The Artist: Elyse Saunders is a fresh young recording artist from Peterborough Ontario, who is rapidly making her mark on the country music scene. From early in her career Elyse surrounded herself with people she could trust and that shared her love for music. Elyse has often referred to herself as just a typical small town girl with a dream and musical passion. To pass her on the street, that is exactly what she would appear to be. To look deeper and listen to her performances, you quickly realize there is much more to this young talented artist. Her performances far exceed that “small town girl” picture. The emotions and feelings she pours into her songs are deeply rooted and come from a heart that’s mature way beyond her years. She is unwavering in her pursuit to perfect her music and dedicated over a year of searching for just the right producer, musicians and songs that would showcase the rich soulful feel and tone of her voice. The songs she picked would be a part of her life, so they had to be ones she believed in to deliver that raw emotional connection to her listener. In listening to her songs you begin to believe what Elyse believes. Her performance on every song truly comes from her heart and as a listener, you find yourself in that rare experience of living every song right along with her. The Album: Elyse Saunders début album of 13 tracks is about love and the ups and downs of life which we can all relate to. Her efforts and trips to Nashville have paid off as the release of this self-titled album is solid proof of her dedication and passion for music that has become such an important element in her life. Upon listening to the album you will find yourself drawn in by each song as all of them capture a different sound and emotion that separates it from the rest that’s out there; as it is a reflection of the many artists and genres she relates to that’s helped to inspire her unique sound. The completed project is the result of some amazing support and collaboration from some of the best talent in country music today. Nashville has welcomed her with open arms, where she’s had the opportunities of working with the likes of, producer/song writer Cyril Rawson, Lisa Brokop doing background vocals, song writers John Acosta, Gary Breit, Don Pfimmer, Darrel Burgess, recording engineer Rob Matson, musicians Glen Duncan, JT Corenfloss, Stephen Sheehan, Howard Duck, David Martin, to name just a few. Like a favorite old pair of sneakers, the album is one of those rare performances that you just never seem to tire of listening to; this collection of songs rekindles those memories we love to revisit again and again. The Journey: Like any natural talent, music has always been with Elyse. She had been a singer and performer throughout her life but realized at just 16 she was ready to take it to the next level. A high school talent contest in front of all her peers really helped her do just that as she continued getting strings of encouraging responses received from singing competitions across Ontario. Through this journey of competition venues she developed a sense of what she really liked to sing and that was country music. Contests also gave her the great fortune of meeting her biggest mentor Nashville songwriter, Cyril Rawson (song writer/producer). Rawson with many years of experience took her under his wing and helped guide her development into the talent she is today. Together in his studio, on almost a daily basis, they spent months selecting songs and perfecting them before making the initial trip to a Nashville recording studio. At this time the tracks on five of the songs on Elyse’s album were recorded. From this collection of songs came her first single release to radio (Nobody’s Watchin’). Being her first single radio release, it was a satisfying accomplishment to have gained amazing attention from the radio programming managers and listeners alike. Also, her official myspace site to introduce herself and her music to the world was launched, bringing in some of her biggest fans and supporters. Elyse then made her début performance in July 2008 when Deric Ruttan gave her the opportunity to open for him at a packed venue of over 10,000 country music lovers. Elyse’s dream was now becoming a reality. This performance was followed by a long list of appearances geared toward promoting her first radio single. In the meantime, Cyril and Elyse returned to his work studio and directed their attention to the next selection of songs that would complete the album. The final trip to Nashville in late October 2008 saw the completion of the recording process and accomplishment of this amazing overall production. Elyse is sharing this accomplishment and hopes it will serve to increase her rapidly growing fan base. At this moment Elyse is writing with many different songwriters in her home town and surrounding areas of Ontario, Canada. She has also written with songwriters from Nashville and hopes to make another trip soon for more writing projects. Sooner then later she plans to put some of her own material on another record as well as other original songs she feels she can connect with and showcase her unique sound. In the meantime, Elyse has been doing radio tours and shows to keep building her reputation and experience in the industry. She is now continuing to book for her summer tour 2010 across Ontario with her band as well as getting ready to promote an upcoming summer release for her shows and radio interviews. Being a part of 2009's CMA Festival ‘Fan Fest’ Elyse hopes to do some shows in Nashville this year also so she can add to her ever growing fan base and keep on entertaining audiences from all over. Now Elyse is choosing her 4th new country single to put out for this summer and is also planning and working on a music video to promote the latest single for her fans.