Juliet Simms

Juliet Simms
Juliet Simms performing for Kuncocshun 2010 at UC San Diego
Background information
Birth name	Juliet Nicole Simms
Born	(1986-02-26) February 26, 1986
Origin	San Francisco, California, United States
Genres	Rock, hard rock, Acoustic rock, emo
Instruments	Keyboard, Guitar, Vocals
Years active	2003—present
Labels	Universal Republic, Republic
Associated acts	Automatic Loveletter, All Time Low, Secondhand Serenade, Cee Lo Green, Black Veil Brides

Juliet Nicole Simms^[1] (born February 26, 1986) is an American singer/songwriter, and was the vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for the American rock band Automatic Loveletter. She was the runner-up on the second season of the American reality talent show The Voice.

Biography

Early life

Simms was born in San Francisco, California, United States. When she was about 9 years old she moved from California to Safety Harbor, Florida, United States—where her father was relocated for work. In Florida she learned to play the guitar^[2] and began writing songs when she was 14. When she was 16 years old, she moved to Los Angeles, California to sign with Umbrella Records, an independent record label in West Hollywood on Sunset which went out of business in its first year. But before it did she recorded six songs at Umbrella's Studio, first being produced by Mike Sarkisyan, the lead singer of the Grammy-nominated band Spineshank, then by Richie Zito, 1990's Billboard producer of the year. She continued to pursue a career as a rock vocalist and songwriter until she was signed by Epic Records in 2006.^[3]

Professional career

Automatic Loveletter

Automatic Loveletter was formed in 2005, with Simms on guitar and lead vocals, Simms' brother, Tommy Simms, playing bass and producing, Daniel Currier on drums, and bassist, Sean Noll, contributing occasionally. The band recorded in Tommy Simms' home studio in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, US. The band was first called Stars and Scars and recorded its first rock song in December 2005. The song was named after the band and was written by Juliet Simms.^[4] The band then recorded "Tin Lizzy", a song written by Tommy Simms.

Epic

Simms performing with her band in 2008

Following the formation of Automatic Loveletter, Juliet Simms was signed to Epic Records by Allison Hagendorf (host of Fuse TVs The Top 20 Countdown), who was working at Epic Records at the time. She recorded a set of acoustic songs for a "demo", written during the preceding three years with brother, Tommy, for an upcoming album on the Epic label. Simms also collaborated with many other writers, including Matthew Wilder of Tragic Kingdom; Wilder cowrote "Take My Soul". Several collaborations with Leah Haywood and Daniel James were also intended for the proposed record.

Automatic Loveletter recorded its debut album in 2007, with producer Matt Squire. Simms shared her large collection of songs with Squire and the pair carefully created a congruent collection. Unfortunately, the Squire album was never fully released. Nonetheless, certain tracks such as "The Answer," "Parker," "August," "Hush," "Make-up Smeared Eyes" and "Shut Your Mouth" were all released on the EP Recover.

Automatic Loveletter was dropped from Epic following the appointment of Amanda Ghost as president. Ironically, the news was announced during the band's first headlining tour with numerous sold out venues. The band's time with Epic had been a mixed experience—Recover had sold over twenty thousand units, the band had been given several false starts regarding a record release, and line-up changes were implemented at the insistence of the label.

RCA

Simms opening for Matt Good in 2010

Almost immediately following the Epic announcement, the band was picked up by RCA and Simms was asked to write for a new album that would be produced by Josh Abraham. The band released its debut album, Truth or Dare, on June 22, 2010;^[5] however, the employment of the band's A&R (Artist and Repertoire) representative was terminated prior to the album's release and the label support that Simms had hoped for did not eventuate.^{[citation needed]}

Prior to the US release of the debut album, Simms signed a contract with Sony Japan and successfully released Truth or Dare in Japan.^{[citation needed]}

Paper & Plastick

Simms performing on the Warped Tour, 2011

On June 28, 2011, Automatic Loveletter released the album The Kids Will Take Their Monsters On on an independent record label, Paper & Plastick.^[5] The album features the songs "Never Take It Off", "Save Me", "Black Ink Revenge", "Click Your Heels (3 Times and Repeat, There's No Place Like Home)", "Carry the Fire", "Trade Places", "Cruel Cruel", "Pillows", and "The Curtain Close".^[6]

Band lineup

Ultimately, Simms' brother, Tommy, and band mates, Daniel Currier and Sean Noll, were in the band for the longest amount of time.

