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New Artist Spotlight: Delana Stevens |
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Written by Bob Doerschuk
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New Artist Spotlight: Delana Stevens
By Bob Doerschuk
© 2007 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.
There are no gray areas in the world to which DeLana Stevens welcomes us on her debut album. But neither are there categories, especially in music. Just listen to “I Already Am,” the gutsy last track from Welcome to My World. As the band lays down its slow-motion, swampy crawl, this young firebrand from Basin, Wyo., name-checks her idols, from Merle Haggard to Van Halen, and sums up her creed in one simple phrase: “Good music is still good music.”
Stevens’ raw, throaty vocals pack all the power of a prairie cyclone. Her passion proved irresistible even to her mother, who agreed to relocate all the way to Nashville so that her daughter — then just 13 years old — could chase her dreams at a place where dreams are born.
It took 11 years of hard work for Stevens to sign her contract with Mach One/Spinville late in 2005. A few months later she laid tracks with a team of session aces who, perhaps electrified by the urgency of her performance, played as if the studio were burning down around them.
Once the smoke had cleared, Stevens pulled the title song, a blunt but good-humored assault on the lessons of life that she wrote with producer Darrell Young, and hit the highway, taking her music to radio stations across America.
The trip paid off, as Radio and Records added “Welcome to My World” to its New & Active chart. Her video for the heartbreaking ballad that followed as the second single, “Say Hello to Heaven,” won ample exposure on CMT.com and GAC-TV’s “On Demand” while also becoming one of the five most requested videos on the Gospel Music Channel.
The road that brought Stevens to this place has been long, but she’s homing in on those childhood dreams, in sight at last.
IN HER OWN WORDS
Who is your musical hero?
“Hank Williams Sr. No person has done more for Country Music and rock music, aside from Elvis.”
What song would you like to cover?
“’Wild Horses’ by The Rolling Stones. I’m in love with the rawness of this song.”
What song do you wish you had written?
“Probably ‘Dream On’ by Aerosmith — such a great song.”
What actor would portray you in a biopic about your life?
“Hmmm… Drew Barrymore. She’s quirky enough.”
What CD is on your stereo?
“I've been listening to Montgomery Gentry's newest record.”
What book is on your nightstand?
"Rider's on the Storm by John Densmore, drummer from the Doors”
What do you sing in the shower?
“Whatever I wake up with in my head that day. Unfortunately that isn't always a good thing.”
What is your pet peeve?
“Eating loudly.”
What moment in your life would you relive if you could?
“I don't think I've had that moment yet.”
Do you have a lucky charm?
“Any type of cross.”
Who is your dream duet partner?
“Wynonna Judd.”
When they look back on your life in 50 years, what do you hope people say about you?
“I hope that people will say, that my music made them laugh, made them cry, inspired, and influenced them in some way. And that I was honest, passionate, gracious and loyal to friends, family, and everyone who I came in contact with.”
On the Web: www.delanastevens.com
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