With her deep, blues-soaked voice that poignantly captures the pain
of the wronged and forgotten, Julie Roberts has quickly become a
favorite of the fans and music critics alike.
The daughter of an engineer and accountant, Roberts has been singing
as long as she can remember. She performed at every opportunity,
including class musicals, summer camp productions and beauty pageants.
During junior high and high school, she spent her weekends playing
festivals in the Southeast. She spent summers working at music shows in
Carowinds, a theme park in Charlotte, N.C., and Dollywood in East
Tennessee. She attended the University of South Carolina-Lancaster for
two years before transferring to Nashville’s Belmont University to focus
on her music. She performed in local clubs and restaurants until
graduation, after which she landed a job as the assistant to Luke Lewis,
Chairman of Universal Music Group Nashville. Without telling any of her
co-workers, she began working during her off-time with producer Brent
Rowan, who eventually played Roberts demo to Lewis without telling him
who it was. Floored by the demo, Lewis asked to meet the singer, so
Rowan directed the surprised music executive to the young woman sitting
just outside his door.
Entertainment Weekly awarded her 2004 self-titled debut CD an A,
calling it one of the most auspicious debuts in years. The New York
Times said Roberts aching and resolute hit “Break Down Here” was one of
the year’s best country ballads. Spotting her talent early, CMT selected
Roberts to be the first artist ever to appear in In the Moment, the
music networks hour-long documentary on the making of a star. The album
was certified gold and led to two Horizon Award nominations from the
Country Music Association, Top New Artist and Top New Female Vocalist
nominations from the Academy of Country Music, as well as a Breakthrough
Artist nomination from the CMT Awards. She delivered two memorable
performances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, was chosen over artists
in all musical genres to sing the Good To Go theme song of the
television show Good Morning America and joined pop superstar Rihanna in
a Clinique Happy campaign.
Roberts followed this with the equally critically acclaimed sophomore
release Men & Mascara, joining with veteran producer Byron Gallimore
(Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Lee Ann Womack.) Showing her maturity as an
artist, vocalist and writer, Roberts co-wrote four tracks on the CD.
Acclaimed music critic Bob Oermann called the title track and first
single “captivating in the extreme.”
After a few years of non-stop touring, appearances and walking on
some of the nation's most famous stages, Julie has taken some time away
from the spotlight to focus on herself. She moved to Hollywood, CA…
living on her own, studying acting and spending much time on an ongoing
project of writing a screenplay based on her life with the writer of the
award winning movie Coal Miner’s Daughter, the story of one of Julie’s
inspirations, Loretta Lynn.
After nearly a year in California, Roberts knew it was time to return
to her love, making music. She moved back to Nashville with a newly
revived confidence and passion to create. Beginning work on her third
release, Julie has aligned herself with some of Nashville’s elite
songwriters and musicians, focusing on what she loves best… those
emotional and heart-felt songs for which country music is known.
Knowing she is truly blessed to be doing what she loves, Roberts
spends much of her time, when not working on music, sharing her talent
with several charity organizations close to her heart. She recently
joined with the organization Magdalene as the first female country
artist to embark on a women’s prisons tour…performing, sharing her story
and providing hope along the way.
Many doors have opened changing the life of the petite blonde who has
fond memories of singing along to the country songs blaring out of the
radio in her mother’s white truck in Carolina. She’s learned a
tremendous amount about life and herself on this remarkable journey,
from white trucks to red carpets… and it is just beginning.
