Tara Kalyn Norman

SONG OF THE YEAR
WEB AWARD NOTIFICATION LETTER

Attention Tara Kalyn Norman;

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your success in the June 2008 round of the Song of the Year song and lyric competition. We have received notification that a song you had submitted was recognized as a Finalist in that month's competition round. We have added this accolade to a webpage produced under your name in our "Web Awards" archive. This "Web Award" page is a powerful tool for you to share the good news of your success to family, friends, associates, and professional contacts! You may view or link to your "Web Award" page at:

http://www.songoftheyear.com/webawards/t/TaraKalynNorman.htm

Please review your "Web Award" page and contact us immediately if there are any corrections required. Based on information we have on hand, we have taken the courtesy of including a link to your website, if your submission record included one. Once again, congratulations!

regards,

Web Operations
Song of the Year
webawards@songoftheyear.com
www.songoftheyear.com - http://www.songoftheyear.com/webawards/t/TaraKalynNorman.htm

Hey!
My name is Dan Conway and I am a representative of NewSong Music. I
am here to inform you that you have been selected as a Youth Round
Finalist for this years Mountain Stage NewSong Contest!
Congratulations! You will be receiving more information including
performance times, addresses and set times for your upcoming regional
performance very shortly. Again, congratulations and you'll be hearing
from us soon!

Sincerely,
Dan
NewSong - Mountain Stage New Song Contest

Posted 2008-12-04

San Antonio native, Tara Kalyn Norman, recently received the honor of being named finalist by the Song of the Year (http://www.songoftheyear.com/ ) songwriting contest. Song of the Year is an international songwriting contest supporting VH-1’s Save the Music Foundation. Its judges are some of the biggest names in music including many Grammy Award winners.

Song of the Year recognized Tara Kalyn for her exceptional songwriting ability for the folk category song, “One More Day Alive.” She competed against songwriters from all over the world for this honor. When asked what inspired the song Tara Kalyn commented, “My heart goes out to the soldiers – I was imagining the inner turmoil that they must deal with to be able to go to war.”

Currently, Tara Kalyn is a 15-year-old freshman at Brandeis High School and concentrating on her music career while hoping to continue writing songs and performing regularly. This is the second time she has placed in the top five in the folk category.

You can find more information about Tara Kalyn Norman by viewing her Electronic Press Kit at www.Sonicbids.com/TaraKalynNorman or by visiting her music MySpace at www.myspace.com/tararocksyourmom. - Texas Music Coalition

SONG OF THE YEAR
WEB AWARD NOTIFICATION LETTER

Attention Tara Kalyn Norman;

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your success
in the September 2008 round of the Song of the Year song and lyric
competition. We have received notification that a song you had submitted was
recognized as a Finalist in that month's competition round. We have added
this accolade to a webpage produced under your name in our "Web Awards"
archive. This "Web Award" page is a powerful tool for you to share the good
news of your success to family, friends, associates, and professional
contacts! You may view or link to your "Web Award" page at:

http://www.songoftheyear.com/webawards/t/TaraKalynNorman.htm - http://www.songoftheyear.com/webawards/t/TaraKalynNorman.htm

Tara Kalyn Norman's day job is high school freshman in San Antonio, TX. When not at her studies she writes and performs highly personal and affecting folk/pop songs. This young musical phenom has already opened at Mountain Stage, been twice recognized as a monthly finalist in VH-1's Song Of The Year competition in the Folk category and been invited to perform at The New Music Seminar in Cleveland, OH. Norman has a voice that falls somewhere between Maren Ord and Edie Brickell, and a very simple, concise song-writing style that serves as a perfect vehicle for her musical ideas. Her debut recording, Tara Kalyn Norman, is ten songs of heart-baring emotion that touches the listener while showing subtle flashes of the artist she will become.

Tara Kalyn Norman's eponymous debut is a Lo-Fi affair capturing just Norman and her guitar. The songwriting is relatively simple and straightforward, allowing Norman's vocal sound and personality to shine through. Her voice isn't perfect in the fashion of Edie Brickell, but is a strong, expressive and sweet vessel for her heartfelt lyrics. The CD opens with Would It Be Bad To Say, a waffle on whether to say those three magic words. What seems at first an adolescent ponderance proves to be a universal theme of human emotion and amazingly apt. Holding On was a monthly finalist in the VH-1 Song Of The Year Competition and is a regretful rumination on love lost.

Gummybear is a sweet love song and one of my personal favorites on the album. Norman touches on young love and devotion without an ounce of cliché. Anymore is a powerful song of self-fulfillment in the face of loss and is the lead in for One More Day Alive (the other VH-1 Song Of The Year monthly finalist). One More Day Alive is not so much a war protest song as a counting of the cost of war. The song has a lot of power and shows a real attempt to understand the mind of a soldier in combat. Up next is my other favorite song on the CD, I Tried, with a very pop sound and a sweet, memorable melody. Be sure also to check out Get Used To Seeing My Face, a step off song from a girlfriend to a young boy’s mother. The song shows an emotional toughness that speaks well for the future as a songwriter.

Tara Kalyn Norman is a very talented young artist. She writes strong, coherent songs that mostly have a distinct sweetness to them; all based on strong emotion or emotional movement. Norman is still developing as a songwriter and artist, so you will hear some of the lyrical awkwardness that was common in early Jewel songs. Her songwriting style is a bit simplistic as befits a young songwriter, but Norman shows the drive to improve as she is studying piano and will learn harmonica in the near future to allow her to expand songwriting options, sounds, etc. The disc itself sounds like a well done home recording, but with all of the sonic flaws and imperfections that come with demos. Keeping all of this in mind, Tara Kalyn Norman's debut is a breath of fresh air. Anyone who's ever strapped on a guitar or stepped before a mic has been where Tara Kalyn Norman is right now, and she shows incredible promise. This disc is worth checking out as much as for what Tara Kalyn Norman may become as for what she is right now; a very talented, budding young songwriter. - Wildy's World (http://wildysworld.blogspot.com)

Tara Kalyn is a 15 year old musical prodigy. At 15 years old, her writing explores the innocence of an adolescent girl. She has learned the craft of writing and performing songs that is beyond the ability of the majority of people who have worked on this craft for a lifetime. I have had the opportunity to work with songwriters who were employed by Sony Music. Tara Kalyn already has the same tools. Tara is on a musical journey that would challenge Grammy Nominated song writers.

Rudolph O. Jones
- Rudolph O. Jones