Mila Mason

Mila Mason
Born August 22, 1963
Origin Dawson Springs, Kentucky, United States
Genres Country
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1996–present
Labels Atlantic, Twinbeat, Plateau Music Nashville
Associated acts Jason Grainger, Amanda Marshall

Mila Mason (born August 22, 1963 in Dawson Springs, Kentucky) is an American country music artist. She made her debut on the country music scene in 1996 with the release of her debut album That's Enough of That, which produced three hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, including its title track. The album was followed by 1998's The Strong One, from which two more singles were released. Mason did not record another album until 2003's Stained Glass Window, on the independent Twinbeat label.

Biography

Early life

Mila's mother, Diane, was a singer who had performed in Las Vegas, Nevada and toured throughout Europe.[1][2] When Mila was 17 years old, she and her mother moved to Nashville, Tennessee. It was there that Mason decided to pursue a career in songwriting.[1] She later took up a job as a demo singer, before being discovered by record producer Blake Mevis in 1993. In turn, Mevis sent some of Mason's material to Bryan Switzer, who was then the vice president of Atlantic Records.[1]

Music career

In 1996, Mason was signed to Atlantic Records, with her debut single "That's Enough of That" reaching Top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.[2] An album of the same name followed soon afterward, producing two more singles: a No. 21-peaking cover of Canadian singer Amanda Marshall's "Dark Horse", followed by "That's the Kinda Love (That I'm Talking About)" at No. 59.

Mason released her second album, The Strong One, in 1998.[1] This album produced a No. 31 in lead-off single "Closer to Heaven", followed by the title track at No. 57 and then "This Heart" which failed to chart. Dissatisfied by the direction that her career had taken, Mila exited Atlantic's roster in 1998, taking time off to work on her songwriting.[2][3] She also married Jason Grainger in the early 2000s,[3] and co-wrote Mindy McCready's 2002 single "Maybe, Maybe Not".

By 2003, she signed to the independent Twinbeat Records label, recording the album Stained Glass Window. Grainger contributed to several of the songs on this album.[1] This album also included her own version of "Maybe, Maybe Not." She also became one of the first songwriters signed to the Nashville division of the Brumley Music Group, an independent country music and gospel music publishing company.[4]

Currently, Mila heads up Faverett Music Group on Music Row, Nashville. Faverett is home to writer/artists Shane Piaseki, Adam Fears, & Dan Schafer.[5] The Faverett catalog also contains songs written by Chris Gantry, Dennis Matkowsky, Josh Osborne, Sheree Spann/Spoltore, Greg Barnhill, Jimmy Olander(Diamond Rio), Jim Collins, Randy Thomas and many others.

In February 2015, Mason released a new single, "Run Like a Girl," produced by Tony Mantor. A new album is to be released in June 2015.

Discography

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US Country US Heat CAN Country
That's Enough of That 43 37 20
The Strong One
  • Release date: January 20, 1998
  • Label: Atlantic Records
38 31
Stained Glass Window
  • Release date: September 23, 2003
  • Label: Twinbeat
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year Single Peak chart
positions
Album
US Country CAN Country
1996 "That's Enough of That" 18 34 That's Enough of That
1997 "Dark Horse" 21 12
"That's the Kinda Love (That I'm Talkin' About)" 59 66
"Closer to Heaven" 31 45 The Strong One
1998 "The Strong One" 57 30
"This Heart"
2003 "Maybe, Maybe Not" Stained Glass Window
2015 "Run Like a Girl" TBD
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year Video Director
1996 "That's Enough of That" Jim Shea
1997 "Dark Horse"
"Closer to Heaven" David Abbott
1998 "The Strong One" Bob Garrison

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Cohoon, Rick. "Mila Mason Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Mila Mason biography". MilaMason.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Mila Mason biography". Oldies.com. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  4. "Brumley Music". BrumleyMusic.com. Archived from the original on 2007-07-05. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  5. "Dan Schafer Artist performances". www.DanSchafer.com. Retrieved 2012-02-05.