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A Toast to Willa Ford
Whenever I interview an artist I
try to find some common ground to
use as an icebreaker and with Willa
Ford hockey broke that ice. Willa
is a hockey fan and the Stars are
her team. Irony? Maybe, since Willa
herself is well on her way to becoming
a star of a different sort.
She got her first break at 18, released
her first CD “Willa Was Here”
at 20 and now, at 22 is primed to
take over the charts with the early
launch single “A Toast to Men”,
can mega-stardom be far behind? If
drive and determination have anything
to say about it Willa will soon be
at the top.
Willa has always known that she wanted
to be a performer. At a very early
age she got involved in musical theatre
and even did a bit of modeling, but
performing her own music to a live
audience is her true calling. “There
is a real adrenaline rush performing
on stage and watching people in the
audience singing (along with) your
songs”, Willa says, “I always
think to myself ‘Oh, my God these
people are singing words that I remember
writing’, it is cool to touch
people that way.” Willa puts
her heart and soul into the music
she writes and she guards that music
with the protective instinct of a
mother. Would she ever write a song
for another artist? Not likely, “I
don’t want to share my music
because I don’t want (another
artist) to copy my style, my music
is too personal, too much a part of
who I am. I guess I’m really
weird like that.”
So who is Willa Ford? She is a very
pretty woman with some obvious talent
who also happens to take the business
of being a performer very seriously.
To her being a music artist is just
the beginning, a stepping stone to
a unlimited world of possibilities.
She has an exploring spirit and a
vibrant energy and her drive to succeed
is a defining piece of her personality.
Willa has big plans, “but it’s
not about the Pepsi commercials”
she says with a grin, “it’s
got to be fun sure, and you need a
business sensibility about things
but in the end it should be about
the music and what you want your music
to mean to the world.” As a compliment
to her music career Willa would like
to branch out a bit possibly doing
some film work or launching a fashion
line, “I’d like to have
a signature lingerie line like Kylie
Minogue,” but she would never
want to become a business entity like
some of her contemporaries. Willa
wants success but not at the expense
of her music or sense of self, when
Willa star shines it is on her own
terms. For that we raise a toast to
her and all the strong female artists
she will undoubtedly inspire.
Look for Willa's full length CD Spring
2004 and pick up a copy of her single
"A Toast to Men", in stores
now.
Catch a live radio interview with
Willa:
Dec 12, 2003 - WNOU/Indianapolis
Dec 13, 2003 - WXXL/Orlando
Dec 15, 2003 - WFKS/Jacksonville,
Fl
Dec 17, 2003 - KISS/Hartford
Dec 19, 2003 - WSPK/Poughkeepsie,
NY
- Tina Kells (Teen
Music/About.com)
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