High School Musical star Ashley Tisdale celebrated the release of her debut CD on Warner Bros. Records HEADSTRONG with a Handprint Ceremony at Planet Hollywood - Times Square in New York City and BroadwayWorld.com was there!
An album which Entertainment Weekly calls "fierce and radio-ready," the 14-track CD showcases this multi-talented artist's independent streak, and will entertain her legions of loyal fans with its upbeat pop/rhythmic groove sound.
Tisdale turned to a host of top-notch songwriters and producers to give her natural pop exuberance an urban edge, including Jonathan "J.R." Rotem (Britney Spears, Rihanna) and Evan "Kidd" Bogart (Rihanna), who co-wrote "Headstrong's" first single, the sassy "He Said, She Said." Noted hit-maker trio, The Matrix (Britney Spears, Hilary Duff) co-wrote and produced several songs, including the title track, Tisdale's 'independence anthem' "Headstrong," and the indelible, rhythmic "So Much For You." Other collaborators include Guy Roche and Shelly Peiken (Christina Aguilera) on the buoyant "Positivity" and the orchestrated ballad "Unlove You"; up-and-coming Swedish production team Twin on the playful "Going Crazy" and the dancefloor-friendly "Be Good To Me," which was co-written by Kara DioGuardi (Gwen Stefani, AshLee Simpson); legendary songwriter Diane Warren on the mid-tempo "Love Me For Me"; and Tisdale's "Kiss the Girl" producer Mark Hammond, who produced the tender love song "We'll Be Together," written by Peiken.
With co-writer credits on three tracks, Tisdale was determined to record songs that touched her personally and that contained lyrics she could identify with. As a result, "Headstrong" is an appealing portrait of a talented, young artist blazing her own trail, and letting her devoted, pre-teen and teenaged fans discover her versatility and multi-faceted personality.
Tisdale recently completed a nationwide 42-city concert tour with her "High School Musical" co-stars in which she performed songs from the movie's triple-platinum-selling soundtrack as well as three tracks from "Headstrong" each night. She has earned enormous popularity from "High School Musical," which premiered in January 2006 and was the highest-rated telecast in Disney Channel history. Tisdale scored a coup when she became the first female artist to ever debut with two songs simultaneously on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
Photos by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.
