Natalie Creel
Saucier, Mississippi, United States
Music
Press
Twenty-one-year-old singer songwriter Natalie Creel had a lot of accolades already under her belt as she released her Pure White EP last year. In 2011, she continues on in her relatively-successful independent music career with a full-length album called You Changed Everything. And from the way the album is sounding, she just may find herself with a little more success.
Natalie Creel's music definitely falls into the pop genre, though that's a pretty wide spectrum in music these days. It's not pop like Lady Gaga or Beyonce, but pop like Sara Bareilles or Adele (though Creel's music isn't as well-crafted as Adele's, and Adele isn't quite as accessible). Creel has a deep, soulful voice that sounds great with the piano-based tunes behind it. Pure White wasn't bad, but You Changed Everything is definitely a step up. "Dig Deeper" has a feel like that of the Bareilles track "Love Song," with Creel singing about digging into Jesus as her rock and foundation; there's a similar sound going on in the worshipful "Pouring Over You." One of the album's highlights, "Stay Here," brings a little more of a rock element into the equation, almost resembling something you might have heard from The Benjamin Gate.
In an interesting move, Creel brings in some southern qualities in the song "Break Me Apart." It's another upbeat pop rock song with some piano, quieter guitars, a fiddle and even some banjo. It's a bit of a change from what we've heard on the preceding tracks, but the change-up fits in nicely and actually works well for the album. A lot of You Changed Everything is very radio friendly; one of the most radio friendly is "Brought To Life," small portions of which remind me of Shawn McDonald (very minute similarities, and it's only in a certain part of the music). The album closes out with an acoustic track called "Burnin'." It's the slowest song of the album, but I like the way it's used to bring us down to the end softly.
From the look and sounds of You Changed Everything, it's pretty clear that Creel has taken time to mature in her craft since Pure White. The production is clear, the musicianship is skillful and her voice is pretty solid. It's a rather enjoyable album in a genre that seems to be rather hit-and-miss anymore. I'd recommend You Changed Everything if your radio frequently lands on stations like Air 1, or if you're into the sounds of piano pop and pop rock.
- Review date: 9/20/11, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com - JesusFreakHideout.com
Sounding like a young Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Creel’s voice is full of emotion and sincerity. With songwriting chops like this, it’s hard to believe she’s only 20-years-old! - OurStage.com
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Natalie's voice has such an ache... its impossible not to feel invited into a moment with her. She is both honest and compelling." -Nichole Nordeman, Grammy nominated and Dove Award winning Artist
"Natalie has a great voice..great songs..and a sweet heart!" -Kari Jobe, Dove Award winning Artist
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Natalie Creel is a 22 year old singer-songwriter armed with vocals that are drenched in soul and conviction, an acoustic guitar, and whose music captivates you through lyrics that are thought-provoking, often brutally honest, and transparent. Her one goal and greatest pleasure is to write and perform songs that connect with people and meet them right where they are, whether it's through telling a heart-wrenching story or singing a simple melody of joy.
Natalie has toured all over the south and north east United States. After receiving tons of radio airplay on CCM stations across the U.S., and internationally, Natalie's debut single, Pure White, hit Top 5 on the CRW Gold & Platinum Charts. The song, "Pure White", from her debut Pure White EP, was added to Australia's largest Christian radio network, Vision Radio Network, which broadcasts to over 450 stations Down Under. Natalie has also been featured on OurStage.com, an MTV Partner site, where she reached #1 on their Pop Chart.
Natalie has shared the stage with award winning and critically acclaimed songwriters from all over the world, such as Ben Glover, Mat Kearney, Emily Saliers, and Gretchen Peters. She has also opened for and performed with bands/artists Rush of Fools, Unhindered, Philmont, Jennifer Knapp, Karyn Williams, Downhere, and Plumb.
Creel's song, "To California" was announced as a finalist in the 2011 International Songwriting Competition, an extraordinary achievement as the song was chosen among over 15,000 entries. Her latest album, You Changed Everything", released in August 2011 and was produced by Jeff Quimby (Big Daddy Weave, Kari Jobe, Paul Baloche). Since then Natalie has been steady promoting her music across the country. She has also been able to perform at three major Women's Conferences with New York Times Best-Selling Author, Lysa Terkeurst, Best-Selling Author, Lisa Harper, and Author/Speaker, Dee Brestin, as well as team up with National CCM Billboard Charting Radio Promoters, Shamrock Media Group. Most recently her music has been licensed to the Discovery Network, MTV, Showtime, and Bravo.
Press:
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"Sounding like a young Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Creel's voice is full of emotion and sincerity. With songwriting chops like this, it's hard to believe she's only 20-years-old!" OurStage.com
"Natalie Creel provides a listening pleasure both with her voice and music and her lyrics. Fans of talented female singer/songwriters would be very wise to listen to this Mississippi native." Peter Braidis, Indie-Music.com
"Creel has a deep, soulful voice that sounds great with the acoustic-based tunes behind it. The production is clear, the musicianship is skillful and her voice is solid. It's a rather enjoyable album in a genre that seems to be rather hit-and-miss anymore." Scott Fryberger, JFH.com
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