WILLA FORD BIOGRAPHY via HIPONLINE:

Remember Jessica Rabbit's immortal catchphrase, I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way? Those eight words are the antithesis of what makes Willa Ford unique in the pop music universe. Because not only does the 22-year old Floridian refuse to pretend she's a goody two-shoes but, more importantly, she's no cartoon character. Willa Ford is a deceptively complex individual, firmly at the helm of her own career.

On her sophomore, yet-to-be-titled Lava full-length album, the singer reveals facets of her talent only hinted at on her 2001 debut Willa Was Here (featuring her smash hit "I Wanna Be Bad"). From the blazing lead single, the dancehall romp "A Toast To Men," and the sensual electronic throb of "Sexysexobsessive," to the Smashing Pumpkins-esque orchestral grandeur of "I See You" and the poetic "Pieces," Willa breaks plenty of new ground.

"I mix a lot more electronics and rock with my urban influences on this record," she reveals. Skeptics may cock an eyebrow when Willa cites nonconformist icons like Björk and Radiohead among her favorite artists, but the more sophisticated grooves of her new effort substantiates those words of praise. "The arrangements on this new record are not normal," she admits. "There are lots of very strange harmonies, things that are tricky for a normal person to pick out." Instead of hiring outside singers, Willa arranged and sang the backing vocals herself. "I do all the orchestrations myself, too. That way, nobody can take my sound… unless I arrange for them."

When Willa Ford talks about "her" sound, she means it literally. While other artists are content to rely on hired guns, Willa took charge of the making of the new album, limiting herself to just two key collaborators – Toby Gad (Sita, Jaci Velasquez) and Willa Was Here vet Eve Nelson – and working in small studios, maintaining an emphasis on refining her unique sonic identity. "Did I ask for producers who get $75,000 to produce a song? No. They get that money because they've created a sound, and it's their sound. I don't want their sound. Their sound is not going to help me grow as a person."

Willa began writing these songs while touring in support of Willa Was Here, working in a small mobile studio in the back of the bus. She took inspiration from a variety of sources; the salacious first single, "A Toast To Men" – featuring the rapid-fire patter of special guest May – borrows its infectious hook from a classic sorority chant. "It's an old toast in sororities," she explains. "Almost all sorority girls, from some day and age know it." It dawned on Willa that its four simple, spirited lines represented an enduring artifact of female empowerment that hadn't been grossly overexposed or grown dated. "It was something that was still real and contemporary, but women who were 40-years old could remember it, too."

On a different note, Willa also offers up "Who I Am," written from the point of view of somebody gay. "The song is basically saying, 'I'm sorry if I disappoint you, but this is who I am.' I'm not gay, but I have many friends that are, and I related to their experience in another sense, of being an outcast. Because somewhere in the course of my career, I got stuck in this little container, and became somebody that nobody truly understood."

Ah, yes. The reality of Willa Ford versus the myth. Contrary to rumor, Willa was no overnight sensation. Raised in a musical family, she began singing publicly in third grade, and by the age of 11 had gone professional. Nor is she the temperamental sexpot some misguided souls have made her out to be. Willa is simply a young woman who is not afraid of her sexuality ("I'm a healthy, 22-year-old female. I'm not abstinent. Sue me") or speaking her mind.

"It's funny. When people meet me, they often say, 'You're not what I expected.' What did they expect? Some diva bitch that stomps in and starts breaking things?" Wrong. That's not Willa. When it's time to work, she works hard. And, because of her youth and good looks, she works harder than most to gain the respect of her industry peers. "There are so many singers in my genre that are saying, 'I'm writing my material,' and they're contributing two lines. When I go in to write and record with other professionals, it's exciting to watch people change their mind about me."

A lot more people can expect to change their mind about Willa after they hear this album. Because this is the work of a seasoned performer coming into her own as a writer, as an artist. "There are a lot of people out there who love to just take direction from somebody else," she concludes. For Willa Ford, that would never suffice. "It took me a long time to create my sound, but this record was about proving that, musically, I stand alone." Well then, that calls for another toast: To a job well done.

