(Posted 8:30 a.m., July 20)
Navan songtress still a hometown girl at heart despite recent success
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

After 25-years in the music business, Navan singer-songwriter Lola Spriggs is enjoying a tremendous amoutn of success thanks to her latest effort, 'Nobody But You', which climbed to #11 on the U.S. Charts. File photo

Lola Spriggs is having the time of her life. After a lengthy singing career spanning the last 24 years, she is finally enjoying the type of success most independent artists can only dream about.

Her single "Nobody But You" debuted at #100 on the Adult Contemporary radio charts in the U.S. in February and then steadily rose to #11 by the end of May. Up against the likes of Lady Gaga, Colbie Caillat and Miley Cyrus. It was the #1 "most added" song on adult contemporary radio for three weeks running.

It's a tremendous accomplishment for any independent artist, let alone a small town girl from Navan, but Spriggs' success has not come without a lot of hard work, determination and a small army of industry insiders starting with legendary music promoter Bobby Gale who introduced her music to the internationally acclaimed platinum producer Marcus Kane.

Spriggs initially sent Kane one of her songs, After listening to it he asked for more. In the end, he picked one of them to record, but he also sent her one of his own songs. That song was "Nobody But You".

"We spent hours and hours talking over the phone about songs and what worked for me and what didn't, right down to different keys. I sang 'Nobody But You' I don't know how many times until we found the right key," says Spriggs.

After the two agreed on "Nobody But You", vocal arranger Rane Parish was brought in to fine tune the arrangement. Kane sent the final mastered version to Spriggs as a belated Christmas present. It was then handed over to Gale who enlisted the help of US industry consultant Jack Ashton to get air play south of the border.

Their efforts managed to get the song on the US charts in early February. Enter Luck Media and Marketing out of L.A. and you have the recipe for one of the fastest rising songs of the spring.

"It's been an incredible ride. Every couple of weeks Bobby would call me up and tell me, 'Your song just broke the Top 40 do you know what this means?' and I'd be like, 'No I don't know what it means. Tell me.'," says Spriggs whose been featured on the TwitterGlitter.com, Forbes.com and several other industry websites.

To put the accomplishment in perspective, thousands of new CDs are released in the U.S. every week and hundreds of those releases are on major labels. For an independent artist to get the kind of buzz Spriggs received is extraordinary.

During a media tour down east, Spriggs was informed by an interviewer that "Nobody But You" was the most popular wedding song of 2010.

"That's when it hits you and think, 'Wow, something I recorded is resonating with so many people that it's actually become a part of the one of the most important days of their lives," says Spriggs.

Fresh off the success of "Nobody But You", Spriggs is preparing to shoot a video for a new song which will appear on her soon-to-be-released EP. Sticking to her hometown roots, Spriggs plans to shoot a good chunk of the video in Navan. Among the locations being considered are J.T. Bradley's Country Convenience Store, Heritage Public School and the Domes at the Navan Fairgrounds. Most of the shoot will take place this Wednesday,

"I just wanted to keep the feel local. I'm a hometown girl at heart and I wanted my hometown to be a big part in the video," says Spriggs.

Looking into the future, Spriggs plans to go on tour sometime this fall after the EP is released. The tour will likely kick off in the U.S., but will almost certainly include dates in Canada.

"This is so much fun. I just want to keep it going as long as I can and enjoy every minute of it," says Spriggs, who isn't about to let her new found success get to her head. "I'll always be Lola from Navan."

You can listen to "Nobody But You" and other tracks by Lola Spriggs by visiting www.myspace.com. You can also download "Nobody But You" to your iPod at the iTunes store.

(This story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local business partners.)

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