Kaci Brown

Rising Teen Star Kaci Brown Talks About Her Debut Album, Instigator, on Interscope Records

By Dale Kawashima

KACI BROWN     (photo by Ari Michaelson)

2005 has been a breakthrough year for rising singer/songwriter Kaci Brown, who is only 17. She signed with hot label Interscope Records in January, and she wrote or co-wrote almost all of the songs for her debut album Instigator (which was released this August). In addition, her first single “Unbelievable” was a Radio Disney hit (hitting #1 on their video chart), and she was the opening act for the Backstreet Boys during their recent U.S. and Canadian tour.

Brown is emerging as an attractive, teen pop star who has a marketable, radio-friendly style. However, with her impressive vocals, songwriting ability and musicianship (she plays piano and guitar), plus her plans to get into acting and build a music publishing company, it’s clear that Brown is building a successful, multi-faceted career for the long run.

In a new interview, Brown talked about her young career path, from being a 10-year-old who won the title of Little Miss Texas Grand Talent, to moving to Nashville and singing country, to her current status as a rising pop artist. She also discussed how she met writer/producer Toby Gad, and how he helped define her pop music direction and co-wrote songs with her.

Brown grew up in the small town of Sulphur Springs, TX, and she sang at church, in school and in beauty pageants. “I entered pageants mainly for the talent contests,” explained Brown. “Winning the Miss Texas award helped me get opportunities to open for bands throughout Texas.” She subsequently began performing every weekend at oprys and venues across the state.

Her mother started calling music publishers in Nashville to find original material for her, which led to Brown traveling to Nashville to record a six-song country demo. Soon after, Brown and her family moved to Nashville, and when she was 13, she landed a publishing deal with Barbara Orbison’s Still Working Music. She then collaborated with several top, country songwriters, including Tommy Lee James (who’s written hits for Brooks & Dunn, Lonestar and others).

However, when she eventually shopped for a label deal as a country artist, Nashville A&R execs told her that her voice sounded too pop. So Brown took some time off, and began writing songs by herself, and focusing more on pop music. It was in 2003 that she had a breakthrough, when she met New York-based writer/producer Toby Gad (who has written and/or produced songs for Will Smith, Ricky Martin, Jaci Velasquez, Willa Ford and the Veronicas), who was in Nashville working on some other projects.

“I had a chance to write with Toby, which quickly turned out to be a great experience,” recalled Brown. “It was fun and exciting to write with Toby. I knew I could write country songs, which are much more structured. But writing pop with Toby is more flexible and free-form – anything goes. We wrote a new song in one day, and the next morning Toby called to say he had already built the (demo) track. The track was amazing – it was incredible for him to record such an excellent demo overnight. I then recorded the vocals and the demo came out great. So I decided to definitely pursue a pop direction, and work with Toby.”

Brown spent much of 2004 writing and recording songs with Gad. With input from her manager David Sonenberg (who also manages the Black Eyed Peas and other top acts), she decided to record a full, 11-song CD, and then shop for a label deal. She met and auditioned with labels during Fall 2004, and ultimately decided to sign with (CEO) Jimmy Iovine at Interscope Records.

Her debut CD Instigator features an eclectic variety of pop-related styles, such as the pop-rock single “Unbelievable,” the reggae-influenced “Cadillac Hotel,” the dance/pop “You Fool,” the ballad “Make You Love Me” and the R&B/hip-hop title track. “I love all these different, musical styles on the album,” said Brown. “I like the fact that my second album could go into several directions, because my (first) album is so eclectic and varied.”

With the recent release of Instigator, Brown has been busy touring in support of the CD. She is currently on The First Look Tour (with young artists Fatty Koo and Marcos Hernandez), performing to teenage audiences in malls, high schools and middle schools. And this past summer, she was the opening act for the Backstreet Boys on their U.S. and Canadian tour. “I had a great time opening for the Backstreet Boys,” said Brown. “On the last show of the tour in Montreal, A.J. (McLean) brought me my guitar onstage. I was supposed to sing a sad song, but I was just smiling – I got a standing ovation.”

In addition to promoting her CD (which may include concert tours in Europe and Asia), Brown is also focused on other career goals. She is pursuing acting roles (she’s met with several directors), plus she plans on producing other music artists, and launching a publishing company. Brown not only retains her own publishing rights now, but she wants to sign new writers to her publishing company, and help develop them.