MoZella

All Music Guide:

Detroit native MoZella received plenty of television exposure before radio had even heard of her. Her coffeehouse blend of luxurious soul, alternative-leaning pop, and cool jazzy flavors won over the hearts of Mercedes-Benz's advertising division. In 2005, the car company used MoZella's sentimental "Amazed" for its ambitious "Framed Portraits" ad campaign, exposing millions of households to the 23-year-old's surprisingly mature songwriting. Because she had a crush on the teacher, MoZella began taking guitar lessons at the age of 14. The crush faded fast but not her love of music. Her parents had already introduced her to her number one favorite, the Beatles, along with Stevie Wonder and other Motown music. MoZella added her own love of Madonna to the mix, and within a year she found her own personal style from all these influences. It was then, at 15, that she started playing Detroit's coffeehouses. A few months after she graduated high school she moved to Los Angeles. Working days as a cake decorator and spending her nights performing, she eventually ran into Warren G. A brief apprenticeship with the rapper introduced MoZella to the studio and demo recording. Shopping her own demo to labels lead her to a false start in London, but then back to Los Angeles and the label her beloved Madonna had created, Maverick. In 2004, the label coupled her with songwriter/producer Jude Cole and work was begun on the debut. The car commercial came a year later and a month before Maverick released MoZella's self-titled, debut EP, followed finally in 2006 with her full-length debut, I Will.

Wikipedia:

MoZella (born Maureen Anne McDonald, 1981 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for her raspy vocals and smooth, soul/pop sound.

She has toured with Tyler Hilton, Dave Matthews Band, and Lifehouse. Her music has also been featured in television series, and her songs have been featured in national TV campaigns (“Amazed” in a Mercedes campaign in 2005 and "It's Magic" in a Verizon campaign in 2009).

MoZella has released two full-length albums, I Will (Warner/Maverick, 2006) and Belle Isle (Universal/Motown, 2009), as well as three EPs, MoZella (Warner/Maverick, 2005), The Straits EP (Universal/Motown, 2009) and The Love EP (Universal/Motown, 2010).

Early life

MoZella was born and raised in Livonia, Michigan, where she first got her start as a performer booking her own gigs in coffee houses at age 15. Immediately after graduating from high school, she set out for Los Angeles to pursue a career in music. She took a day job decorating cakes, leaving her free to perform at coffee houses in the evenings. In 2002, MoZella was invited to England to write and record with Tim Saul, producer for Portishead. After she spent six months in Europe, she returned to Los Angeles when label interest was building.

Music career

Warner/Maverick Records

MoZella signed to Madonna’s Maverick Records in July 2003. In 2004, when Maverick was absorbed into Warner Bros. Records most of their artists were dropped, however, MoZella was amongst a select few who survived the merger. In July 2005, she released her self-titled debut EP on Warner/Maverick Records. Then, in November 2006, she released her full-length debut I Will (produced by Jude Cole) on the same imprint. I Will was well received by fans and critics alike. Allmusic.com even called MoZella, “One of the best things to come out of pop music this year.”

Universal/Motown Records

MoZella signed to Universal/Motown Records in July, 2008. She immediately enlisted multiple producers for her second album, including Marty James, Jimmy Harry, Tony Kanal, Sunny Levine, and Smidi. ‘The Straits EP’ was released on July 7, 2009 on Universal/Motown Records. On October 20, 2009, her album Belle Isle was released.

Touring

Following her Warner/Maverick debut in 2006, MoZella toured the U.S. with Tyler Hilton, Dave Matthews Band, Lifehouse, Five for Fighting, Daniel Powter, Michelle Branch, and Colbie Caillat.

Film and TV placement

Her songs have been featured in several television series including Pretty Little Liars, One Tree Hill, Las Vegas, How I Met Your Mother, Life Unexpected, Bones, Wildfire, Lipstick Jungle, Fringe (TV series), The City, Castle, Unnatural History, The Hills, Switched at Birth (TV series), Kate Plus 8, as well as many others. In addition, she wrote and recorded the song “Amazed,” which was used in a national Mercedes-Benz television commercial. Two of her songs from ‘The Straits EP’, “Thank You” and “Let’s Stop calling It Love” were used in Nivea commercials. Her song "Magic (Oh Oh Oh)" is featured in commercials for Verizon's "iDon't" Motorola Droid campaign. Her song “Let’s Stop calling It Love” was used on the TV Spot for the movie Did You Hear About The Morgans? and her song "This is Love" was featured on a JC Penney holiday TV advertisement. Most recently, her song "More of You" was featured on the season's premiere of Pretty Little Liars. Most recently, MoZella's cover of The Temptations' song Get Ready was featured in TNT's The Closer Season 7 promos. Her song "Love is Endless" was featured in the endless.com ads and synced in the Katherine Heigl romantic comedy Life As We Know It (and on the soundtrack). "Life Is" was used in an episode of NBC's Love Bites. One of her latest tunes "Hold On" (from her forthcoming album titled The Brian Holland Sessions) debuted in Grey's Anatomy (late 2011). In 2012, MoZella's cover of "Some Like It Hot" (made famous by Marilyn Monroe) was used for the Carl's Jr./Hardees "Drive-In" ad; the ad featured model Kate Upton and a Southwest patty melt in a convertible at a drive-in movie.

Co-writes

Mozella has penned songs with/for Miranda Cosgrove, Shonetelle, and recently co-wrote "Undone" and "Oh My" feat. BoB with American Idol finalist Haley Reinhart for her debut release "Listen Up".