Amy Studt

Amy Jane Studt (born March 22, 1986, in London) is a British singer/songwriter/musician.

Amy Studt
Origin	Bournemouth, UK
Years active	2002-Present

Early life

Growing up in what she regards as her hometown of Bournemouth, she started teaching herself piano, playing guitar ("very badly") and learning the oboe. There was no escape from music, as Studt’s dad is a violinist and conductor who has toured with Roy Orbison and played on films, while her mother was head of music at a school. “Music was something that was always there,” she says. “I can’t even remember getting into it. I think if you’re from a musical family, you either absolutely loathe music, or you give in and do it yourself!” Of course, she gave in, writing her first song at age 9. From there, the songs never stopped, and Studt spent most of her time working on them on her own in the music room at school and “being constantly teased about it”.

At 13, she decided not to move on to the same strict school as all her friends, but to attend the area’s rival private school instead (Bryanston School, Dorset). “At that school you got a lot of freedom,” she smiles wryly, “and with freedom, things start getting a little bit more interesting. You didn’t have to wear a uniform, and there was a lot of free time. When you get to a place like that, you start bending a few of the rules”. Unfortunately those rules included some of the more serious ones, and Amy was subsequently asked to leave the school after being caught in possession of a banned substance. Her recent troubled history has, at least, provided plenty of lyrical inspiration. “For some reason,” she shrugs, “I just seem to have had an insane amount of experiences in a short time, so that’s why I think I needed a release. I write more now than ever, because I needed to get it out. And punish those people! Revenge is mine!”

By the time Studt was 14, she’d written 42 songs. Her dad, who regularly works in studios, suggested she come along one day and record some for fun. She gave or sold the finished CD to various friends, and by a strange twist of fate, one landed on the desk of Simon Fuller (Annie Lennox, Spice Girls, S Club 7). Simon got on the phone to Studt before the day was out. “I never wanted to be famous at all,” she says. “I genuinely just loved writing. Just like if you love tennis, you play it all the time - same with writing songs. You want to write something better, you want to say everything in one perfect song, but it never happens - so you keep writing”.

False Smiles, debut (2002 - 2004)

Amy's debut album cover, False Smiles (2003).

Studt released her first single, "Just a Little Girl", in July of 2002, dubbed by many as the UK's Avril Lavigne. Her debut entered the UK charts at #14 but straight after the release she seemed to disappear off the scene. “Just a Little Girl” found its way onto playlists in New York City, Los Angeles and throughout the United States. In the United States, she is generally considered a one-hit wonder, but "Just a Little Girl" still receives occasional airplay on CHR stations.

Almost 11 months later, however, Studt returned to the UK music scene in June 2003 with her follow-up to "Just A Little Girl", her second single "Misfit". In the song Amy slates those who conform to the general stereotypes of teenage life - the in-crowd - calling them superficial but saying that it's fine because she is happy to be a misfit. "Misfit" received regular videoplay and more regular airplay than her debut, which helped her improve on it, reaching #6 in the UK chart. Alongside the chart success of Misfit was the release of Amy's debut album "False Smiles", which entered the chart at #24.

September 29th 2003 saw the release of the third cut from the album, "Under The Thumb". The song became her second Top 10 and third Top 20 single, entering at #10, which also helped push the album to a peak of #18. "False Smiles" has since been certified Gold, selling 100,000 copies in the UK and was even considered for the much coveted Mercury Music Prize shortlist. In an attempt to sell more copies of the album, "False Smiles" was re-released at the beginning of 2004 which included one new track, a cover of the Sheryl Crow classic, "All I Wanna Do". The song failed to set the charts alight at all, peaking at #21. The album re-release also failed to improve sales, missing out on the Top40 altogether.

Latest Goings On

Subsequently, Amy was dropped from her record label Polydor after failing to sell enough records. It is rumoured, however, that Simon Fuller is in the process of re-launching Studt's career on an independent label which has worked for other solo artists such as former Spice Girls Emma Bunton. Her website, as of early 2006, is currently 'Under Construction' which is perhaps a sign that a return is on the cards. In addition, a new Amy Studt track has made its way onto the Internet via the MySpace account of music producer Guy Sigsworth, titled 'My Paper Made Man'. In December 2006 she informed fans through her MySpace account that she is in the process of recording her second album, which she hopes to release soon.

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	UK Chart	Certification
2003	"False Smiles"	18	Gold

Singles

Year	Single	Album	UK Chart	IRL Chart	AUS Chart
2002	"Just A Little Girl"	False Smiles	14	-	-
2003	"Misfit"	False Smiles	6	17	48 [1]
2003	"Under The Thumb"	False Smiles	10	-	-
2004	"All I Wanna Do"	False Smiles	21	25	-

External link

• Amy Studt Official Site