Ayla Brown Dishes on Her Self-Titled Album and Why Josh Turner Is Afraid of Her

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Taste of Country
By: Billy Dukes 

Years before moving to Nashville, singer-songwriter Ayla Brown was a star on the Boston College women’s basketball team. They called her “Downtown” Ayla Brown for her impeccable ability to shoot the three-pointer. Now, she’s only able to play pick-up games between songwriting sessions and performances, and she’s regularly underestimated.

“None of the guys wanna cover you right? And then you start shooting threes, open 3′s, and everyone on the other team starts saying ‘Who has the girl? I thought you had her,’” Brown quips. The 23-year-old, who’s just released a self-funded album full of emotional love songs and feisty country rockers, seems very comfortable in proving her worth. It’s a resilience that she’ll need to rise from the bottom of Music City’s deep pool of talent.

“I’m a proud, struggling musician,” the season five ‘American Idol’ contestant tells Taste of Country with a hearty laugh. The Massachusetts-raised daughter of U.S. Senator Scott Brown is the first from her family to leave the Bay State. It took mom and dad a little while to understand why she wanted to put her journalism degree aside to go play dive bars and empty honky-tonks along Broadway.

“It wasn’t until I got an opening slot doing the National Anthem with the Nashville Orchestra two years ago that my mom came down for the show, and she loved Nashville,” Brown shares. “She loved the city, she understood it.”

Brown has a regular gig singing the National Anthem for the Philadelphia 76ers — an executive fell in love with her voice on YouTube and offered to pay all her travel — and with the help of William Morris Agency she has booked shows with stars like Josh Turner. In fact, it’s Turner that she challenged to a game of hoops earlier this year. She was told he was doing “weight training.”

“So then I saw Josh and he was like, ‘So are you the basketball player?’ And of course, I’m wearing 4-inch heels and I’m already 6-feet tall. I’m like, ‘Yes I am, and I heard you were scared to play me.’” According to her official website, Brown has two more shows booked with Turner this summer. Sounds like he’d better star working on his defense.

You can preview Brown’s entire album on iTunes or find it on Spotify. You can also follower her on Facebook andTwitter — and if you want our advice, it’s that you should check her out, as she’s on her way to taking Nashville by storm.

To visit the Taste of Country Website click Here

Two More Shows Scheduled with Country Star, Josh Turner

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Ayla has secured two more summer dates with country singer, Josh Turner. Both dates are in Ayla’s home state of Massachusetts. Join Josh and Ayla on July 13th at the Cape Cop Melody Tent in Hyannis, and July 15th at the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset. For more information on tickets visit Ayla’s tour section here or Josh’s website here. Ayla will have all of her merchandise for sale, including her new CD. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Examiner.com Album Review- “Ayla Brown’s Strong Self-Titled Country Album Sets the Bar High for Idol Alums”

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Review by: 
Nashville New Music Examiner

When young American Idol hopeful Ayla Brown got her shot at impressing the judges back in 2005-2006, she presented herself well enough to keep their ear and make it to the final 16, yet Idol judge Randy Jackson was still not certain that Brown had a distinguished enough voice. At the time, Jackson may have been right.

Fast forward to 2012. Over a half-decade later finds Massachusetts native Ayla Brown releasing her self-titled country album without the platform of American Idol to launch from, but doing so with all of the polish and conviction of an artist who has continued to chase her dreams and realize the potential others could not foresee.

If Jackson were to listen to Brown’s latest release he might hear occasional subtle tone similarities to Nancy Wilson of Heart or Katrina Leskanich when Brown delivers a soft and breathy passage. Or he could possibly even hear a little Sara Evans in Brown’s phrasing and delivery, but in song after song on this album, when Brown attacks a chorus, the voice, conviction and tone are all Ayla.

Ayla Brown’s latest endeavor is jam packed with hooky, radio-friendly country rockers that quickly get listeners acquainted with their replay button.

Brown sets the tone for the album with her first track Ain’t Leavin’. The upbeat and punchy country rock song portrays a woman leaving a bad relationship with the confidence and fortitude to not look back.

The second cut, Miss You Already, roller coasters up and down, offering the vocal dynamics that Idol judge Paula Abdul may have been seeking from Brown years ago, as the soft and airy verses transition to a powerful chorus that Brown delivers with soulful conviction.

There are hints of an Alanis Morissette influence in Goodbye For Good as Brown continues along the finding-your-freedom-after-a-break-up track and provides the listener with another country rocking, head-bobbing excuse to reach for the volume knob.

Her songs Country Found Me and Beat By a Girl give Brown the opportunity to reflect on her past and the road that has led her to pursue her dreams in Nashville.

Brown puts the bow on a strong album with Can’t Make Up My Mind, a tender and dynamic ballad that separates itself from the rest of the album, and by doing so showcases how far she has come since she was first introduced to the public on Fox’s blockbuster reality show.

Brown has delivered one of the best independent albums from an American Idol alumnus to date. Her self-titled album Ayla Brown is available on I-tunes.

Continue reading on Examiner.com Ayla Brown’s strong self-titled country album sets the bar high for Idol alums – Nashville New Music | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/review/ayla-brown-s-strong-self-titled-country-album-sets-the-bar-high-for-idol-alums#ixzz1snZt2nm
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Songs of Love Online Auction from April 6-22nd!

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Now is your chance to bid on the exciting items you want and help support an important organization and its mission at the same time!

The Songs of Love Foundation is a national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that creates free, personalized, original songs to uplift children and teens currently facing tough medical, physical or emotional challenges. Each CD is professionally produced with lyrics containing the child’s name and references to all of his or her favorite activities, things, people, and pets. Songs are written and performed in any language in the musical style that the child likes best (pop, R&B, rap, rock, alternative, etc.), by a variety of talented celebrities and professionals.

As each child is unique, so is every ‘Song of Love’ composition. Since 1996 The Songs of Love Foundation has reached out to over 22,500 children in over 500 hospitals and health care facilities in all 50 states. The songs have often been played to alleviate pain and trauma during painful and scary hospital treatments. The song recipients have played their “Songs of Love” in all kinds of situations and settings such as car trips to the hospital, show and tell at school, for family and friends in person or on the phone, and even for the doctors and nurses. The children have their “Songs of Love” always available to them whenever they are feeling down.

Ayla has been the spokesperson for Songs of Love for a few years now, and from April 6-22nd YOU can help make a difference in a child’s life by bidding on a variety of amazing items. There are sports packages for the men, jewelry for the women, tickets to see Dr. Phil, and much much more!

To check out the auction items, Click HERE