Prior to rebranding herself as LIVVIA and releasing three hot singles in the past year––“Catch A Body,” “Gratitude” and “Damn,” her first track since signing to 12 Tone Music––the multi-talented singer-songwriter was building career momentum in a variety of inspiring ways.
Under her real name, Olivia Somerlyn, she toured the UK with Jessie J, opened for the Jonas Brothers, toured with Big Time Rush and Victoria Justice on Live Nation’s 2013 Nickelodeon Summer Break Tour, and opened for Meghan Trainor (on numerous European dates) and Lindsey Stirling. Her 2014 single, “Parachute,” co-written and produced by Nick Jonas, reached #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.
“My style has changed quite a bit since then, but I feel like I am still in the process of developing,” LIVVIA says. “I took a break from touring and began working with a new management team and felt that a new name would reflect moving into the next phase of my career.”
While continuing to record and release tracks independently, she connected with Def Jam CEO Steve Bartels through industry veteran and radio promoter Richard Palmese, whom she had met through her former manager, Kevin Jonas. Sr. Bartels and LIVVIA hit it off immediately and there were plans to sign her to the label. Bartels, however, left his position after a subsequent shake-up at the label. Undeterred, she released “Catch a Body,” a duet with Quavo, in January 2018.
The two stayed in touch, and Bartels reached back out to LIVVIA in late summer to tell her about his new venture, 12 Tone Music, which he launched with former Sony CEO Doug Morris. He offered her a deal and she signed immediately. She is one of the label’s three flagship acts on a roster that includes Anderson .Paak. Her first single with them, “Damn,” has close to one million streams on Spotify; its lyric video has over 669,000 views on YouTube and the official video has nearly 50,000. They will be starting mainstream pop radio promotion in early 2019.
“Steve and Doug work with an exceptional group of industry veterans, and I am excited to be on board,” she says. “Being part of the label proves my theory that you meet the best and nicest people through the best people. I feel like I have made a lot of progress by building teams on my own, but I feel like if I want to have something I never had, I had to do something I have never done. I always knew that I would sign with a label, but it had to be the right one. I’m really excited about the next phase of my career.”
Date Signed: September 2018
Label: 12 Tone Music Group
Type of Music: Pop
Management: N/A
Legal: Gary Stiffelman - Greenburg Truarig
Publicity: [email protected]
Web: N/A
A&R: Steve Bartels
