Just last year, country music up-and-comer Kayla LoCicero emerged from tiny town of Ponchatoula, Louisiana with a debut solo performance that brought the house down. Since then, she's released her first album, Beautiful World and was signed to Aria Records Nashville. She recently received the fantastic news that the video for her single "The Halls of St. Jude" has been added in rotation on the Great American Country (GAC) 24-hour country music cable channel.
At a young age, Kayla has a great music career ahead of her, and GarageBand.com has given a helping hand.
"The Internet has pretty much been a part of my life, since I'm only eighteen," Locicero said. "there are so many people who didn't have the opportunities we have today because places like GarageBand.com and MySpace didn't exist. Sites like these open the world up to music."
Her manager and aunt, Barbara Farkas, agreed: "Musicians today have a better chance than ever of getting their music heard by people who just love good music."
Farkas also commented on how helpful community feedback can be for a developing artist.
"As for the overall experience of GarageBand.com," she said, "one can't fix what they don't know is broken. Artists now have the opportunity to find out what is broken in their music and where they should place their efforts to improve."
In fact, the GarageBand community was in part responsible for turning "The Halls of St. Jude" into a video success, giving the track a solid 5.0 rating and keeping it nipping at the heels of the top ten on GB's country charts. "For that reason," Locicero told us, "we knew it was good enough."
And what advice does this skillful songstress have to impart on other aspiring musicians?
"Believe in yourself and find the people in your life that believe in you too. Listen to those people because they hear and see what you don't. "
