Terra Naomi "Say It's Possible" Rapidshare Music Video

Terra Naomi - Say It's Possible

Occasionally a new artist will emerge by the sheer strength of people power alone. Rarely, are they without a record deal. This, however, is exactly what's happened with US indie-chanteuse Terra Naomi. From waiting tables in NYC to 5 million You Tube views (and counting), word of mouth has hand-selected its protégé with alarming Darwinian skill. No marketing, no ploy - just a triumph of music over all.

Terra is the real deal - a pure, powerful singer/songwriter who has nailed the tone of modern life. Her launchpad track 'Say It's Possible' - an acoustic gem inspired by Al Gore's film 'An Inconvenient Truth' - caused an explosion when posted on You Tube last year. Featured on the site's main page, it spread through online forums with stealth before clocking up 1 million views in a matter of days. It also spawned 200+ tribute imitations and landed the rising singer/songwriter a publishing deal with Universal.

The daughter of a plastic surgeon father and social worker mother, born and raised in upstate New York, Terra flirted with classical music during her childhood. An accomplished classical pianist and vocalist by 15, she graduated university with a degree in Opera before rebellion, rehab and an eventual relocation to Manhattan.

There she bought her first guitar, began writing and performed live across the city prior to launching three self-financed US tours (2003- 2005). Expensive? Yes, but wholly invaluable. For it was the first of these that caught the attention of Terra's producer/manager Paul Fox, who encouraged her to trade NY for a working partnership in L.A.

It was here that Terra created her first 'virtual tour', albeit by default.

"I was filling out job applications in restaurants," she says, "I went through months of being very depressed and didn't have the money or energy for another self-financed tour, so Paul suggested I film live performances from my apartment. We didn't think anybody would see them - maybe a thousand tops - then, overnight, everything shifted." Now, with almost 5 million online views under her belt, the public have well and truly spoken.

Her first, full studio LP on Island Records - a zeitgeist-leaning, guitar-driven debut - is due for release on August 27th. Written by Terra and produced by Paul Fox (10,000 Maniacs, XTC) it's the sum of Terra's personal experiences set against her lyrical ear and makes no bones about telling it how it is, or how it should be.


Featuring string arrangements by David Campbell, Beck's father, it's a defiant album that demands attention. From the politically punchy 'Something Good To Show You' - a track born from her contribution to Neil Young's 'Living With War LP', which she admits will probably "make a lot of people mad, and a lot of people very excited," - to the landmark 'Say It's Possible', it's an LP of true worth.

Equally notable are the tracks 'Flesh For Bones' - one of the first songs written for the album - and Close To Your Head', two of Terra's personal favourites.

In 2006, Terra released a CD version of the virtual summer tour entitled 'Virtually', which followed three previous independent EPs. As of November 2006, all have completely sold out.

"Everything takes a bit longer and always leads me down a bizarre and winding path," she smiles. "But when it finally happens for me, it happens really big."

Earlier this year Terra's triumphant track 'Say It Possible' won You Tube's Best Music Video Award. The New York Times summed it up perfectly, saying "With the look of a young Keith Richards, Terra Naomi is the only girl cool enough to make the cut in the You Tube Awards".