Songwriter returns home to shoot video

No matter how long it takes, life is too short to not pursue your dreams.

Melanie K., a singer/songwriter from Yuma, recently released her first album last month entitled “Love Story” and shot her first music video Saturday at the Top of the Kress, a downtown nightclub.

“Things really took off a lot faster than I expected,” said Melanie, whose last name is Key.

She had been writing poetry and lyrics for the past 14 years and singing for the past 10, but finally started to push forward on recording and putting out an album two years ago and is already shooting a music video.

“Initially it was more of an outlet for me,” Melanie said as she talked about how she went to work for Unborn Entertainment three years ago to write lyrics for another artist.

She said that the artist eventually quit working on the project she had been writing lyrics for but she realized that she needed to not let this setback stop her and to move forward with her own career.

Her first album was released on June 24 and can be purchased on her website at www.melaniekmusic.com in addition to local Hastings stores next weekend.

Melanie moved to Las Vegas five years ago where she lives with her husband and two kids. “Being a mom obviously comes first but at the same time I want to pursue my dreams and my family is just really supportive, so that helps a lot.”

She decided to travel back to her hometown for her music video because her mother and other family and friends live here and she has a strong support system in town.

“My 5-year-old can't wait to see me on TV, and my 2-year-old gets really excited to hear me on the radio.”

When she heard about the Top of the Kress venue, she thought it would be a perfect tie-in to what she wanted her song to portray.

They chose the song “One Time” from her new album to be made into video because not only did it make it to the radio rotation first, but it also reveals a lot about Melanie.

“I think it really tells a lot about me and my character. I just wanted to come out with something people could relate to and get to know me at the same time.”

When asked what she considered her musical style to be, she explained it as somewhere between neo-soul and R&B music, and one of her biggest musical influences is Sade.

“I write from experience, so it's more something somebody can relate to and something they can feel rather than just random lyrics that somebody else wrote.”

Melanie feels like in addition to music being an outlet for her to release, the whole process has made her feel more positive about life in general.

“I learned that my music really helped a lot of people, and I've had people tell me that they feel like I'm talking to them, so that feels really good.”

After the release of the album and the shooting of the video, she is not sure what lies ahead. “I'm going to start doing a lot more collaborations with other artists.”

Her media staff was not sure when the final version of the video would be released but encouraged fans to follow her on Twitter at “MsMelK” as well as checking her website, Facebook and MySpace pages.

Sarah Reed can be reached at sareed@yumasun.com or 539-6858.