Paige Nichols

How many times have you had your heart broken? Don’t worry, I’m not here to talk you out of your heartaches, though I think a passionate and soulful singer-songwriter can do so. And by that I mean, some music from this young maiden here, Paige Nichols, can get it done in a much more invigorating way. Oh yeah – invigorating, stimulating, captivating… that’s definitely Paige Nichols.

Paige Nichols has just released her debut EP “Little Men” last month, and from the album title itself you can already tell that it features the music of one empowered female artist. Paige has this unique and powerful voice that moves you to get up and go on. Regardless of what track of hers you listen to, you’ll find her music along with her amazing vocals fill you with emotions up to the brim.

Though “Little Man Big Gun” is upbeat and already stirring, “Haunted” reveals Paige as more than a raspy soulful singer-songwriter, but one that is musically expressive, sensitive, and exceptional with her heartfelt lyrics and honest sound – top it off with her incredible piano playing, which she have learned to play way back when she was nine and still living in a town in Ohio.

Now, Paige is in New York living her dream of becoming the next soul, pop singer-songwriter. She’s already worked with producer Mikal Blue (Colbie Caillat, One Republic, Carrie Underwood,) and even recorded with drummer, Victor Indrizzo (Alanis Morissette, Gwen Stefani, Shakira,) and guitarist Andrew Williams (Five for Fighting.)

You can find the very talented Paige Nichols perform solo with her piano this month in The Living Room, and The Bitter End. To wrap it up, I certainly believe that Paige Nichols has got the skills, the talent, and the spirit to hit mainstream!

Listen to Paige Nichols on MySpace and check her upcoming shows. - Indie Update

Paige Nichols has a very nice singing voice and well written songs, heavily laden with piano and rock guitar. Comparable to Sara Bareilles, Maroon 5, and Nora Jones, PaigeNichols is definitely international recording artist status waiting to happen.

Paige flexes her vocal prowess on songs like "Want," and shares a special blend of piano-rock on "Nobody."

Although she doesn't share much happy moments with the lyrical content, Paige still has pretty good songs that anyone with an appreciation for true artistry would totally fall for.

What is your ultimate goal with your music?
I want my music to reach and affect a vast amount of people. I want my music to make people feel something and I'd like for it to continue to put into words what most people are afraid to say. Even though some of my songs are about heartbreak, I think they are hopeful at the same time. If people feel some sense of happiness and hope from my music, I will be very happy. --- Paige Nichols - IAE Magazine

Paige Nichols, a talented soul/pop singer/songwriter based in New York City, has won the June SingerUniverse “Best Vocalist Of The Month” Competition, for her performance of her song “Haunted.” "Haunted" will be included on her debut, 5-song EP named Little Men, which she will release independently in late summer.

“Haunted” is an elegant, soulful ballad, which spotlights both Nichols' rich, strong vocals, and her solid piano playing. The song's arrangement remains fairly sparse and basic (mainly vocals, piano and later on, string tracks), but it's effective, due to Nichols' impressive vocals, and the quality of the song. "Haunted" was produced in Los Angeles by Mikal Blue, a top producer who is known for his work with Colbie Caillat (her hit Coco album), OneRepublic and Jason Reeves.

Nichols grew up in the town of Green, Ohio, which is a 45-minute drive from Cleveland. She started to play piano when she was nine, and she performed in choirs, in musicals (The Music Man), and in other shows. Nichols cites Mary J. Blige, Cat Power and Stevie Nicks as three of her main influences

Following high school, Nichols attended the University of Toledo, where she studied classical voice for two years. However, she then decided to move to New York City, to study at the American Musical & Dramatic Academy in Manhattan. "I've known that I wanted to be a singer from a young age," said Nichols. "I moved to New York for the opportunity to train there, and to pursue my music career."

While in New York, Nichols was also able to develop her performing skills as a singer/songwriter. In Manhattan she has played gigs (usually solo) at the Bitter End, Rockwood Music Hall, and the Living Room. Nichols has also played shows in Los Angeles at Room 5 and Genghis Cohen

Paige Nichols

Although she's based in New York, she chose to record her debut EP in Los Angeles when she had the opportunity to collaborate with hit producer, Mikal Blue. "I worked with Mikal in December 2009," she said. "I played piano on all the tracks, and Mikal brought in some excellent musicians for the sessions, including Andrew Williams (guitar) and Victor Indrizzo (drums). We recorded all the songs fairly quickly - it really came together well." Other key cuts that will be featured on the EP are: "Little Man Big Gun," and "Seat Filler."

