Ashley Ballard

Infobox musical artist 2

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Name = Ashley Ballard
Background = Pink
Birth_name = Ashley Monique Ballard
Born = birth date and age|1985|6|9
Origin = Mission Viejo, California
United States flagicon|US
Instruments = Singing
Genre = Pop
Occupation(s) = Singer
Years_active = 1998-present
Label = Atlantic Records (1998-2002)
Warner-Reprise Records (2002-2002)
URL = [http://www.ventertainmentgroup.com/artists/ashley_ballard.html Ashley Ballard - V Entertainment Group page]

Ashley Monique Ballard (born June 9, 1985 in Mission Viejo, California) is an American pop singer.

Biography

Early Start

Ashley Ballard sang from the time she was three, creating her own arrangements of favorite nursery rhymes while imitating songs she'd hear on the radio. In 1990, a five-year-old Ballard performed onstage for the first time with her pianist uncle as part of a Christmas concert in Orange County. Her first demos were recorded when she was six.

In 1992, she was a four-time Junior Finalist on StarSearch. Ballard also performed for a number of local events, ranging from church, school, and community theater events to private parties and regional cable television programs. Another milestone came in 1996 when Ballard was asked to perform for President Bill Clinton during a political event in Century City. Thereafter, she was invited to sing in Washington D.C. on the occasion of Clinton's second inaugural.

igning With Atlantic

In 1998, she sang at the Blues Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Awards ceremony, performing alongside Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, Boz Scaggs, Stephen Stills, and Bobby 'Blue' Bland. She made her recorded debut a year later with the November 1999 release of Atlantic's RIAA double-platinum "" with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins' R&B girl group So Plush.

April 2000 saw the release of "Don't Get Lost In A Crowd", Ballard's contribution to the "Center Stage" motion picture soundtrack, and in June, she performed as part of the Steve Madden/Atlantic Records Girl Band Search final ceremonies, held at the South Street Seaport in New York City. Two months later, she was performing sets in a dozen malls across the country to promote her album "Get In The Booth". She also sang Vice President Al Gore at a Los Angeles event during his presidential campaign.

In Spring 2001 Ballard appeared on, Teensation! alongside Atlantic labelmates Debelah Morgan, Plus One|PlusONE, M2M and Willa Ford. The concert was taped in Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida.

"Get In The Booth"

On August 15, 2000, Atlantic Records released "Hottie", the first single from her upcoming album "Get In The Booth". On May 8, 2001, a maxi CD-single version was released including the "Hottie" single and remixes by Eddie Arroyo, Richie Santana, E-Smoove and Kobie's Proceed.The single sold over 100,000 copies and became #1 in over 10 major radio stations across the US.The song was also included on the MTV original show "Spyder Games" soundtrack.

Ballard's debut album "Get In The Booth" was released as advanced versions in local malls and radio stations. The official version of the album was never released. Subsequently, Ballard was dropped from her label, Atlantic Records, only to be signed by Warner-Reprise Records. According to her MySpace Music page created on March 11 2006, political reasons within Warner-Reprise caused her to be dropped shortly thereafter, leaving "Get In The Booth" to be shelved indefinitely.

Present

In 2004, Ballard joined the teaching staff at the Rancho Canyon Music School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California as a voice teacher but left the following year. Fact|date=February 2007 She is also involved in commercial work, having performed on an international radio campaign for a major US toy company. [ [http://www.ventertainmentgroup.com/artists/ashley_ballard.html] "Ventertainmentgroup.com" Retrieved on 05-10-07] Ballard is currently managed by the V Entertainment Group. [ [http://www.ventertainmentgroup.com/artists/ashley_ballard.html] "Ventertainmentgroup.com" Retrieved on 05-10-07 ]

Discography

Album(s):

*"Get In The Booth" (2001)

Single(s):

*"Hottie" (2000)

Soundtracks:

*"" - It Was You (feat. So Plush) (1999)

*"Center Stage Soundtrack" - Don't Get Lost In The Crowd (2000)

*"Spyder Games Soundtrack" - Hottie (2001)

References

External links

* [http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/ballard_ashley/artist.jhtml Ashley Ballard @ VH1.com]