FROM WIKIPEDIA:

Amanda Lee Williford was born on January 22, 1981 and raised in Ruskin, Florida. She began pursuing her dream of becoming a singer at the age of 8 when she started singing with the Tampa Bay Children's Choir. By the time she reached age 11 she had moved on from the children's choir to the Tampa-based children's performing arts troupe Entertainment Revue.

In 1999, the 18 year old Ford started performing under the stage name Mandah and was signed to Music Corporation of America, MCA. While with MCA she wrote and recorded a song called "Lullaby" which was featured on the double-platinum soundtrack for the motion picture Pokemon: The First Movie. She was also the opening act for the Backstreet Boys which led to a relationship with Nick Carter. Ford's label decided to changed her stage name from Mandah into Willa Ford, as to avoid confusion with Mandy Moore. After refusing to be portrayed as a good girl with a squeaky-clean image, Ford parted ways with MCA, which allowed her to move on to a label that would embrace a bad-girl image.

At the age of 20 the singer signed on to a new label, Lava Atlantic Records, while on a mall tour for Nautica Kids. The new contract put her into the recording studio with a diverse variety of writers and producers which allowed her to express more of her sexuality. Ford preferred to write most of her own lyrics as well as becoming executive producer for most her first album. On July 17, 2001, Willa Ford released her debut album Willa Was Here. The album gave birth to the smash single "I Wanna Be Bad". Willa Was Here reached 56 on the Billboard 200 and sold roughly 200,000 copies. Ford went on to release a second single from the album titled "Did Ya' Understand That" which failed to garner much attention. Her shelved third single "Ooh Ooh" showcased her singing ability as being one of few vocalists who can access the whistle register, made famous by Mariah Carey.

Ford served as the spokesperson for Pantene Pro-V's ProVoice campaign while promoting the album. She also appeared in Uncle Kracker's video for "In A Little While." On April 26, 2002, Willa Ford guest starred in an episode of Raising Dad where she played a bully named Edie. Ford also went on to guest host MTV's TRL and Say What Karaoke which led to a hosting contract with Viacom. Ford soon hosted the MTV reality shows The Morning After and I Bet You Will. That same year Willa Ford co-wrote and recorded a duet with South Korean pop star Park Ji-yoon entitled "Nastified" which appeared on Park's fifth album Man.

When 2003 arrived, Willa Ford was back with a hot dance song that immortalized a sorority chant and became a huge club hit named "A Toast to Men". The song, which featured guest rapper Lady May, stirred up controversy due to its vulgarity, but was still featured in daytime promo ads for soap operas and edited for national radio airplay. The single was from her unreleased sophomore album Sexysexobsessive which was previously titled Porn Poetry. The title track "Sexysexobsessive" was to be the second single. A song named "Who I Am" which was to be on the album was later featured on German singer Sandra's album Back to Life. Due to some legal issues at her label, Ford's highly anticipated sophomore album was never released. Willa Ford soon parted ways with Lava Atlantic records to venture off and focus on other career opportunities.

Willa Ford returned to the spotlight in 2005 when she hosted the first season of the fighting competition reality show, The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. This led to a short lived relationship with Chuck Liddell. The show aired between January 18 and April 9, 2005. After the show's finale, the 24 year old singer was contracted as a summer's guest doll performer for the Las Vegas shows of The Pussycat Dolls. Ford was later featured as the June celebrity on FHM's 2005 pin-up calendar.

In early 2006, Willa Ford played as one of the four celebrity quarterbacks for the Lingerie Bowl which was shown during the halftime of Super Bowl XL. That same year the pop starlette proved to America how bad she really wanted to be by posing nude for the March 2006 issue of Playboy. This was the same issue that was plagued with controversy over the alleged misuse of Jessica Alba's image for the cover. Ford mentioned in an interview that it changed her life and the whole experience was very liberating.^{[citation needed]} Stuff magazine ranked her #48 in the 101 Sexiest Online Women supplement later that year.

