Feb 16, 2012
Article: Former AU student finds feet in country music
From Opelika-Auburn News
At the age of 19, Joanna Smith left Auburn University to chase her dream of being a country music star when she was hired to be the lead singer of a band, only to be fired from the gig a week after moving to Nashville, Tenn.
“I thought it was my big shot,” Smith said. “I thought I had been discovered
as they say … I’m stuck up there, and I’m not in school, and I’m like, ‘What am I gonna do with my life?’”
Stranded, Smith called on country artist Luke Bryan, her friend and big-brother figure, for help.
“He got me a job working as a receptionist and just encouraged me to just take time and learn the business and learn how to write, and so I did that,” she said.
Since moving to Nashville in 2004, Smith has worked her way up from playing on Broadway, a rite of passage in the country music industry, to signing a deal with Columbia Records in 2009 and a full-time country music career.
“You learn as you go and you gradually build your reputation, and you work your way up the ladder,” she said.
She and her six-piece band will be playing a show at the War Eagle Supper Club in Auburn on Friday starting at 11 p.m., though doors open at 10 p.m. Despite having attended Auburn University, Friday will be Smith’s first time at the concert venue.
“When I was at Auburn, I was too young to get in, so that’s why I’ve never been,” Smith said. “I’m really excited about it.”
Thirteen of Smith’s family members, including both of her parents, attended Auburn University at some time.
“I was only here one year, which was one too short,” she said.
Smith has been performing and singing country music since she was 3 and considers herself to be a creative writer, but she never married writing with music until she moved to Nashville. Writing music is now her day-to-day job.
After signing her record deal, she spent months touring radio stations, traveling between several cities and sometimes taking multiple flights in a day. She has opened for acts such as Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert and played at festivals all over the United States.
“I’d love to come back and play the Auburn Arena, and I’d love to have some hits under my belt so I can be touring,” Smith said.
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Feb 9, 2012
Article: Former student turns to her roots after trip to Nashville
From The Auburn Plainsman
In the summer of 2003 after her freshman year at Auburn, Joanna Smith entered a talent show in South Georgia that changed her life.
“The guy that was the sound technician at the show was like, ‘There’s a band in Nashville that really needs a lead singer, and you would be perfect for the part,’ Smith said. “So he hooked me up with these people, and I auditioned a couple times and they convinced us that it was the deal.”
Soon after Smith moved to Tennessee, the band let her go, taking her big break with them,
“I decided to just bite the bullet and stay in Nashville and start paying my dues,” Smith said. “I started writing songs and I eventually got a publishing deal, so then I was able to support myself through my writing.”
Gray Hall, sophomore in busines, watched Smith perform in Auburn last week and said he is amazed by how far she has gone to pursue her dreams and hopes her music becomes even more popular.
“I totally respect that,” Hall said. “I wish I could do it. It’s crazy that she just went up there and got signed by a record deal. I wish the best for her, and I hope she makes it big.”
Auburn was her parents’ alma mater, and Smith said coming back to sing was a no-brainer because of fond memories from her freshman year.
“I’m gearing up for a new single release, and in the interim period I really just wanted to try to do some grassroots and go to some places I’m passionate about and love and try to build a small following there, and so Auburn’s the first place I wanted to start,” Smith said.
Smith sang at several fraternities last week including Sigma Nu and Beta.
“I’ve listened to a couple of her singles online like ‘Georgia Mud,’” Hall said. “I’m a country music fan, and she’s got talent.”
When Smith called Trey Oliver, Sigma Nu president, and asked if she could perform for the fraternity, Oliver was quick to take her up on the offer.
“She was really good,” Oliver said. “We were all really impressed. We didn’t really know what to expect, but once she got out the guitar we saw she could really sing.”
Smith has been performing since she was 3 years old and said she is ecstatic her dreams are finally coming true in Nashville, though she’s still waiting to see her name on the music charts.
“Moving up there I definitely had set goals, and I wanted to be an artist and I wanted a record deal,” Smith said. “It’s taken a very long time to get there, so some days I’m like, ‘Well, it’s high time,’ and then sometimes I’m just like, ‘I just can’t believe this is actually happening. Dreams do come true.’”
Oliver said after hearing Smith play he thinks she has the talent to appeal to a wide audience.
“I’m not exactly a music talent evaluator, but she definitely seemed like she had a good voice, and she’s certainly charismatic and a sweet girl,” he said.
Smith is flying back to Auburn for another performance at the Supper Club, which will be Feb. 17 at 11 p.m.
She said her parents support her music and are looking forward to her visit.
“They know this is what I always wanted to do,” Smith said. “They’re glad I’m going to be back in Auburn because we all bleed orange and blue.”
