MySpace.com - Ayla Brown - Wrentham, MASSACHUSETTS - Pop / Powerpop / Rock

http://www.myspace.com/aylabrownforward

Despite narrowly missing a spot in the Top 12 in the fifth season of FOX's hit show American Idol, 18-year-old Ayla Brown has surely made a name for herself in her activities following her last day on the "Idol" stage on Mar. 9, 2006. After finishing as a semi-finalist and placing 13th on Idol, the Wrentham, Mass. native, now a sophomore at Boston College and a starter on the womens basketball team, took numerous steps to ensure her talents would still be able to reach a wide audience regardless of her early exit on Idol.

Over the course of the summer of 2006, Brown made several appearances ranging from political functions to music festivals. Brown sang the National Anthem at the Massachusetts GOP State Convention on April 29 and at a Boston Red Sox game in May. Brown also had the honor of performing the Anthem with the accompaniment of the nationally acclaimed Boston Pops on the Esplanade for Boston's Fourth of July celebration. Brown's biggest break was at Boston's KISS 108 FM's annual KISS Concert in Mansfield, Mass., on May 20. Brown performed in front of thousands, singing crowd favorites from Idol such as Celine Dion's "I Want You to Need Me," as well as a cover of Mariah Carey's "Hero" In addition, she had the opportunity to introduce Natasha Bedingfield, whose song "Unwritten" was performed by Brown while on "Idol."

Brown also took part in charitable functions, including her performances at the opening ceremonies for the Pan-Mass Challenge in July and her contributions to the "Kickin' Cancer on the Common" event in August.

Upon the expiration of her contract with Idol in August, Ayla Brown signed an exclusive record and distribution deal with New York-based Double Deal Brand Records, and began recording her debut album "Forward," which was released on Oct. 17. Prior to the album's release, Brown released a single "Know You Better" / "I Quit." She performed songs from Forward in solo concerts at the Eastern States Exposition (or "Big E") from Sept. 15-17. On Sept. 29, Brown sang the title track from her album, Forward with a full accompaniment by the Boston Pops Orchestra in front of an audience of 15,000 at the "Pops on the Heights" Scholarship Gala at Boston College.

Forward features an array of adult contemporary and pop/rock-tinged tracks, which allows it to appeal to a broad audience. Covers of UK recording artist Ruby Amanfu's songs "Know You Better" (the album's first single) and "Sugah" give "Forward" a teen pop feel, while ballads "Miles Away" and "If I Was a River" (written by Grammy-winning songwriter Diane Warren for Tina Arena) greatly showcase Ayla's vocals. Produced by Jim McGregor and mixed by Peter Moshay, Forward is an example of what hard work, perseverence, and talent can produce.

Brown's album has been met with praise from critics. A review from the November/December 2006 issue of American Idol magazine states that "Ayla's voice soars through Diane Warren's ballad "If I was a River" and shows us her chops and range match anything that's on the air today." DJ KennDawg, the manager of the online radio station "Idol Waves" said of the title track, "'Forward,' which is filled with imagery to make it the most video-friendly song on the set, has the best potential to make a serious splash on the mainstream music charts. If she gets the right breaks, "Forward" could be an adult contemporary chart-topper. There's something about this song that gives it the "it" factor, as Simon would say."

Since her album's release, Brown has been featured in many publications, including American Idol magazine, the Boston Herald, and Boston magazine. Her first single "Know You Better" peaked at 1 on the Idol Waves Top 20 Countdown, and finished at 12 for the year-end Top 50 countdown. Ayla's music has been featured on countless pod shows on the PodSafe music network, as well as other online radio stations like Radioio Pop, where she was chosen as the station's "featured artist" for one week.

In addition to Brown's budding music career, she is also making waves as a basketball phenomenon at Boston College. A member of the Division I Lady Eagles basketball team, Brown made her first start on Dec. 31 against the University of Massachusetts; the Eagles went on to win the game with a score of 70-64. A two-time "Gatorade Player of the Year" award-winner, Brown became the 20th female in Massachusetts state history to score 2,000 points in a high school career, with a total of 2,358 points scored. Ayla is now a starter on the team as a sophomore, and led the team to it's first victory of the 2007-2008 season, scoring a record high 21 points with 10 rebounds. Ayla will be a force to be reckoned with this year at Boston College.

