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Awards 2nd Place Enormous Records Songwriting Contest 1999 Honor Award 2002 Great American Songwriting Competition Finalist 2005 Plowshares Songwriting Contest Honorable Mention 2005 songprize.com International Songwriting Contest Sonya Lorelle's title track on her first album was coined by a stranger at a gas station who noticed her filling up her truck with a U-Haul attached. After she confirmed that she was indeed moving 'by herself,' he said in an impressed tone, 'oh?! An 'Independent Woman'!' She soulfully delivers this debut collection of bluesy songs in an acoustic project that is raw and organic with just her golden voice and piano to back it up. Lorelle soon decided to take her style, described to be an upbeat version of Norah Jones and Carol King, on the road. She gave up her career as a counselor and lease on her apartment, priced her belongings, and began touring nationally and abroad. During these travels alone she began writing a second set of songs to appear on her sophomore CD, 'The Life You Wanted.' Highlights include 'Lost So Long' a light basso nova song inspired by her experience of being lost on the streets of Paris and Dublin. 'Kiss Me Tonight' is a flirty jazz number about an impending first kiss. She takes her strong woman themes present in 'Independent Woman' further into this new project. In one song, she tells a failed love to 'Go On With Your Life' and in 'Bed Time Story, ' she celebrates all that a woman has to offer by opening, 'I'm a bedtime story and I'll rock you to sleep. I'm a buried treasure, a secret you keep.' Sonya received her first jazz education in high school where she alternated as the lead alto sax and the vocalist for the jazz band. She continued her training at Southwest Missouri State University where she received a minor in music, while performing in different groups, as the pianist in the jazz band and as an alto in the madrigal choir. After her undergraduate work, she completed a Masters Degree in Counseling. From this solid foundation in music theory and insight gained into the human psyche, Sonya is able to write the meaningful lyrics and develop the colorful melodies and harmonies heard on 'The Life You Wanted.'
