Delana Stevens - Welcome To My World

Who is Delana Stevens

Delana Stevens grew up in a very small town in Wyoming. When she was 13, she convinced her mom to make the move to Nashville so she could pursue a singing career. From a very early age she was committed to her passion of singing and had joined in with whomever she happened to hear on the radio. Some early influences for her were Wynonna, Dottie West, Bonnie Raitt, Aerosmith, Johnny Cash and the list is endless. She loved music and knew it was what she wanted to do with her life. Her writing took shape as her desire to express herself became a driving need. The pen gave her that outlet and soon she was interpreting her own life stories through her incredible voice. Combine a sensual husky undertone with some smoky passion and add in raw emotion and that is what you'll hear when Delana sings. In early 2005, Stevens put her songs on the internet to see what would happen. By the end of May she'd passed the 160,000 downloads/plays on download.com. Her music caught the attention of label execs at Mach One Records and she was signed to the label in late 2005 and started working on her first project. Welcome to My World was released in early 2007 and has been doing very well. Stevens is a young lady who knows exactly what she wants and she isn't afraid to work hard to get it. There are twelve tracks on the album and Stevens wrote or co-wrote seven of those. The album was produced by Darrell Young. I enjoyed the eclectic collection of music that was chosen for the project.

The Album

The title track was her first single and was promoted through 2006 via an extensive radio tour across the country. As she visited the stations and performed the single live, it caught the attention of the listening audience. I love the line that says, "you have to take the good days with the bad days," it is so true. Her follow up single is "Say Hello to Heaven" and was an immediate ad at stations across the country. She filmed her first video in support of this song and its poignant message about drinking and driving also made people sit up and take notice of Stevens and her talent. It is probably my favorite song on the album as well. I also enjoyed "Whiskey Roulette," which is a song that uses her smoky voice to perfection. As he contemplates the choices he's made in life he keeps reloading he weapon of choice. I came away with the message that no matter how much you try and drown them, drinking doesn't solve your problems. "I Already Am" is a great song to contemplate the country music of today and what it really is all about. Bottom line is that is all about the music. Things change over time and because something doesn't sound the same as it did decades ago, it doesn't mean that it isn't good. It also doesn't mean that there isn't room for the music of times past. This is just a great all around album and one well worth taking the time to give it a good listen.