Alecia Elliot

(Alecia Elliot talks about her “hip and cool” image and the response she received from the fans.)

Alecia Elliot- Well, I did at “cowgirl” thing for a while, years ago and I didn’t like it, it just wasn’t me. But, I wanted to be different and I decided years ago, that’s what I wanted people to see whenever they saw me sing my songs. I wanted to be different from what everybody else was doing in country music. I wanted people to hear that in my music, I wanted people to see that in the way I dress, I wanted people to notice that in my attitude. I wanted them to know personally, just who I am and what I’m like. I want to look very different and very “hip”, if you know what I mean? That’s why I’m really happy with choosing “I’m Diggin’ It”, because I think that’s the right song to show people what I’m like dress-wise, the video showed my attitude and it showed one side of who I am. But, there’s also so many different sides of how I can be, both as a person and an individual, but I’ve always worn the kind of clothes that I’m wearing today. I mean with the clothes thing, that’s me, that’s the way I want people to see me. I want people to see me and say,” Oh Wow!, she dresses a little different then what everybody else in country music is doing.’ I didn’t want people to see me dressing and looking like anybody else at all in country music today. I mean first of all, my first song (I’m Diggin’ it”) isn’t a real, real country songs. It’s country but, it’s got soul to it, if you know what I mean? While it is country of course, I didn’t expect it to do as good as it did, right out of the box, if you know what I mean. So, the fact that it’s selling that god, I think that’s great! And, yeah, I think a lot of it has to do with my sound, my look and my attitude of being different. I’m excited about how everything is going. I think it’s time, I mean it does take time for everybody to get to know who I am and what I’m about, it’s still time for country music to change in a big, positive way.

(Alecia Elliot talks about the feedback she’s been receiving from the fans in regards to her “different” sound and public image.)

Alecia Elliot-I’ve got a lot of feedback and fan mail and emails on the Internet. A lot of it’s like,”Oh wow, I think you’re really cool. You’re different. We like the difference that you have.’

(Alecia Elliot talks about her private life.)

Alecia Elliot- I home school and I still hang out with my friends. I started home schoolin’ whenever I went to work in the (recording) studio, because I was missing too much school. I love it and I’m learning a lot of too! I still get to hang out with my friends’ back home so you know, I pretty much have the same thing that I had at school you know? It does make it difficult to have a steady boyfriend you know? I have a boyfriend back home who I date, but it’s nothing serious, he’s just like a good friend.

(Alecia Elliot speaks about her personal history.)

Alecia Elliot -I was in Huntsville, Alabama and my aunt (Brenda Jones) took me when I was nine years old to a Lorrie Morgan meet and greet before the show, because Lorrie Morgan is my favorite singer. I went to the meet and greet before the show and I got to meet Lorrie and I handed her one of the demo tapes that I’d made. She had to have listened to it and one of the songs was “We Both Walk” which was the title of one her songs. So, during her show, she asked me to come up on-stage with her. So, it was a really awesome experience. Lorrie has been a big influence. Honestly, listening to her music all of the time, I kind of got where I could sing a Lorrie Morgan song and make it sound just like her. I honestly just wanted to be like Lorrie and sing like her and look like her and I’ve always loved her. Now that and older and I’ve got my little thing goin’ now. I’m really grateful of her influences and the opportunity she provided me with.Then,I worked at the Stockyard Friday and Saturday nights for almost two years. After school on Friday, my parents would come and get me and we’d drive straight to Nashville. And there was a lot of times when other little girls would ask me to come over to their parents house and spend the night and I’d have to tell them “No, I’ve got to work tonight”. So there were things like that that I missed out on a little. But, I loved it in the end because I learned a lot about performing and singing in front of people. I got to do as much as possible whenever I wasn’t working and my Parents and I enjoyed a lot of time whenever we were there. I was learning how to become a better performer and whenever I felt like I was good enough to a record label, that was a difficult thing, but I worked really hard and I eventually achieved the goal I’d set of signing a record deal and getting my own album of my own style of country music out. So,I started singing demo (tapes) when I was twelve years old and I realize now that I was way too young to have an album out back then (she laughs.) When I first got the record deal when I was fifteen. I was expecting to be in the (recording) studio doing this and doing that. It took a long time before everything came together.

(Alecia Elliot talks about her unique sound.)

Alecia Elliot- I wanted to keep it country and I wanted it to be different. You know how Shania Twain is different in country music? I wanted to be different but not like Shania Twain you know? I wanted my music to have soul. I wanted the songs to be different and coming from Muscle Shoals Alabama, my home town.) I wanted it to have soul in it, you know? When I listened to the music from the instruments, I wanted to hear as much soul in the instruments as I heard in my voice. So I wanted to hear that little bit of soul in the music, you know? So that everybody could get into it and it would be a different kind of sound you know?

(Alecia Elliot offers her take on the way country music is changing.)

Alecia Elliot- Country’s kind of changin’, it’s not Real Country like it used to be. Country is getting better and better but it’s definitely changing. It’s getting’ more hip then it used to be. I mean country always was awesome to me, but a lot of teenagers wouldn’t listen to it. Back whenever I liked country a lot of other teenagers would blow off a country song on the radio. I think country is going to keep getting better. I’ve always wanted to be a little bit different and that’s always been one of my goals so, I’m really happy I made it.