*This is Debra Arlyn's FIRST album, released in 2005. Please check out Debra's latest album, "Complicated Mess", released in 2006* ----------------------------------------------------------- DEBRA ARLYN, piano-pop songwriter, and winner of the "06 Singer/Songwriter Award",continues to receives industry acclaim for her remarkable talent as both songwriter and astonishing vocalist. Blending classic styled songs (i.e. Carole King) with a contemporarysound has won Debra comparisons to Alicia Keys and Sarah Mchloughlin. However, there is no comparison for Debra’s soulful, honest, and dynamic voice. Her fearless performance and ability to emotionally engage her audience, earned her the label "The girl with the incredible voice." Debra's talent has captured the attention of American Idol judge Randy Jackson, producer & songwriter for Mariah Carey, Ben Margulies, grammy winning producer Jeff Weber, founder of Trauma Records,Jim Martone, and president of We Are Listening, Lior Shamir. Also, former CEO of Capitol Records, Andy Slaytor, during a private showcase, commented Debra is "something you wont hear everyday." In '03, Arlyn won the Fox sponsored "Oregon Idol" contest and competed for the "American Idol" crown. Since then, Arlyn's origional work has earned her a spot on the "Top Hot 100 Artists" by LAs Music Connection Magazine, an exclusive performance at the NACA college showcase in Reno, and a national college radio campaign, spurred by her award-winning song "Fine". Debra's song "Why Cant We Start Over?" was hand picked by legendary producer, Marta Kauffman, of "Friends", to be featured on the WB TV show "Related", and won honorable mention in the "Billboard World Songwriting Contest". Her music has also been featured in films, including "Clear-Cut" which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and “Valley of Angels”, Best Feature winner at the NY International Film Festival. Debra Arlyn has something significant to offer the music world. Not only is she a musician, songwriter, producer, and performer, she is young, attractive, and gifted with an exceptional voice. There is no doubt, DEBRA ARLYN has the depth and soulfulness of a true artist. ----------------------------------------------------------- "There is something about the way she sings, something in her melismatic style of pop and R&B, something about the purity of her emotion when giving herself away on stage, something about the way she gets lost in a song ... yes, there’s something to lead a lot of smart music business people to believe this 20-year-old diva-in-training just might have “it.” " - The News Gaurd "Arlyn has the pipes and the point-of-view of a more mature songwriter.Each of the tunes we heard...is a catchy mainstream pop song subtly infused with R&B. Let's say it's a cross between Keys and Aguilera, with the vocals far less showy-offy than the latter. This young artist out of Oregon...is working at a high level and seems ripe for major label interst." LA's Music Connection Magazine "Arlyn is nonetheless getting music bizzers abuzz over her TRL ready voice (a sweet but strong instrument capable not merely of mariah-like-melismatic feats, but of real emotion too) and her more wholesome less-buxon britney looks." - Willamette Week "Arlyn has an R&B style distinctly her own, and really can hold her own in comparison with other top-notch female vocalists and songwriters." - Entertainer "...her songs show a maturity in style and range, and her singing voice is strong and nuanced, capable of finding many levels of emotion in her songs." - Eugene Weekly "Debra has a voice that transcends her youth and echoes with the wisdom of many lives." - Gazette Times REVIEW: 03/03/05 Arlyn 'Thinking' deeper On new CD, local pop singer adds sense of maturity, sadness to songs By Theresa Hogue The Entertainer Benton County's own star-to-be, Debra Arlyn, has been diligently cultivating her craft since graduating from Philomath High School. From frequent visits to a top Nashville recording studio to filming her first music video, and writing the score for a documentary to forming her own band, Arlyn is taking every step possible toward landing a deal with a major record label. Arlyn said she's been working to assemble a group of local musicians so they can begin performing her work live, both at local venues, and hopefully, bigger scenes such as the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, places where music industry executives will more likely be around to take notice. Another big step on her path toward musical recognition is the self-released CD, "Thinking Out Loud." Following up on her previous release, "That Girl Is Me," Arlyn revamps some of her earlier works such as "Moving On," and "You Are My Life," and adds a number of fresh soon-to-be hits. The CD is a combination of work she did at Dark Horse recording studio in Nashville, and a series of new pieces she recorded in Eugene at the studio of Justin King. "I'm really excited," Arlyn said. "I think it's a better reflection of me, it's a lot more mature." Arlyn's hoping to get the first song on the album, "Dance With Me," played on local radio. She said she wrote it literally two weeks before heading to the studio, and it started out as a Latin samba, but in the studio transformed into a hip-hop kind of piece. "It's really fresh," she said. It would be easy to call Arlyn another Joss Stone without the gravel, or Alicia Keyes without the fedora, but Arlyn has an R&B style distinctly her own, and really can hold her own in comparison with other top-notch female vocalists and songwriters. With several years of experience and exposure to some of the industry's top creative minds, Arlyn has clearly taken advantage of the chance to hone her art, and "Thinking Out Loud," is evidence that she's an A+ student. "Just in Case" showcases Arlyn's piano talents as well as her new-found confidence, as she belts out reminders to someone who's decided to walk away from love. "Just in case you don't remember, just in case you don't recall, I'm the one who can love you better than the rest of them all. Please allow me if you would to refresh your memory. Those lonely nights you're spending now you used to spend with me." "(I Miss) Everything About You," is a perfect ballad of regret. It's a song you listen to as you sit in a seedy bar clutching a whiskey and toying with a half-empty pack of cigarettes, or perhaps in the case of under-aged Arlyn, a diet Coke. "I thought moving on would be easy, now I know I am wrong. Discovering new feelings, don't know where they're coming from. By now it's too late, because you're already long gone, I'm such a fool to walk out your door." "I Love You," was a song that, honestly, I passed over on "That Girl Is Me." Now reworked and honed, it has become one of those songs I simply can't get out of my head, and not in a bad way. I had the chance to watch Arlyn film the video for this song as part of the package her manager presents to major record labels, and was completely riveted by her voice, and the passion behind the simple words. I said in an earlier review of Arlyn's works that some of her songs are terribly cinematic. "I Love You," is certainly the theme song of a yet-to-be romantic comedy. Arlyn must have performed "Moving On," hundreds of times since she sang it as a dedication to the PHS Class of 2003, but there's no evidence that she's getting tired of it. It's a theme that applies as much to leaving high school as it does leaving home, leaving a relationship, leaving childhood behind, and I suspect as Arlyn's life changes, the meanings will only multiply. Arlyn's first release focused a lot on relationships gone right, and there was a sweet naivete to many of the lyrics. In "Thinking Out Loud," we're hearing the voice of a (slightly) older woman, and there's more depth, and more sadness, to some of the pieces. "Some things in life they'll just never be right. Cause I'm living in it, I'm swimming in it, I can't escape it, disappointment," she sings in "Living With Disappointment." The album closes with "These Days," a slow, smoky song to an old lover, one of those imaginary letters you write in your head to your ex, where you get to tell them how you are so very over them. "We both thought that I would die. I got by and I want you to know that I, when I think of you these days, I can barely remember your face. And I don't even flinch when I hear your name." Ouch. Nicely spoken. If only we could all be that eloquent to our exes.