| MoZella | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Maureen McDonald |
| Born | May 13, 1981 |
| Origin | Detroit, Michigan |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 2006 - present |
| Website | http://www.mozellamusic.com |
MoZella (born Maureen McDonald, 1981[1] in Detroit, Michigan) is an American singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for her raspy vocals and smooth, soul/pop sound.[2]
She has toured with Tyler Hilton, Dave Matthews Band, and Lifehouse. Her music has also been featured in television series, and her songs have been featured in national TV campaigns (“Amazed” in a Mercedes campaign in 2005 and "It's Magic" in a Verizon campaign in 2009).[3]
MoZella has released two full-length albums, I Will (Warner/Maverick, 2006) and Belle Isle (Universal/Motown, 2009), as well as three EPs, MoZella (Warner/Maverick, 2005), The Straits EP (Universal/Motown, 2009) and The Love EP (Universal/Motown, 2010).[4][5]
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MoZella was born and raised in Livonia, Michigan, where she first got her start as a performer booking her own gigs in coffee houses at age 15.[6] Immediately after graduating from high school, she set out for Los Angeles to pursue a career in music. She took a day job decorating cakes, leaving her free to perform at coffee houses in the evenings. In 2002, MoZella was invited to England to write and record with Tim Saul, producer for Portishead. After she spent six months in Europe, she returned to Los Angeles when label interest was building.[7]
MoZella signed to Madonna’s Maverick Records in July 2003. In 2004, when Maverick was absorbed into Warner Bros. Records most of their artists were dropped, however, MoZella was amongst a select few who survived the merger. In July 2005, she released her self-titled debut EP on Warner/Maverick Records. Then, in November 2006, she released her full-length debut I Will (produced by Jude Cole) on the same imprint. I Will was well received by fans and critics alike. Allmusic.com even called MoZella, “One of the best things to come out of pop music this year.”[8]
MoZella signed to Universal/Motown Records in July, 2008. She immediately enlisted multiple producers for her second album, including Marty James, Jimmy Harry, Tony Kanal, Sunny Levine, and Smidi. ‘The Straits EP’ was released on July 7, 2009 on Universal/Motown Records. On October 20, 2009, her album Belle Isle was released.[9]
Following her Warner/Maverick debut in 2006, MoZella toured the U.S. with Tyler Hilton, Dave Matthews Band, Lifehouse, Five for Fighting, Daniel Powter, Michelle Branch, and Colbie Caillat.[10]
Her songs have been featured in several television series including Pretty Little Liars, One Tree Hill, Las Vegas, How I Met Your Mother, Life Unexpected, Bones, Wildfire, Lipstick Jungle, Fringe (TV series), The City, Castle, Unnatural History, The Hills, Switched at Birth (TV series), Kate Plus 8, as well as many others. In addition, she wrote and recorded the song “Amazed,” which was used in a national Mercedes-Benz television commercial.[11][12] Two of her songs from ‘The Straits EP’, “Thank You” and “Let’s Stop calling It Love” were used in Nivea commercials.[13] Her song "Magic (Oh Oh Oh)" is featured in commercials for Verizon's "iDon't" Motorola Droid campaign. Her song “Let’s Stop calling It Love” was used on the TV Spot for the movie Did You Hear About The Morgans? and her song "This is Love" was featured on a JC Penney holiday TV advertisement. Most recently, her song "More of You" was featured on the season's premiere of Pretty Little Liars. Most recently, MoZella's cover of The Temptations' song Get Ready was featured in TNT's The Closer Season 7 promos. "Life Is" was used in an episode of NBC's Love Bites.