Katrina Elam - Katrina Elam

She was a 16-year-old Oklahoma high school kid when she landed her first songwriting contract and soon had endorsements from fellow Okies Reba McEntire and Vince Gill. That's heady stuff, the sort that often produces overheated expectations and disappointment if and when the artist gets to a major label. Not in Elam's case. Her voice--sensual, sensitive, and passionately full-throated--cuts to the chase, particularly on her own material, as she addresses emotional issues of all shades and intensities. The joyful optimism of "No End in Sight" gives way to the smart, mature view of "The Breakup Song," which explores the common thread of such tunes across generations. "Normal," with its autobiographical tone, captures the isolation and cynicism of every high school outcast. Co-written by Elam and John Rich, "Unbreakable" is a fiery celebration of resiliency, with its line "I'm seein' my life in full color for the very first time" capturing Elam's voice at its rocking peak. It isn't just her edginess that impresses. Despite her youth, Elam's debut projects a stunning, dead-on prairie clarity that takes most singers years to achieve. --Rich Kienzle Amazon.com

Highly recommend it!

I wish I could buy stock in this woman. I first saw/heard her on Keith Urban's concert DVD, then bought her CD. I keep checking to see if she's completed the next one. I love her voice, the depth, her delivery...the writing, composition of her songs...completely enjoyed this CD (still do). Make more Katrina! July 6, 2008

Extraordinary Talent, Strong Effort

Katrina Elam's 2004 debut effort is suprisingly mature and confident. Maybe it should not be so surprising given her reputation as a vocal prodigy and her cachet by virtue of her early endorsement by the likes of Vince Gill and Tony Brown. Still, her excellent range, emotional depth, and the conviction in her voice will surprise even the most jaded country listener. This material is better than most, "Strong Anything," "No End in Sight," and "I Won't Say Goodbye"(maybe my favorite) display her powerful voice and nuanced delivery. The soft ballad "Home Running Away" expresses pain and longing as well as anyone. Its astounding for a 20 year old, reminicient of Martina McBride.

Katrina has the whole package: powerful,eloquent vocals, songwriting ability, and gorgeous beauty. I give the CD a 4 & a half, actually; it could have used more songs that display her strength and are capable of putting her on radio/tv without compromising. She doesn't need to compomise integrity, just a chance at a wider audience. Any discerning country fan will love this. While most of this CD is radio friendly, I disagree with the reviewer who derided this as "country radio gloss." Its much better than that; Highly Recommended. January 10, 2008

Elam's good enough

This album is a strong 4 stars, almost 5 but not quite. Katrina has a strong, mature voice. The album is modern country, with pop and rock flavors at times. Lots of good tunes here:

Strong Anything - nice opening song. Singer wants life full strength.

No End in Sight - song that got the big radio play.

I WAnt a Cowboy - a fun, saucy, flirty tune

Unbreakable - good, foot stompin uptempo tune

Drop Dead Gorgeous - singer warns narcissitic man that she might be gone cuz he's so in love with himself. Good fast and choppy tune.

Normal - Very good. Singer muses on the human propensity to conform, w/o regard to what's being conformed to, the conforming behavior might not be good. "normal is high school girls having kids."

HRA: Well-sung ballad

Prelude to a Kiss

As you see, most tunes are good, not just filler stuff. So this is a fine debut by Katrina. Hope she doesn't fizz. I don't think she's come out with a new one.

June 26, 2007

How did I miss her????

Katrina came to Detroit to sing the Star Spangled Banner during one of the playoff games, and I was SO impressed at her range so bought this CD. How did I miss it several years ago when it came out????? She reminds me SO much of Martina McBride, and there isn't a song on here that I don't love. MORE, KATRINA, MORE! Can't wait for your next CD- out next year, I think. November 16, 2006

Another prairie songbird!

Well, good gracious, where would Country be without the Sooner state? Toby, Blake, Garth, Vince, Reba and countless other artists call it home, so Nashville owes a lot of it's success to the open prairies and oil rigs of Oklahoma. Kat is further proof.

She's only 22, but she's been forging her way to Music City since she first sang at a 4-H talent show at the tender age of nine. Since that day, she has created a huge buzz all around Oklahoma, playing wedding and party gigs and raking in the hardware. In 1998, at just fifteen, she was named OK Opry and OK CMA Female Vocalist of the Year. She would later become the youngest artist and first female in more than 20 years to become the OK Opry's Entertainer of the Year. As if that weren't enough, Reba, one of Kat's biggest heroes, invited her to play at Reba's show with the Tulsa Philharmonic, and when Kat played at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in OKC, Vince Gill joined her onstage and played guitar!

Not bad for a Roughneck's daughter from Bray, a little town in the middle of oil country, too small for even one traffic light.

At sixteen, as an ostracised high school softball player, she put pen to paper and wrote her first song, which quickly landed her a publishing contract with Warner/Chappell Music, the final part of the plan to take on Nashville. In a decidedly gutsy move, she got her own apartment and moved there permanently, while her parents returned to Bray. She was only seventeen, but that didn't stop her. She spent most of her time either at her apartment or at Warner/Chappell, determined to hone her craft and stay under the radar until she was ready to step into the spotlight. During this time, she had writing sessions with some of Music City's top writers, including John Rich, Vicky McGehee, and Stephony Smith, who wrote "Big Star".

Kat probably wouldn't have stayed under the radar for very long, even if she decided to be simply a songwriter and not an artist. A head turning, petite young woman with big brown eyes, long wavy blonde hair and a bright smile will grab anyone's attention, but add to that a voice as big and beautiful as the Oklahoma sky and the writing cred to back it up, and you get yourself a pile of recording contracts to sift through. Once Kat saw the one from Tony Brown, she signed immediately, and this record is the result.

Go ahead and give her a spin. You'll be rejoicing that she ain't "Normal". January 22, 2006

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