Everyone that meets seventeen year-old entertainer Katelyn Tarver knows that she is a multi-talented young woman. She’s best known as a finalist on the hit Fox TV series American Idol Juniors, where she won the heart of America each week, entertaining a cumulative audience of 35 million people. She has since shared the stage with Kimberly Locke, Jeff Foxworthy, Jesse McCarthy and American Idol finalist Bo Bice. In addition, Katelyn has headlined the Camplified Tour in the summer of 2005, the Radio Disney Incubator Tour in 2006 and performed at major venues around the U.S. And as if her blossoming music career wasn’t keeping her busy enough, she can be seen in numerous commercials and print ads and in the just released film The Barbie Diaries playing the title role.
In the small friendly town of Glennville, Georgia, Katelyn Tarver grew up in a home filled with music. Her mother was a member of the church choir and her father is an avid southern blues guitarist. As Katelyn tells it, “There was always music in our life, the church, the house and always the car radio.” At an early age, Katelyn taught herself “the feel” and “interpretation” of pop music, and before long was developing her own distinctive style.
Eager to perform for a larger audience in addition to her family and friends, the Tarver’s traveled to Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2003 to audition for American Idol Juniors. Katelyn’s talent left the producers speechless and she was immediately awarded a spot on the show. Katelyn received tremendous critical praise from judges Deborah Gibson and legendary pop vocalist Gladys Knight, all the while building a solid fan-base each week as one of the show’s top ten finalists. Upon Katelyn’s return to Georgia, Katelyn began recording demos and performing numerous shows in the southeastern part of the United States.
One of the demos made its way to New York City and into the hands of Tom and Concett Bradley at their record label TC Music. Katelyn was signed to TC Music in late summer of 2004, and began recording in New York and Los Angeles with such producers as Mattias Gustafsson (Backstreet Boys) and Kevin Savigar (Josh Gracin and Rod Stewart). Katelyn has worked with noted New York City fashion photographers Steve Azzara and Peter Brown, all the while maintaining her busy performance schedule that included - headlining selected tour dates on the summer 2005 “Camplified Tour” - walking the Red Carpet at the November 2005 “American Music Awards,” - headlining the winter/spring 2006 “Radio Disney Incubator Tour” - acting/modeling appearances in commercials and print media for VH1, MTV, BET, Cosmo Girl and Teen People - being featured in the spring 2005 issue of Super Model Unlimited magazine - being named the “Pick Hit Of The Month” in the March 2006 issue of Bop magazine and on the week of June 5, 2006 having the number 1 music video on The Gospel Music Channel and the number 20 video on the national CCM chart in Christian Radio and Retail Weekly. In addition, Katelyn has toured Japan and The Philippines and been featured in such magazines as “In Rock” in Japan as well as the cover of “Candy” magazine in The Philippines.
Katelyn’s debut album entitled “Wonderful Crazy” not only showcases Katelyn's singing talent but also shows a smart young woman with her choice of lyric content. In the song “Something In Me,” Katelyn lends a voice to all young people trying to find their way in life. With the track “I’ll Make It Real,” Katelyn sings about being strong and believing in one’s self. In addition, Katelyn shines with songs like “Undeniable” and “Rain” that show the happiness, fun and drama associated with teen life and love. The album’s title cut “Wonderful Crazy” gives Katelyn a chance to let her hair down and rock out. “We’ve had lots of fun working on the album,” says Katelyn. “Now I just can’t wait to continue to sing and perform the songs in front of live audiences.
Katelyn Tarver is the perfect balance between innocence and attitude.