Umbrella Records

In 2009, Simms was signed to Umbrella Records in West Hollywood, California, US. Her first four songs were produced by the Grammy-nominated members of the alternative metal band Spineshank; but Simms' melodic rock tunes, "The View From Below", "Changing Skies", "Old Movie", and "I Notice", were not suitable for the Spineshank production team. Simms then requested a different producer from the record label and Richie Zito, a writer and producer for Elton John, The Motels, and Heart, was employed. The pair rerecorded several tracks that immediately garnered attention after being featured on MySpace. Simms' music was subsequently licensed to MTV's The Real World and Road Rules. Her ballad "Old Movie" was aired as a closing song on the 2006 season finale of The Real World.^[7]

The Voice (2012)

Simms was a contestant on the 2012 season of reality television show The Voice. She sang the Beatles' "Oh! Darling" for her blind audition and chose to be a member of Team Cee Lo.^[8] Simms advanced to the live rounds after defeating Sarah Golden in a duet. In her first live show, she performed "Roxanne" by The Police, which the judges/coaches enjoyed.

During the quarter-finals, Simms covered "Cryin'" by Aerosmith. She was the only female contestant to advance onto the finals, edging out Jamar Rogers, after covering "It's A Man's Man's Man's World". Simms' cover of "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" reached #70 and also attained positions in three other charts on Billboard.^[9]

For the finale, Simms sang Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" and placed second behind Jermaine Paul.^[10]

Performances on The Voice

Post-The Voice

Shortly after finishing The Voice, Simms was signed by Cee Lo Green, her coach on the show. Her debut single "Wild Child" was released on December 11, 2012,^[11] followed by a music video in April 2013, for which Green is an executive producer—an album was scheduled for release in 2013.^[12] Simms completed a US tour with Secondhand Serenade and Veronica Ballestrini during March and April 2013.^[13]

Company owner

In a July 2013 interview, Simms confirmed that she owns a bracelet company called "Never Take It Off." Simms likened the theme of the brand to friendship bracelets and explained: "... it’s all about making vows and promises — to yourself, or to somebody else." An inaugural signature line of bracelets and necklaces was designed by Andy Biersack of the band Black Veil Brides, who was also Simms's boyfriend at the time of the interview.^[14]

Personal life

In a July 2013 interview, Simms confirmed a two-year relationship with Andy Biersack. The couple commenced dating on the East Coast of the US at the Long Island Warped Tour event.^[14]

Discography

Singles

Songs as duets

• LoveHateHero – Just Breathe (2005, vocals on "Theatre of Robots")
• Cartel – Cartel (2007, vocals on "Lose It")
• All Time Low – So Wrong, It's Right (2007, vocals on "Remembering Sunday")
• 3OH!3 – Careless Whisper (2008, vocals, with Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low)
• Secondhand Serenade – A Twist in My Story (2009, vocals on "Fix You")
• Secondhand Serenade – Hear Me Now (2010, vocals on "Hear Me Now")
• Every Avenue – Punk Goes Classic Rock (2010, vocals on "Take Me Home Tonight", Eddie Money cover)
• Tommy Simms – Then The Archers Bowed And Broke Their Bows (2011, vocals on "Here In The Horse's Heart")
• Black Veil Brides – Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones (2013, vocals on "Lost It All")

Other charted songs

Filmography

• The Voice - 2012
• Legion of the Black - 2013

References

Further reading

• Cridlin, Jay (September 5, 2008). "Sensational Simms Siblings". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved January 2, 2012. 
• Cridlin, Jay (July 22, 2010). "Warped Minds Want to Know...". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved January 2, 2012. 
• "Automatic Loveletter". MTV. Retrieved January 2, 2012.  Includes a biography about Simms.
• "Automatic Loveletter". VH1. Retrieved January 2, 2012.  Includes a biography about Simms.
• Giambalvo, Carole (February 19, 2009). "Automatic Loveletter". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved January 2, 2012. 
• Beal, Jr., Jim; Goodspeed, John (February 27, 2009). "Night After Night". San Antonio Express. Retrieved January 2, 2012. 
• Abbott, Jim (July 22, 2010). "Warped: Still a good time for bands, fans". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 2, 2012. 
• "NBC's The Voice, Season 2 Premiere". NBC. February 5, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2012. 

External links

• Official website
• Automatic Loveletter's profile at PureVolume