Lucy Woodward 'While You Can' album

Armed with an undeniable talent, Lucy Woodward has blended a variety of influences - soul, rock, pop - into a sound that's all her own. "WHILE YOU CAN," her Atlantic debut - produced by John Shanks (Michelle Branch, the Corrs, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks) and Kevin Kadish - marries Woodward's strong and sexy vocals with a delightfully melodic modern sound. From the widescreen ballad, "Standing" to the playfully pointed first single, "DUMB GIRLS" marks the arrival of a captivating and irresistible new artist.

"I went into this project with the feeling that it's time for something different in pop music," the 25-year-old New Yorker says. "I think that people are really ready for some original sounds. You can hear my roots in this music, but I hope that I've made something that's fresh, something that will satisfy people's craving for music that's honest and soulful."

Born in England, then spending her early years in Amsterdam, Lucy grew up surrounded by music. Both parents are accredited musicologists - her father is a composer and was a conductor for the BBC, while her mother was an opera singer and is now a music teacher - and as such, she was raised on a healthy diet of classical, middle eastern (Mom was a belly dancer too!), opera, and the Beatles.

"I knew from when I was very young how important music is," Woodward recalls. "That's just the way our house was run."

After moving with her mom and brother to New York City, Lucy studied piano and flute at an early age, taking her first voice lessons at 14. Inspired by R&B superstars like Aretha Franklin and Etta James, she began her professional career in her late teens, working as a singer-for-hire, lending her expressive voice to the NYC club scene, commercials and studio sessions. Having spent so much time in clubs and recording studios, Woodward gained both a knowledge of her craft as well as an understanding of what she needed to do on her own record.

"I was really good at making my voice adapt to the job," she says, "making my voice sound a certain way, whether it was for a commercial or a pop demo. But when it came to recording my own music, I wanted to sing with my true voice."

In addition to her remarkable vocal gifts, Woodward is also a talented songwriter, co-writing the album with such tunesmiths as Vini Poncia (Kiss, The Ronettes, Ringo Starr), Jamie Houston (Macy Gray, O-Town), Shelly Peiken (Brandy), and Sabelle Breer (Avril Lavigne). Having penned much of the album's lyrics and melodies, Lucy is quick to give credit where credit's due, noting how much she enjoys the collaborative process.

"As a writer, I really enjoy having someone else's opinion and outlook on my work," she says. "You have someone there to push you. You, in turn, push them, and the creative juices really flow. One person raises the bar, then the other person raises the bar, and result is really positive."

While her professional relationships have proven successful, "Dumb Girls" - the album's first single/video - was inspired, like so many classic pop songs, by the end of a romance.

"It's about thinking that it could never happen to you," Lucy explains. "You think that everything's going so well, so you fool yourself into thinking your relationship is invincible, like ?He'll never break up with me.' But that's not always how it works out."

Despite the track's rich rock sound, "Dumb Girls" - co-written with Kadish (who's penned material for Willie Nelson and Sheryl Crow) - is actually Lucy's original demo recording. "Kevin has a little bedroom studio where we did our initial demos," she says. "'Dumb Girls' came out so beautifully, we barely did anything to it other than adding a little guitar. I didn't even re-sing it. It was just perfect."

The majority of "WHILE YOU CAN" was recorded in the summer and fall of 2002 at the historic Jim Henson Studios in Los Angeles. The nine Shanks-helmed tracks feature the veteran producer/musician on guitar, playing alongside a veritable who's who of studio talent, including drummers Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan) and Abe Laboriel Jr. (Paul McCartney, Vanessa Carlton), bassists Pino Palladino (the Who, Eric Clapton) and Mike Elizondo (Mary J. Blige, Eminem), and keyboardists Jamie Muhoberac (the Rolling Stones, Faith Hill) and Patrick Warren (Fiona Apple, Macy Gray). The two Kadish-produced songs feature a band of lesser-known - though no less accomplished - players: Kadish and Ty Stevens on guitar, bassist Tad Wadhams (Sheryl Crow, O-Town), keyboardist Greg Bieck (Destiny's Child, Josh Groban), and drummer Denny Weston Jr. (Laura Satterfield).

"It was so exciting working with all these incredible musicians," Lucy beams. "They brought so much to the sound of the record and by the end of the sessions, we had all become very good friends."

