Girl Authority

Girl Authority
Origin	Massachusetts
Genres	Pop
Years active	2005—present
Labels	Zoë/Rounder Records
Website	girlauthority.com
Members
Jacqueline Laviolette Carly Grayson Jessica "Jess" Bonner Crystal Evans Kate Barker Zoë Virant Jessica Tarr Gina Miele Alex Bilbo

Girl Authority is an American pop girl group from Massachusetts. The group consists of nine girls, ranging in ages 11 to 16. The group was established in the summer of 2005 by the group's vocal coach/executive producer Samantha Hammel, Scott Billington (a Grammy award-winning producer) and the CEO of Rounder Records John Virant.^[1][2]

All of the girls attended musical theater together for five years before joining the group. The girls are also actresses, all acting in local theater throughout Greater Boston.^[3]

Girl Authority's self-titled album was released on the Zoe Records label in April 2006. The album reached #9 on Billboard's Top Kid Audio chart and #17 on the Top Heatseekers chart. On the album, the girls recorded past songs such as Madonna's Material Girl and Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway. The album ran several TV advertisements on Nickelodeon. In April 2006, the girls were invited to sing with The Dresden Dolls at a show in Boston. The girls have also shared the stage with the Jonas Brothers and Jesse McCartney, and has appeared on CBS' The Early Show.

Their second album, Road Trip, was released on March 13, 2007. Featured on this album is a version of the early previously unreleased Depeche Mode song called "Let's Get Together" that Vince Clarke re-wrote for the band.^[4] 80s pop singer Cyndi Lauper wrote a ballad for the group titled "Shine" and Tanya Donelly wrote four tracks for the album, including "This Is My Day".^[1][5] The group recently recorded an EP titled Girl Authority - Halloween Party Songs, a cover recording of Halloween-themed songs. However, the EP is only sold in iParty stores.

Awards

• Best Audio—iParenting Media^[6]

Side Projects

Girl Authority recorded "The Star-Spangled Banner" in June 2006 and also a theme song for the Club Libby Lu store chain. They also released a Christmas single titled "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town". The single is only sold to listeners on Rhapsody, URGE, Zune and iTunes. They also made a guest appearance in the book series Beacon Street Girls in July.^[7] The group held a songwriting contest for Beacon Street Girls readers. The group chose the song "I Am Me", a song written by a fourteen-year-old girl named Allison from Massachusetts. The song will then be available for free download on the Beacon Girls' website after the song is recorded. The group had also considered three other songs before choosing the winning song: Marissa from Ontario, Canada and her song "To Be the One to Find Me", Charlotte from Saskatchewan, Canada with her song, "My Friends Bring Out the Best in Me" and Brook from Illinois with her song, "We're Going Outside Tonight". ^[8]

Discography

Albums

• Girl Authority (2006)
• Road Trip (2007)

EPs

• Girl Authority - Halloween Party Songs (2007)

Singles

• "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" (2006)
• "Let's Get Together" (2007)
• "I Am Me" (2008)

See also

• Kidz Bop

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Boston music news: January 26, 2007 - Music - The Phoenix
2. ^ Godsmack on Rounder? - The Boston Globe
3. ^ The Tween Machine - Boston Magazine
4. ^ Vince Clarke (Erasure) re-writes old unreleased Depeche Mode song for Teen pop act - news, torrent, Wikipedia, free MP3, download, lyrics
5. ^ Mapping success for Girl Authority - Waltham, MA - The Daily News Tribune
6. ^ Girl Authority - Girl Authority - News
7. ^ Second Cup Cafe: Girl Authority, Nine Girls, Each With Their Own Unique Singing Style - CBS News
8. ^ BSG/Girl Authority Songwriter Contest! - Beacon Street Girls

External links

• Official website
• Spice Girls For The Tween Set Billboard.com - Katy Kroll
• They think Top 40, and aren't even 14 Boston Globe - Bobby Hankinson