Both singing and basketball have been longtime passions of Brown's. Though challenging, she has managed to find success in both areas. While her career is just beginning, it is no secret that Ayla Brown's best and brightest days are still ahead of her. At this point, she can only move forward.

May 2008

Ayla will be featured Wednesday (June 4th) LIVE! on the VFTW Radio Show at 9 p.m. CT (10 p.m. ET)
Call in and talk to Ayla Live! Click the link below for Info.
Ayla Live Radio

Ayla will be singing the National Anthem at the Fleet Center on Sunday, May 18th, for the Boston Celtics play-off Game! 3 p.m.!
Immediately following the Celtics game Ayla will be heading to NY. for a week of recording for her next CD! Stay tuned for more details

Check here and AylaBrown.com for upcoming shows and schedules!

Ayla will be performing the National Anthem at the game against Virginia, Thursday the 28th.
Go Ayla!, and good luck Ladies!

Ayla now has a fan page on the social networking site Facebook. Facebook, which used to be available exclusively to college and high school students, is now open to the general public, so anyone can have an account. If you have an account, search for "Ayla Brown" and you will see the fan page listed. The page features streaming audio, a message board, and other cool features. Make sure you tell all your friends to add Ayla's fan page as well!

Ayla has topped the charts on Idol Waves once again! Ayla's version of "Breath of Heaven" has come in as the 1 Holiday song on Idol Waves this year. She also held strong with "My Grown Up Christmas List" ending in 8th place out of many Idol Christmas songs.

Be sure to tune in to Idol Waves to hear all your favorite idols, all the time! Thanks to Idol Waves for bringing us all of these great idol songs, and updates. And congratulations Ayla for being 1!

Ayla to sing "Star-Spangled Banner" at Patriots Game
Dec. 20, 2007
Ayla will be singing the National Anthem at the much anticipated Patriots game Sunday at 4:15 pm! The undefeated Patriots will host the Miami Dolphins, and Ayla will be kicking off the game with her incredible rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner"! Tune in everyone!

A HUGE thanks to WROR 105.7 In Mass. and 93.3 Coast FM in RI. for playing Ayla's "Grown Up Christmas List." Be sure to tune in to 105.7 & 93.3 over the month of December to hear Ayla, and all the other wonderful artists singing Christmas songs!

Ayla featured on American Christmas album
The holidays are upon us once again everyone. And to celebrate, some very special American Idol alumni have banned together to create a first! An Idol Christmas album. Ayla is featured on two of the CD's 13 tracks. American Christmas features star idols like, Jasmine Trias, Alexis Stone Lopez, Frenchie Davis, Perla, The Maynard Triplets, Lisa Leuschner, Nikki McKibbin, & RJ Helton.

The CD is now available on iTunes! Click the link below!

You can also purchase the CD at
CD Baby>HERE
Happy Holidays Everyone!

Ayla & JoJo!
Ayla & JoJo were together for a special fund-raising event in September. You can view more photos from the shoot >HERE<.

Ayla to write "Idol Thoughts" again!
Oct. 3, 2007
The Boston Herald has asked Ayla once again to put forth her pen, and lend us her insight on the inner workings of American Idol, as well as throwing in her favorites, and her controversial predictions. The much talked about articles were a big hit for the Herald last season. We are all looking forward to more juicy details and another season of American Idol! Write-on, Ayla!

Crocker Field Sunset Series
Sept. 16, 2007
What a blast! A beautiful day, and such a great concert, for a great cause. The weather was awesome, and the crowd was truly amazing! Hope everyone had a great time!

Ayla At Hot Stove, Cool Music
Aug. 25, 2007
Ayla performed at the third annual Hot Stove, Cool Music benefit last night, alongside John Legend, J. Geils, and a host of other musicians where she premiered her new single "Absolutely Everybody." Below is a snippet from an article from the Boston Herald.

Wrentham native and "American Idol" semifinalist Ayla Brown performed a cover of Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" - which, she reminded the audience, was the song that got her booted off the show - as well as the title track off her new album, "Forward," and the '90s dance-hop-inspired "Absolutely Everybody."

Ayla records her new single!
The new single will be available shortly on iTunes, as well as for sale at events. And as a gift to everyone supporting her, we have put a free download of the unplugged version of "Falling Into You" on Ayla's last.fm site!
To get the free download click
>HERE<
Enjoy everyone, and thanks again for all your support!