Season 5 'American Idol' alum Ayla Brown will sing the National Anthem and perform a 'Country Fest' set during Hockey Weekend Across America when the University of Massachusetts Riverhawks host the Maine Black Bears at Tsongas Center on Feb. 19.
Brown is making strides to promote the newest phase of her music career as she makes the leap from Adult Contemporary (AC) to Country music. She is moving to Nashville this month, and is working on all new music for her next album.
Brown makes the switch to Country
Last summer, Ayla Brown very publicly delared her intention to cross-over from AC to Country to the Boston Globe.
After spending some time in Nashville, Brown decided her affinity was with the Country genre and she has since:
- covered the Country Music Awards for the Great American Country (GAC) channel
- made her Country debut in Aug. 2010 at the Regent Theatre
- opened for Loretta Lynn's 50th Anniversary concert
- performed at the Mass. Country Music Awards Assoc. ceremony
- gone on tour with Armed Forces Entertainment to perform for US Troops
- joined an all-star roster for the 'Turn Up the Peace' benefit concert at Carnegie Hall
While a student at Boston College, Ayla Brown played for the NCAA Division 1 Lady Eagles women's basketball team. Under NCAA rules, she was unable to promote her music - but once she finished with the Eagles and earned her Bachelor's Degree in Communications, Brown wasted no time in moving her musical career forward.
From 'Idol' to recording career and other interests
As a starry-eyed teenager, Ayla Brown auditioned for 'American Idol' at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., in the summer of 2005. By the time she was eliminated from the show on March 9, 2006, she had reached the Top 16. The week she was eliminated, Brown performed Natasha Bedingfield's GRAMMY®-nominated hit, 'Unwritten.' It's a difficult song, and hearing Brown's rendition again five years later, I think she should have gone through for another week.
Brown released her first album, Forward in October 2006, six months after her 'Idol' run. The album peaked at #34 on Billboard's AC chart, but by then Brown was off to embark on her life as a journalism student and Division 1 basketball star at Boston College.
After her father, Scott Brown, won the late Senator Ted Kennedy's vacated seat in the Massachusetts Senate (in a 2009 special election), Ayla Brown's second album was bumped up to capitalize on the name recognition. The sophomore effort was rushed out as a five-track EP entitled Circles.
Brown has performed in musical theater and has also tried her hand at broadcast and print journalism, most notably as a guest contributor to the CBS Morning Show and an 'Idol' columnist for the Boston Herald.
Where to see Ayla Brown perform
After her performance at Tsongas Center for Hockey Weekend Across America, Brown will be available for autographs behind Section 101 during the second intermission.
You can also catch Ayla Brown on April 21 at 7 p.m. when she plays the Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.
Want to learn more about Ayla Brown and her aspirations? Read 'Almost Famous,' a Dec. 2010 profile of Brown in Boston Magazine and visit her website, AylaBrown.com for music and video downloads as well as upcoming appearances.
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