"I've been thinking back on when I first started recording," reflects soon-to-be sixteen-year-old singing sensation Ashley Ballard. "You know, I was just thirteen when the whole process began and I can't help but feel I've changed so much since then."
Today, Ashley is poised and confident as her long-imagined Atlantic Records debut, "GET IN THE BOOTH," makes its way into the world. "As an artist, I know what I'm after and what's required to make it happen," she continues. "But really, everything about me has really changed over the past few years - even my tastes in food have changed. When I started the album, I would only eat hamburgers, hot dogs, and French fries - that's it. Now I'm eating sushi!"
"GET IN THE BOOTH" showcases the Orange County, California-based Ashley's remarkable vocal talents, at turns vulnerable, self-assured, sassy, and sanguine. Cut in studios around the planet - including Los Angeles, New York, Miami, New Jersey, Norway, the U.K., and the Bahamas - with such esteemed vets as Stargate (Billie, S Club 7, Five), Elliott Kennedy (Spice Girls, Boyzone), and James McMillan (S Club 7, Boyzone), "GET IN THE BOOTH" features a equally-diverse palette of moods and grooves, moving from the dancefloor rhythms of "5 X 5" and "Hypnotized," to the touching balladry of "Forever," and the percolating pop perfection of the debut single, "Hottie."
The sweeping "Second Thoughts" found Ballard in the studio with labelmates Plus One and 14-time Grammy Award-winner David Foster - an experience that, not unlike her partnerships with the album's other producers, proved both inspirational and educational.
"I learned so much about the recording process and my own abilities as a singer," Ashley says of the "GET IN THE BOOTH" sessions. "Each producer brought something new to the table and I think the album turned out that much better for it."
The album's title is an outgrowth of Ashley's work with producer Rodney Jerkins (Brandy, Jennifer Lopez, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott) and his Darkchild Productions crew, specifically vocal producer LaShawn Daniels (Monica, Spice Girls). "LeShawn would always tell me to 'Get in the booth,'" Ballard remembers with a laugh. "Actually, he would yell. When it was time to record a track, he'd say - he called me Ashley Mallard - 'Ashley Mallard! Get in the booth!" I thought that was really funny. I mean, making the album was a lot of work, but moments like that just made it fun. Besides, once I start singing it doesn't feel like work anyway."
Ashley's enthusiasm for recording is paralleled by her eager embrace of a wide range of music, with current faves including Joe, Jill Scott, Tamia, and Coldplay.
"I'm always listening to new music, always interested to hear what new artists are trying, and what new singers are out there," she says. "I like singers who ignite something inside me, whether it's an emotion or a feeling or something that just makes me happy or makes me want to cry - something that big, you know."
In Ashley Ballard's experience, the best songs are always the ones that take the listener to a higher plateau. It's a goal she has attached to her own work, as reflected in her music's soaring spirit and inspirational themes. "It means a lot for someone to be able to hear this album and come away feeling just a little bit better," she states.
Growing up in Mission Viejo, California, Ashley Ballard was charming her family with her singing from the time she was three, creating her own jazzy arrangements of favorite nursery rhymes while demonstrating a knack for imitating songs she'd hear on the radio.
In 1990, a five-year-old Ashley found herself onstage for the first time, performing with her pianist uncle as part of a Christmas concert in Orange County. "I realized then that there was something extraordinary about Ashley's talent, beyond the charm that accompanies any kid who's willing to stand up and sing for an audience," remembers her uncle Louis Valentino. "Without a doubt, she had something special going on."
An enthusiastic music fan, the young Ashley embraced an early cassette collection that included the likes of Whitney Houston, Cyndi Lauper, and Queen. The gifted vocalist took her first steps in the recording studio at the tender age of six, cutting a series of lighthearted but telling demos. By the fourth grade, it was clear Ashley was more than a girl who simply liked to sing. In 1992, she was a four-time Junior Finalist on StarSearch, wowing the judges with her renditions of "Amazing Grace" and other classics.
That year also saw Ashley stepping out as a sought-after performer for any number of local events, ranging from church, school, and community theater events to private parties and regional cable television programs. Among the highlights was a county fair set where she opened for none other than the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown.
Another milestone came in 1996 when Ashley was asked to perform for President Bill Clinton during a political event in Century City. So impressed was the President that the young vocalist was invited to sing in Washington, D.C. on the occasion of Clinton's second inaugural. "It was an amazing experience, but I was definitely freezing," laughs Ashley of singing outdoors on a January day in the nation's capitol.
In 1998, Ashley won the heart of Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun when she sang at the Blues Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Awards ceremony, performing alongside such legendary artists as Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, Boz Scaggs, Stephen Stills, and Bobby "Blue" Bland. She made her recorded debut a year later with the November 1999 release of Atlantic's RIAA double-platinum Pokémon: The First Movie soundtrack. From the opening notes of the top 10 soundtrack's rhythmic "It Was You" (also included on "GET IN THE BOOTH"), Ashley demonstrated an effervescence that pointed to both a dynamic vocal character and exceptional performance skills.
April 2000 saw the release of "Don't Get Lost In A Crowd," Ballard's contribution to the Center Stage motion picture soundtrack, and in June, she performed as part of the Steve Madden/Atlantic Records Girl Band Search final ceremonies, held at the South Street Seaport in New York City. Two months later, Ashley hit the road as the exclusive performer on the cross-country Ford Supermodel of the World™ USA tour. The summer itinerary found her performing high-energy sets in a dozen malls across the country, offering audiences a sneak-preview to the still-developing "GET IN THE BOOTH." She also found time to sing for Vice President Al Gore at a Los Angeles event during his presidential campaign.
Spring 2001 saw Ashley featured on the nationally-syndicated in-concert cable special, Teensation! alongside Atlantic labelmates Debelah Morgan, Plus One, M2M, and Willa Ford. The concert - taped in early '01 before a high-energy audience of 3,000 at Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida - proved a pivotal event for Ballard. "It was probably the loudest crowd I've ever experienced," she recalls. "It was really, really cool to have an audience like that to pump you up It was also great to hang out with the other Atlantic artists. The girls from M2M were even trying to teach me Norwegian, to help me on my next recording trip to Norway."
When not otherwise occupied traveling the globe or making music in front of screaming fans, Ashley Ballard is like any other teen - busy with schoolwork, e-mailing friends on the new laptop her father bought her, or just listening to what's new on the radio. However, it's "GET IN THE BOOTH" that remains fixed at the center of her universe. Having poured every bit of herself into each of the album's fourteen tracks, Ashley Ballard is - at last! - set to realize her "life-long ambition."
Source: http://www.ashley-ballard.com/
