Riley Biederer’s story sounds a bit like a modern day fairytale.
Hailing from the northern suburbs of Atlanta comes 19 year old Riley Biederer, whose sound can be described as R&B infused Pop.
Picking up the guitar at age 13, Riley, who’d been singing from a young age, took it a step further and started writing songs. She began performing at Open Mic events from 14, and went from there to paid performances all over North Georgia.
Riley was discovered at age 15Â by Grammy winning producer Matt Still, who’s known for his work with Elton John, among others. He took her to see Elton, who immediately signed her to his music management company, Rocket Music, which also oversees Ed Sheeran. She stayed with Rocket for a few years, before deciding to go it alone, and auditioned for The Voice, where used her powerful performances to win over the judges: she became the first one chair turn, twice stolen artist to make it to The Voice Live Playoffs. On the conclusion of The Voice Season 9, she and her band were chosen to be the opening support for Nick Carter’s American tour, which commenced February 24.
Not bad at all – extraordinary when you consider Riley is still only 19 years old.
Riley’s debut EP, ‘To Me And You’, came out last month. At six tracks long it’s more a short play album, and the production values are incredible. First track, ‘Out Of My Mind’ calls to mind songs from Britney Spears’ ‘Femme Fatale’ album, and we wonder if Ms Spears has been a conscious inspiration – not at all a bad thing!
‘Liar Liar’ is a deeply personal song, written from the point of view of a girl who’s confused about her feelings and relationships. Riley’s clear vocals beautifully convey the angst behind the song.
Riley says of her music,
“I try to write about what’s real. I write about love, because everybody knows what that’s like, good or bad.”
‘Game Over’, has Biederer – by now we’ve established that she’s a vocal chameleon – channeling Carly Rae Jepsen, with maybe just a hint of Avril Lavigne. Although the tracks are co-writes, it’s clear that Riley makes the lions-share of contributions, as the tracks are quite obviously from the female point of view.
Our favourite track of the EP is ‘Thunder’, the fourth song. It’s punchy and anthemic, punctuated by instrumental crashes, and almost spat out, evocative lyrics: “My love’s gonna hit your heart like thunder/cos someone’s going under/when lightning crashes we’ll be coming down”.
‘Stupid’ takes us back to Britney – a fast paced number, it deserves to be released as a dance track, accompanied by a choreographed video.
Last song on the EP, title track, ‘To Me And You’, is parts jazz funk and pop, and is the perfect showcase for Biederer’s vocal skills and considerable range.
Find Riley Biederer online on Twitter, Facebook, and her website. Check out ‘To Me And You’:
Riley Biederer is currently on tour with Nathan Carter. See here for tickets and further details.
