Van Martin (a club owner), in Totally Blonde.

His latest album Crazy Love debuted at #1 this week on the Billboard 200.

Threats:
Kris Allen, Ray Charles

View: Everything Michael Bublé

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Music Reviews 10 @ 8:24 PM | comment link here





Monday, October 5, 2009
In The Spotlight This Week: Mariah Carey



Mariah Carey made her debut back in 1990 with her self titled multi-platinum album. Since then, she has made history by being having the most Number 1s by a solo artist, in the whole world. Second behind to legendary band, The Beatles. Now with her 12th studio album, Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel, it's said that she's battling Paramore for top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart. I wonder who'll be top, though. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, she is the third best-selling female artists and sixteenth overall recording artist. She is ranked as the best-selling female artist of the U.S. Nielsen SoundScan era (third-best-selling artist overall), with shipments of over 62.5 million albums in the U.S. and has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide. Her vocal trademark is her ability to sing in the whistle register. According to Forbes, Carey was the sixth richest woman in entertainment as of January 2007, with an estimated net worth of US $225 million.

Threats:
Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis

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Music Reviews 10 @ 6:19 PM | comment link here





Saturday, September 19, 2009
In The Spotlight This Week: Katharine McPhee



Katharine McPhee gained fame as the runner-up on the fifth season of American Idol. Her debut self-titled album peaked at #2 on the first week of its release. Katharine McPhee was dropped from her label eventually and started to focus on other projects like acting. After starring in The House Bunny in 2008, she joined forces with some of the mentors that she worked with on the show and started recording for her new album that was set to be released in 2009. The album was scheduled to have an October 2009 album but was pushed back real far, all the way into January 5, 2010. The album is entitled Unbroken. So far, this is Unbroken's track listing.

1. It's Not Right
2. Had It All
3. Keep Drivin'
4. Last Letter
5. Surrender
6. Terrified (with Jason Reeves)
7. How
8. Say Goodbye
9. Faultline
10. Anybody's Heart
11. Lifetime
12. Unbroken
13. Brand New Key

Threats: Beyonce

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Music Reviews 10 @ 5:46 PM | comment link here





Saturday, September 12, 2009
In The Spotlight This Week: Esmée Denters



Dutch Youtube sensation Esmée Denters reminds me of JoJo. In terms of her music and her voice that is. In 2008, Justin Timberlake discovered her talent and Esmée Denters signed up as the first artist under Timberlake's new label imprint Tennman in association with Interscope. Esmée added the official music video to the debut single Outta Here from her debut album of the same name, to her official YouTube page on 22nd May 2009, and her second single Admit It on the 3rd September 2009. Both songs have received five star ratings by the YouTube community.

Esmée Denters' manager arranged for her to meet Justin Timberlake at one of his concerts and from there they signed the deal. Tennman Records announced that she would be opening for Timberlake at 10 venues during his 2007 European tour. According to several magazines she is the first unsigned singer in history to go directly from a personal YouTube posting to commercially performing on a major stage.

Is she necessarily the next big thing, I'm not too sure, and JoJo wouldn't be too threatened.

Threats: JoJo

Download "Outta Here" lead single: HERE

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Music Reviews 10 @ 6:34 PM | comment link here





Saturday, September 5, 2009
In the Spotlight This Week: JoJo



Joanna Noëlle Blagden Levesque, or better known as JoJo, is a Pop/R&B singer-songwriter and occasional actress. She was first discovered first on America's Most Talented Kids. She was then asked to audition for Blackground Records. She rose to fame after releasing her self-titled debut album, which debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200, with sales of 95,000 copies, selling over 3 million copies worldwide. The first single off of the album, "Leave (Get Out)", was released in February 2004. It climbed to #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was certified gold by the RIAA. The single also rose 5 weeks to #1 on the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream, making her the youngest solo artist to have a number-one single in the United States. JoJo's second album, The High Road, was released on October 17, 2006, and debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 108,000 copies, selling over 2 million copies worldwide. The first single of the album, "Too Little Too Late", was released in August 2006 and reached number three on Billboard Hot 100. The single was certified with platinum by the RIAA. All I Want Is Everything is the third studio album and has already been completed. But with the label facing some problems, JoJo can't help but wait. She already sued her recording label and demands release from her contract and $500, 000. Release that album, already!

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Music Reviews 10 @ 8:20 AM | comment link here





Saturday, August 29, 2009
In The Spotlight This Week: Kristinia Debarge



Kristinia Debarge was introduced to music and a tender young age and was signed just before her 19th birthday. Exposed was released and scored Debarge her very first Top 20 hit with the album's lead single Goodbye which peaked at #15. Sabotage and Future Love were released as a double A-Side single and Future love has thus peaked at #125. Her sound has been compared to Season 6 American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks, but Jordin's still better at what she's doing as she released her debut album almost two years ago.

Threats:
Jordin Sparks

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Music Reviews 10 @ 9:58 PM | comment link here





Sunday, August 23, 2009
In the Spotlight This Week: Jessie James



Jessica Rose "Jessie" James was born April 12, 1988 on a military base in Vicenza, Italy, James relocated to central Georgia during the 1990s. She made weekly trips to Nashville to hone her songwriting amidst likeminded musicians. Her demo recordings soon made their way to David Massey, president of the rejuvenated Mercury Records, who subsequently brought her to the attention of Def Jam chairman L.A. Reid. James soon inked a contract with Island/Def Jam, and the label partnered her with songwriter Kara DioGuardi to help craft material for a debut album which debuted on the Billboard 200 at #23, selling about 20, 133 copies.

Jessie James' first single called "Wanted" was released in April 12th, 2009 in stations from U.S. and on May 12th, 2009 on United States and Canada iTunes. Her song, "Blue Jeans" was featured on Confessions of a Shopaholic soundtrack. In June, 2009 she toured with Jonas Brothers. Her debut album, Jessie James, was released on August 11th, 2009, for Mercury Records. She opened up for Thriving Ivory on July 4th in Mobile, AL at The Soul Kitchen.

Threats:
Carrie Underwood, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson

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Music Reviews 10 @ 10:34 AM | comment link here