Jan 23, 2012
JOANNA SMITH FEATURED IN "HORSE DIGEST"
Columbia/BNA artist Joanna Smith is laser-focused on her career, and when she needs some down time from the hectic pace of an up-and-coming artist she hooks up with the main man in her life - her three-year-old quarter horse Jack. Until recently, Joanna had to travel home to South Georgia to ride, but last week her father brought Jack to Tennessee to make Nashville his permanent home.
Joanna opened up about Jack, her father and her overall love of horses in a feature in the current issue of Horse Digest magazine. "I think I was four or five when my daddy bought our first horse for the farm," Joanna told the magazine. "I remember I stood up on the tailgate of his truck so he could hoist me up behind the saddle so I could ride with him. I thought it was the best thing in the world." She credits her father for mentoring her about riding. "My dad taught me to ride, and taught me to respect horses. He grew up riding and is a very natural horseman."
The full issue can be viewed by clicking here, and Joanna's feature is on page 42. As she readies her new Buddy Cannon-produced single release on Columbia/BNA, due out this spring, Joanna continues to write and perform.
Jan 3, 2012
Joanna's 2012 New Year’s Resolution
Wondering what Joanna's New Year's Resolution is? Says Joanna at Taste of Country, “To finish training my dad’s colt, Jack. Also to spend more time in prayer and with the refugees I mentor, and see my name on the charts!"
Jan 3, 2012
Joanna Smith Voted 99.5 The Bear’s Breakthrough Artist of 2011
One of the favorite ladies on the country music scene right now can do a little bragging this morning as Joanna Smith was voted by her fans as 99.5 The Bear’s Breakthrough Artist of 2011. Joanna took over 40% of the vote and beat out such fresh new voices as Sunny Sweeny, James Wesley, Edens Edge and more.
Joanna played our Taste of Country Christmas Tour in Lubbock back in 2010 and we fell in love with her right then. “Gettin’ Married” continues to be heavily requested, esp. by our Texas Tech female listeners.
Jan 3, 2012
Rising country singers Lauren Alaina, Joanna Smith have hair-curling encounter
A recent canceled flight turned into planes, trains and automobiles, as Columbia Records artist Joanna Smith tried to get to a performance in Huntington, N.Y., at country-radio station WJVC last Thursday..
Songster Smith managed to arrive with minutes to spare, but the harried trip left her with very little time to do her hair. Enter fellow rising star singer/songwriter Lauren Alaina of American Idol fame, who stepped in to help by curling Smith's hair before either had to hit the stage.
This week, post-celebrity hairstyling, Smith is headed home to South Georgia to spend Christmas with her family.
Jan 3, 2012
Joanna Sings for Titans Players, who Helped Make Toy Drive a Success
Joanna treated Titans players Jordan Babineaux, Daniel Graham and Shaun Smith to a special performance of Christmas carols and a few of her original songs at Puckett’s Restaurant & Grocery, where Titans fans and Puckett’s patrons dropped off toys to benefit children in need this holiday season.
Jan 3, 2012
Joanna Talks Horses With Equine VIP
Country music songwriter/singer, Joanna Smith, grew up in a part of the country known for farming, Georgia red clay and family values. Joanna got the performance bug from listening to strong women of country including The Judds, Reba McEntire, and Dolly Parton. Smith decided to head to Nashville and pursue her music full-time. With no connections and in a new city, she set out writing and singing demos, and in a little over a year signed her first publishing deal. Since then, she has had two songs cut (“Flying By” on Billy Ray Cyrus’ latest record, HOME AT LAST), and has opened for Glen Campbell Don’t miss her latest CD “Georgia Mud” – this saucy girl with the Southern twang is destined to realize her dream of playing on radios for country crowds.
Dec 24, 2011
Joanna Gives "The Boot" the Scoop on Her Christmas Traditions
Says Joanna to The Boot about her holiday traditions, "Christmas around the Smith house has a definite pattern to it. We wake up on Christmas morning, and it does not matter if I'm 50 years old, my parents are still gonna treat me like a kid, which is sweet -- although slightly embarrassing -- and my sister and I walk down the hall and they take our picture and we come around the corner and Santa Claus has been there! And we look at all these gifts and open them, and then there is undoubtedly going to be a candy trail to our big, grand-finale Christmas gift. And we follow a trail of usually Reese's Peanut Butter Cups down the steps and outside, and there will be something awaiting us. So, the older we get, the more dorky it seems that we still do this stuff, and the smaller the grand-finale prize gets. But that's our Christmas tradition! I make a big fuss at it, and I have to act like I hate it, but truly I love it and look forward to it, and yes, I will subject my own kids to the same form of torture."