Backed by such a top crop of talent, Lucy displays a potent emotive range and ability on tracks like the inspirational "What's Good For Me" and the haunting "Blindsided". "Done" was written in the days following 9/11 and is as, Lucy says, "it is love song, but not in the traditional sense. It's about New York City, waking up here and living that terrible day." The path from NYC clubs to "WHILE YOU CAN" may have been long and winding, but for Lucy Woodward, the journey has been well worth the effort

"I'm so happy with this record," she beams. "I feel like I've really gotten everything out of my system - for this round. I had an amazing team around me, it was so creative, there was such a great vibe. I'm still pinching myself, like, ?I can't believe this is happening!' But at the same time, I can believe it. I put a lot of work into it, and now I'm just excited that people are going to hear this music that I'm so proud of."

You can listen to an exclusive interview with Lucy Woodward HERE.

NEW ATLANTIC RECORDING ARTIST LUCY WOODWARD BREAKS THROUGH VIA AOL MUSIC

"DUMB GIRLS" STREAMS PASS HALF MILLION MARK, IS #3 MOST-ADDED SONG IN FIRST WEEK AT POP RADIO

In just two months, new Atlantic recording artist Lucy Woodward has become a huge hit with AOL Music fans, who have streamed her debut single, "Dumb Girls," more than 500,000 times. AOL members had a unique opportunity to hear the single on AOL Music weeks before it shipped to radio stations. Since November, when Lucy was named an AOL Music "Breaker" artist, "Dumb Girls" has been showcased throughout the AOL Music network, including the AOL Artist Discovery Network, the AOL Welcome Screen, AOL Teens, Netscape, CompuServe, and the Welcome Screen of AOL's Instant Messenger? service.

Following weeks of exposure via the AOL Music campaign, "Dumb Girls" shipped to radio nationwide earlier this month. With the groundwork laid and a major fan base already developed, the song instantly became the #2 most-added track at Hot AC/Modern Adult outlets, and it is now the #3 most-added song at CHR/Pop radio in its first week at the format.

AOL Music will continue featuring Lucy Woodward by offering a performance and interview from Sessions@AOL. Additionally, her "Dumb Girls" companion music video will premiere exclusively on AOL this month; and AOL Music will stream the singer/songwriter's debut album, "WHILE YOU CAN," in its entirety as an exclusive Listening Party the night before its March 18th street date. As a special bonus, purchasers of "WHILE YOU CAN" will be able to unlock a never-before-viewed song from Woodward's Sessions@AOL performance.

This multi-layered roll-out sees Woodward joining the company of other recent successful Breaker artists like Michelle Branch, Tweet, Vanessa Carlton, and Avril Lavigne - all of whom were featured in advance interactive campaigns on AOL Music. Millions of music fans enjoyed exclusive songs, videos, Sessions@AOL interviews, and performances from each of these artists before their music was available anywhere else. As a result of these campaigns, AOL Music has been credited with helping to break these young artists.

"With the ?Breaker' campaigns, AOL Music has created an outstanding vehicle to introduce a new artist," commented Atlantic Records Co-President Ron Shapiro. "The ability to have an unknown performer seen and heard by such an enormous online community gives us an unprecedented jump-start in launching a career. Lucy is an exceptional talent, and the phenomenal reaction she has received proves that when you have both a great artist and a great way to expose them to an active, engaged audience, millions of people are eager to embrace their music."

"Connecting music fans with new artists is the lifeblood of the music business. We are thrilled that record labels and artists have chosen to partner with AOL Music to debut an artist and create a groundswell before going to radio, television, and other traditional mediums," said Bill Wilson, Vice President and General Manager, AOL Music. "It is no surprise that our members have responded so positively to Lucy's debut single. We are confident the excitement will continue to build, and her fanbase will grow when we debut her video and her moving performance on Sessions@AOL."

Lucy Woodward said, "My first reaction was how cool it is to be able to turn on your computer and see your face on AOL when no one really knows who you are. Then it dawned on me that millions of people were doing the same thing at the same time, and even though they had never heard of me, thousands of them were actually taking the time to listen to my music. It is bizarre and wonderful and incredibly exciting."

Armed with undeniable talent, Lucy Woodward blends a variety of influences - blue-eyed soul, rock, pop - into a style all her own. "WHILE YOU CAN," her Atlantic debut - produced by John Shanks (Michelle Branch, Sheryl Crow, the Corrs) and Kevin Kadish - marries Woodward's strong and sexy vocals with a delightfully melodic modern sound. From the widescreen ballad, "Standing," to the playfully pointed first single, "Dumb Girls," "WHILE YOU CAN" marks the arrival of a captivating and irresistible new artist. The daughter of two musicologists, Woodward was born in England and moved to Holland when she was 3. She currently lives in New York City, where she spent much of her teenage years.

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Lucy Woodward - While You Can