Audra Mae is a natural. Once the Oklahoma native opens her mouth and lets loose with that voice, pure and strong, with a hint of country twang and a twinkle of good humor, you are transfixed and transported. This is what she’s meant to do; entertain you, not only with her singing voice, but with a distinctive songwriting voice, as well, relating fully developed characters and stories in mere minutes.
She spent her childhood onstage in various Oklahoma City community theaters, and her teenage years were spent singing in talent shows and teaching herself how to play guitar and piano. At 17, Audra Mae began to write songs. At 19, the course of her life took a serendipitous turn when she packed it all up in Nashville, after being kicked out of Middle Tennessee State University for writing songs instead of going to class, and moved West to Los Angeles on Elvis’ birthday no less, with a mere $20 to her name.
After three and a half years of couch-surfing and working her way through the local L.A. club scene, Audra landed a music publishing deal with Warner Chappell, and has been writing songs professionally ever since.
Honing her skills with a variety of collaborators, she quickly learned there are two types of tunesmiths. “The kind that write for money and those that write because it’s fun,” she explains. “When I started working with the latter, that’s when my work got much better. I love collaborating because, when you have writer’s block, it’s important to have someone to bounce ideas off of.”
And bounce she has. Currently, with 10 years as an Angelino under her belt, Audra Mae splits her time between writing songs with the art form’s most sought after talents and recording what will be her third album and major label debut.
Her songwriting prowess has exploded recently. Not one to be tied to any specific genre, Audra works with the best in country, alternative, rock, hip-hop, traditional pop, EDM and basically every other popular musical form. In the past 12 months alone, she has written with or for such platinum artists as Avicii, Celine Dion, David Guetta, Susan Boyle and Miranda Lambert, among many others. She also continues to write for such chart toppers as Kelly Clarkson, The Band Perry, Carrie Underwood and Little Big Town.
In addition to writing, Audra lends her voice to four Avicii tracks, including the upcoming single “Addicted to You,” two Flo Rida songs, and The Airborne Toxic Event’s current alt radio hit, “Hell and Back” and music featuring Audra’s vocals has appeared multiple times on the TV series “Sons of Anarchy,” and in many films, including “The 5-Year Engagement” while her own independently released material continues to be showcased in radio, film and television, alike.
Despite all these accolades, Audra Mae has only just begun. Coming into her own in 2014, the future is extremely bright as Audra has the makings of a legend - a truly gifted songwriter with the voice of a rock n roll angel.