Sarah
Bettens already has a couple gold and platinum records under her belt.
She's already written international radio hits, including Not An
Addict, Believe and Almost Happy.
Sarah Bettens has already headlined concerts and festivals packed with
more than 60,000 fiercely loyal fans. And she's been featured in Rolling
Stone, Billboard and Hits, which described her unforgettably haunting
vocals by saying, "Sarah Bettens' voice rings like an old silver
chime. A smoky veil throws a burnish over the blinding clarity of her
tone."
But the renowned singer-songwriter is feeling like
a first-timer on her latest project.
That's because the former lead singer for
international rockers K's Choice has gone solo with a new album
called Scream that sways from hard-charging rock numbers to tunes
that smack of pure pop bliss.
"I had been wanting to do this for a long
time," says Bettens. "It's a whole new challenge, and it kind of
makes me feel like it's my first record. Everything has a new level of
excitement to it, especially touring."
This summer, Bettens took some of the new material
from her mini-album Go for a test-drive at several of the summer's
biggest European festivals, playing in front of crowds of more than 20,000
people. She also debuted two of the songs from Scream the
in-your-face rocker Not Insane and the bass-driven groove Come
Over Here on the recently completed K's Choice month-long Yellow
Umbrella Tour all across America in the fall.
Gigging with new musicians, Bettens was thrilled
with the reaction from fans.
"The shows were amazing," says the
artist who's known for her high-energy stage presence. "The K's
Choice fans were really excited that I'm doing something different, and
people who didn't know me from K's Choice really responded to the new
songs. It was way beyond my expectations."
The new songs she's written as a solo artist have
also surpassed her expectations. As part of K's Choice, Bettens wrote
songs with a certain sound in mind. Now, on her own, she's able to explore
herself as an artist, taking risks and blending pop, rock and folk to
create a new radio-ready sound that goes beyond anything she's ever done
before. With only 10 days in the studio to lay down most of the tracks,
her overworked voice took on a roughness that gives the songs more of an
edge.
"It makes the whole record sound more
raw," says the artist.
Bettens is taking a chance with her lyrics as well
taking a political stance and tackling issues that are important to
young people everywhere. Bettens calls the album's first single Not
Insane a "mini-protest" song. Awash in a symphony of
swirling guitars, Not Insane is an impassioned rocker that attacks
small-minded people who can't accept others who are different or who live
alternative lifestyles.
"I feel like this society is so fear-driven
and people are so afraid of change that they can't accept anyone or
anything that's different. Basically, this song is saying, Hey, you
think I'm crazy, but you're the one who's messed up.'"
On the other side of the album's musical spectrum
is the pop-driven Stay, a lilting love song that's guaranteed to
put listeners in a sentimental mood. Amid a unique combination of acoustic
and electric arrangements, the singer's throaty vocals take center stage
on the catchy chorus: "Things can't get much better / You might have
to stay."
The spirited songwriter's desire to take risks on Scream
is also evident in the album's title song, which she refers to as
"The Frankenstein Song."
"I'd been working on these two songs, and I
was really happy with the verses on one but the chorus wasn't happening.
And it was just the opposite with the other the chorus rocked, but I
didn't like the verses."
Like a mad scientist working in a laboratory,
Bettens took the verses from the first song and combined them with the
chorus from the second to create a quirky song that boasts a sense of
urgency. The experiment worked just like her solo career.
To read the biography of Sarah's former band, K's
Choice, please visit www.kschoice.com
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