Biography

Detroit native MoZella received plenty of television exposure before radio had even heard of her. Her coffeehouse blend of luxurious soul, alternative-leaning pop, and cool jazzy flavors won over the hearts of Mercedes-Benz's advertising division. In 2005, the car company used MoZella's sentimental "Amazed" for its ambitious "Framed Portraits" ad campaign, exposing millions of households to the 23-year-old's surprisingly mature songwriting. Because she had a crush on the teacher, MoZella began taking guitar lessons at the age of 14. The crush faded fast but not her love of music. Her parents had already introduced her to her number one favorite, the Beatles, along with Stevie Wonder and other Motown music. MoZella added her own love of Madonna to the mix, and within a year she found her own personal style from all these influences. It was then, at 15, that she started playing Detroit's coffeehouses. A few months after she graduated high school she moved to Los Angeles. Working days as a cake decorator and spending her nights performing, she eventually ran into Warren G. A brief apprenticeship with the rapper introduced MoZella to the studio and demo recording. Shopping her own demo to labels lead her to a false start in London, but then back to Los Angeles and the label her beloved Madonna had created, Maverick. In 2004, the label coupled her with songwriter/producer Jude Cole and work was begun on the debut. The car commercial came a year later and a month before Maverick released MoZella's self-titled, debut EP, followed finally in 2006 with her full-length debut, I Will. ~ David Jeffries, Rovi