On August 14, 2006, Lisa Rinna announced the cast for the third season of Dancing with the Stars on Good Morning America. Willa Ford was named as one of the celebrity dancers on ABC's highly rated dance program. The show aired between September 12 and November 15, 2006. Ford along with her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy managed to last until the 5th week of elimination. Beating out Vivica Fox, Harry Hamlin, Shanna Moakler and Tucker Carlson. She was voted off on October 11, 2006 despite having tied in first place. Ford was in the bottom two along with Jerry Springer, who had the lowest score. One day after Ford's elimination, Sara Evans announced her withdrawal from the competition after filing for divorce from her husband, which started rumors of Ford's return. The 25 year old singer later announced on Headline News that ABC had invited her to return to the competition, but she declined stating that "America has voted" and that her time was done.^[1] Promos promoted her return for the November 1, 2006 episode and to the delight of her fans, the pop singer did in fact return to the stage, although not to dance, but to sing. Ford performed the Academy Award winning song "Fame", making her the only celebrity to be a contestant and musical guest on the show. On November 8, 2006, the following week after her very well received performance, the singer returned to perform a group jive dance to promote the upcoming Dancing with the Stars tour. Her final appearance on the show was the November 15 season finale when America crowned Emmitt Smith as the season's champion.

The entertainment show Extra followed the singer as she underwent an "Ugly Betty Make-Over" which aired on November 2, 2006. Ford also did a photoshoot featured in Maxim for the January 2007 issue where she reflected on her experience on Dancing with the Stars. Before presenting at the Arby's Action Sports awards, Ford announced that on Thanksgiving morning her long time boyfriend and NHL superstar, Mike Modano, had presented her a ring for her hand in marriage. The couple wed in a small, private ceremony on August 26, 2007 in Athens, Texas.^[2][2] She also announced to Access Hollywood that she was dropping out of the Dancing With The Stars Tour since Maksim Chmerkovskiy was not signed on.

Willa Ford invited television viewers with a tour of her house, appearing on an episode of My Celebrity Home on the Style Network, which aired on January 31, 2007.^[3] She also hosted the third season of Pants-Off Dance-Off on Fuse TV after Tila Tequila's and Jodie Sweetin's departure. On August 23, 2007, Ford and husband Mike Modano gave television audiences another glimpse inside their new home when they were featured in an episode of MTV Cribs.^[4]

The Insider announced on April 10, 2007 that Willa Ford was cast to play the role of Anna Nicole Smith in a film about the life and death of the celebrity. The film was shot between April and May 2007 and was released to DVD outside of the U.S. The biopic Anna Nicole marked Ford's first lead role in a film. Ford was later picked to play the lead character named Claire Dennison in a thriller film called Impulse opposite Angus MacFadyen. Impulse went straight-to-DVD on April 15, 2008. In typical bad girl fashion, Willa Ford is featured topless in both films.

Willa Ford played the supporting role as a character named Chelsea in the motion picture remake of Friday the 13th in which she also appeared topless, exposing her bare breasts while water skiing. The film was released on February 13, 2009 and placed number one on its opening weekend, taking in over $45 million.^[5][6] The role was the 28 year old's debut acting performance in a major motion picture. Friday the 13th was produced by Michael Bay and directed by Marcus Nispel who directed the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. For promotion of the project, Ford appeared as a guest on E!'s late night talk show Chelsea Lately. The episode aired on February 5, 2009. Ford and husband Modano were also in attendance for the February 9 Los Angeles premiere of Friday the 13th at the Grauman's Chinese Theater with the rest of the cast and crew.^[7]

Willa Ford endorsed the VaNu health product, a super blend of super foods, on March 9, 2009. On March 12, 2009, Mike Modano posted on his Twitter that the E! network wants him and Willa Ford to do a reality show.^[8][9] This announcement comes amidst alleged reports that Willa Ford is in production to do a reality show. The source claims that the 28 year old singer told E! news radio that the couple was hoping to start filming for the project a couple months after January 2009.