Polly Prior is a 25 year-old Wellington-based solo artist. With a unique voice and great songwriting ability, Polly's "bittersweet" pop/rock sound is catchy, original, honest and distinctive, and is shaping Polly up to be one of NZ's most talented emerging singer/songwriters.
Recognition of Polly's talent first came in 1999, when she was chosen as one of the 24 top singer/songwriters in NZ to feature on the TV3 show Get Your Act Together at just 19 years old. It was through this experience that Polly realised she wanted to make a career as a singer/songwriter, and with an extensive background in music including 2 Diplomas in performance piano (1 classical, 1 jazz), Polly focused on developing her songwriting skills further.
A finalist in the 2001 NZ Ovation Songwriting Competition, in early 2002, Polly's song 'The Only One' was forwarded by US A&R company Taxi to a multi-platinum US artist as a potential smash hit. Later that year 'The Only One' was awarded 'Honourable Mention' in the International Billboard Songwriting Competition.
Meanwhile Polly had formed an original rock band (Helix), which was receiving positive feedback from Wellington audiences. But Polly had a feeling that ultimately her future lay as a solo artist.
In November 2002 while she was in LA for a Taxi convention, US hit songwriter Jason Blume (cuts by Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys) told Polly she had the talent to "make it" as an artist and the potential to write hit songs. After that, Polly decided to focus solely on her career as a solo artist, and from 2003, she worked hard to start getting her name out.
It quickly became obvious that Polly had made the right decision to go solo, with her demos finding support from indie radio and attracting positive feedback from both the public and from people within the music industry.
From then on, through strong live performances, indie radio airplay and word of mouth, Polly has been building a loyal fanbase and forging a reputation for herself as a talented, onto-it, up-and-coming artist.
In August 2003 Polly received a NZ On Air 'New Recording Artist' grant for 'In My Dreams', and went on to record it at York Street Studios in Oct with acclaimed Welsh producer Greg Haver (Manic St Preachers, Super Furry Animals.)
The resulting debut single of 'In My Dreams' has just gone out to radio on NZ On Air's 26th Indie Hit Disc, with Polly's self-funded music video being released to coincide with it.
While continuing to build her profile both live and on radio, Polly also hopes to release an album in 2004.
TrackList
1 Spidergirl
2 Got Me On My Knees
3 Set Me Free
4 Catch Me
5 In My Dreams
