Thursday, February 18, 2010

Emily Osment at HOB Anahiem and Sunset Strip

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After seeing Emily Osment for years on TV and film, most notably as Lilly Truscott in the phenomenally successful “Hannah Montana” franchise, fans will now get their first chance to truly hear her.

On All the Right Wrongs, Osment arrives as a fully formed singer/songwriter so accomplished that it’s hard to believe she is only 17. From sounds that get you up on your feet to wrenching ballads, her songs are anchored by her keen, observational lyrics; instantly memorable melodies and Osment’s wonderfully expressive vocals.

“It’s my first album so I want so much out of it. I want to cram everything I’ve been doing for the past 17 years into it,” Osment says.

The songs on All the Right Wrongs reveal a young woman grappling with the same joys, fears and heartbreaks all of us face in a remarkably candid, genuine and often humorous way.

Osment tackles the horrors of high school on the biting pop punk anthem “I Hate the Homecoming Queen” that girls of any age will relate to. “It’s one of those songs that came really quickly,” she says. “It came out of having an argument with a girl at school.”

On the mid-tempo ballad “Average Girl,” Osment smiles on the outside while dying on the inside as she watches her boyfriend walk away with the pretty girl. “We made it funnier because it was originally a really depressing and sad song,” she says, adding that unlike the song’s main character, she did not get dumped on Valentine’s Day.

Similarly, on the sweeping “What About Me,” Osment lays herself emotionally bare, as she lies awake pondering second chances at love.

The opening track, the infectious, high-octane “All the Way Up,” is an uplifting personal manifesto about not letting anyone or anything keep you from reaching your dreams. Just as Osment has refused to let people pigeonhole her, the tune encourages the listeners to break out of any preconceived mold and believe in their goals.

“The song came out of just doing whatever you want. I like to call everybody I know at 3 a.m.,” she says with a laugh. “It’s about breaking out, which is a good start to the album.”

Osment is no stranger to the recording studio: she’s registered pop hits such as “I Don’t Think About it,” which topped the charts at Radio Disney for 10 weeks and sold more than 300,000 downloads, as well as “If I Didn’t Have You” with “Hannah Montana” co-star Mitchel Musso and “Once Upon a Dream” from the “Sleeping Beauty” DVD.

But when she decided to make her own album, Osment decided it was time for a bit of a change. That’s where Wind-Up comes in.

“We met with a lot of different labels. I felt like Wind-Up was the right choice. I love that it’s an indie label,” Osment says. “Despite their platinum plaques lining the halls, it’s a family company that really focuses on and cares about their artists.”

Osment began working on All the Right Wrongs more than two years ago with such collaborators as the Plain White T’s’ Tom Higgenson, Eve 6’s Max Collins and Tony Fagenson and noted songwriters Matt Bair and Tim Pagnotta.

Osment paired with producer Matt Squire, the master of creating energetic rock, to record the EP. “He’s just this giant ball of energy,” she says of Squire, best known for his work with Taking Back Sunday, 3OH!3, Panic! At the Disco and the Used. “We try to get things done in the studio, but we just end up laughing all the time,” she says.

Influenced by her parents, both of whom are musically inclined, and her brother, Oscar nominee Haley Joel Osment, Osment grew up in a household surrounded by music—much of it classic rock and roll. “My brother got his first electric guitar when he was 13 and the house was never quiet again,” she laughs. Osment, who also plays guitar, recalls writing her first song when she was three. It was about a tree. The first album she ever bought was either the Monkees’ greatest hits or The Beatles’ Abbey Road. (She can’t remember).

Now, her tastes run more toward Animal Collective, Led Zeppelin, REM, the Pixies, Portishead and fellow emotional truth teller, Alanis Morissette. “I went through a big Alanis period,” she says. Like Morissette,Osment wants to strip away any distance between her and the listener. “She was an inspiration for a lot of the songs I wrote with Max and Tony.”

Now, she’s eager for others to hear her songs and is thankful she funneled her passion into this musical expression. “I wanted to put that energy to good use. Making this record has been so much fun and has allowed me to be the most creative I have ever been in my life.”

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