froggurl
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Songwriters and songbirds
By Mikelle Sasakamoose - Kamloops This Week
Published: October 11, 2008 12:00 PM
Updated: October 12, 2008 3:19 AM I don't watch Canadian Idol or CMT, but I listen to the radio.
So when I put some blonde girl named Tara Oram's CD in my stereo, I immediately recognized her single Fly Girl.
The fun, catchy tune has been on full rotation on Country 103 and, ironically, I already knew the words.
What was that girl's name again?
The Newfoundland native finished sixth on the fifth season of the Canadian talent search and later starred in her own television show, The Tara Diaries, on CMT.
Last year, Canada might not have thought she was good enough, but since the recent release of her debut album, Chasing the Sun, they can't help but know it now.
Oram's got a determination and strength in her voice as she belts out 12 songs on the album, including her second single, 538 Stars, a new personal favourite of mine.
She even does an ambitious cover of Lee Ann Womack's cover of Buddy and Julie Miller's heartbreaking ballad Don't Tell Me that definitely contends with Womack's impressive version.
Produced by Carolyn Dawn Johnson (among others) Chasing the Sun, is Canadian gold.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_thompson_nicola/kamloopsthisweek/entertainment/30826209.html
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Tara Oram chasing the dream
She might be "Chasing the Sun," but Tara Oram's not likely chasing warm temperatures, at least not this weekend.
Oram is back on the island to celebrate the release of her debut album and will hold two autograph-signing sessions, one in St. John's, the other in Gander, today and Saturday.
The album, "Chasing the Sun," was released on Open Road Recordings Wednesday, and Oram is excited to come home to promote it.
After placing sixth on Canadian Idol in 2007, Oram began blogging as a way to keep in touch with her fans. When she was signed to a management deal, CMT approached her about filming her own reality show, "The Tara Diaries," to record her journey to stardom.
"It was weird at first, having cameras in my face, but I think 'Idol' kind of prepared me for that," Oram said.
Oram's album features songs written by some of her friends and mentors, including Nashville-based Stephen Lee Olsen and Grammy-winning Gordie Sampson of Cape Breton. While she originally wanted to write the songs herself, Oram said she's pleased with how each of the tunes is a reflection of who she is.
"There were a ton of pitches coming in that were better than my songs, so I thought, 'Ok, why not?' At first, I was like, 'Ah, man!' But at the end of the day, it's about having the best songs on my record," she said.
Oram co-wrote two of the tunes on the album: "A Taste of the Good Life," and "Living the Dream," a song she wrote with Carolyn Dawn Johnson about her mom, who still lives in Hare Bay.
"My mom had a dream of being a singer, but she had me when she was 17 and was married by 18, so she kind of just put music on the back burner," Oram explained. "It's not that she wanted to be a famous singer and music was her life, she just had the dream of being a celebrity. To pay tribute to her, I wrote a song about what she wanted to do.
"The first time she heard it, she bawled her eyes out, and so did I."
While she won't be performing during this trip home, Oram said a small tour is in the works for some time before the new year, and Newfoundland is a priority destination.
Oram will be signing autographs at CD Plus in the Avalon Mall between 5-7 p.m. today, and at Urban Shoe Company at the Gander Mall 12-2 p.m. Saturday
http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=179510&sc=84
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