With her EP due out soon, Nichols will be keeping busy during the months ahead. - Singeruniverse.com

When Paige Nichols moved from Ohio to New York City, she knew she wanted to sing and play piano, however, she didn’t realize there was a piece missing from her plan. “I got here and I realized that I had nothing to sing except for other people’s songs,” Paige noted. “I was like, ‘This is a problem, I should learn to write.’ So I started writing because I realized I needed to.”

“When you’re starting out as a songwriter, there’s a fear: What if I’m not good at this? Will people like it?” Nichols continued. “You get halfway through a song and you think, This is bad, no one will like it! You can’t keep writing if you’re criticizing halfway through. It wasn’t until I stopped listening to that voice that the songs started coming out more freely . . . and better.”

In fact, the songs have come so freely that Paige is on the verge of releasing her debut EP. The five songs on this project are not her first recorded tracks, but they are the first collection of songs to utilize a producer and a full band.

“I wasn’t a huge fan of my recordings before this,” Paige confessed. “I was still kind of learning how to sing my own music and put feeling into it. I was singing it like I was singing somebody else’s songs, you know what I mean? The recordings were also in this very weird in-between zone . . . I would try to describe my music and I couldn’t.”

But that all changed with these five songs. “The producer, Mikal Blue, helped me go in a definite direction,” Nichols explained, “now I feel that my music definitely fits in the pop/soul genre.”

Paige’s songs are crisp, piano-driven tunes with dynamic melodies and haunting overtones. Her rich, soulful vocals and passionate performances provide an intriguing depth that pulls the listener in close and allows him to ruly feel what Paige was going through when she first wrote the music and lyrics.
“The songs are from lots of bad experiences,” Nichols stated.

The pain, hurt and confusion of failed relationships is what fuels Paige’s music, yet she manages to never sound angry or bitter. Contrary to what you might expect, her songs are uplifting, rousing and empowering. When asked how she is able to take

something so painful and turn it into something so positive, she responded, “I can only write about someone I felt

really strongly about or whom I was in love with. Even though it ended badly, for somebody to have evoked that strong of a feeling in me, it had to have come from a place where I really cared for them.”

“Also the producer whom I worked with really helped me not go too dark. Even though his stuff is deep, it’s lighter than what mine was when I originally took it to him. He helped me add that tone to it: ‘Even though you’re mad we’re not going to make people terribly depressed.’”

This ability to take the dark and place it in the light while allowing a few lingering shadows to remain is one of the reasons why Paige Nichols’ music is so fascinating. She deftly applies subtle layers of contrast to offer her audience an astonishing degree of depth. The more you listen to her tracks, the deeper you can go.

Another contrast — one that Paige continually wrestles with — is her look vs. her sound. She is a petite blonde, but she has a powerhouse voice. “I know a lot of times when people first see me they think I’m going to have a high voice and not
really sing anything of substance. Maybe I’m paranoid about it,” she worried, “but I think the music does have depth. I want to make people feel and I hope they don’t see an image and decide to not even listen.”
As far as the title of her debut EP, Paige expressed, “I was worried
that you were going to ask about that! I’m trying to come up with the title and I have not yet because I am completely getting crazy about it. I don’t like
labeling because it’s like you do this whole big thing with a lot of
different feelings — there are a lot of different emotions in these songs —
and then you have to come up with just a couple of words to define it all? This is
so hard, it’s driving me crazy.”

“I have all these ideas and I’m testing them out by calling it that in my head and I’m like, ‘No! That’s not right,’” she continued. “I want to make sure the title creates a full, cohesive image.”

Paige Nichols’ debut EP is an engaging collection of songs that are at once hard- hitting and haunting. Her vocals are proud, confident, and thoroughly exciting. For more information on this dynamic artist, visit:
www.myspace.com/paigenicholsmusic
- Songwriter's Monthly