Age: 23
Hometown: Topsfield
Think of: LeAnn Rimes meets Lee Ann Womack. A millennial’s Shania Twain.
What caught our eye: When it comes to song interpretation, April Renzella has a knack for selecting unexpected songs — from Justin Bieber to Patsy Cline — that play to her key strength: a powerful country-strong voice with just the right feminine lilt. Her new single, a cover of Womack’s “The Bees,’’ is simply stunning. But the Stonehill College grad can also write one helluva country song: “No Knot Today,’’ which she co-wrote, is the type of Hank Williams-inspired, old-country tune that could’ve been written for Dolly Parton or Tammy Wynette.
Lightbulb moments: “I was about 3 years old when LeAnn Rimes came out with ‘Blue.’ And I became obsessed with LeAnn Rimes. I started to sing along with the cassette tape. Then on my fifth birthday, at Prince Pizzeria in Saugus, I got up and sang ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow.’ I’ve always felt like my place was on the stage. . . . I just didn’t know how to get there.’’ Fast forward about 15 years: “When I got to Nashville, that’s when I really decided [music] was something I wanted to dedicate myself to full-time. When you’re fully immersed with people in the industry, people who are trying to make it, I said, ‘OK. This is what I want.’ ’’
Biggest thrill: Singing “If You Leave Me Now’’ with Chicago at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield. “A few years back, the band Chicago held an online auction fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society. The highest bidder could perform with Chicago onstage. My parents bid, and my mom called me that we won. . . . It was a little surreal. . . . I had a backstage pass, and they had a whole layout of food, and I couldn’t eat because I was so nervous. They said, ‘Don’t worry; if you forget anything, we’ll take over for you!’ They played it up. It was awesome.’’
Biggest surprise: “I was having dinner by myself at the hotel bar in downtown Nashville, and this guy walked in to order food and a drink, we were kind of just casually talking, and I forget exactly how he brought it up, but he turned out to be the lead singer of Creed, Scott Stapp. I know Creed, but I had no idea what Scott Stapp looked like. . . . I think he said something about his rock band, and I was like, ‘OK sure.’ But I looked it up on my phone, and it was him. And then he went to his truck and got me one of his solo CDs.’’
Inspired by: LeAnn Rimes, Kacey Musgraves, the Dixie Chicks, Shania Twain.
Aspires to: “Write more. Songwriting seems to be the place to be. . . . There are always artists down here looking for music. And to perform more. And put out a record.’’
For good luck: “I’ll stretch and get relaxed, not for good luck, but just to loosen up before the show, and [remember that] this is something you can’t take too seriously.’’
What people should know: “When you don’t have an EP out, your audience might not know a lot of your stuff. At my shows, I sing a mix of my own stuff and a few covers — Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Kacey Musgraves, but also older songs, and pop songs with my own spin. With my band (Boston-based Sage & Whiskey) we’ve even done a few Justin Bieber songs as country acoustics.’’
Coming soon: She performs with Sage & Whiskey on April 15 at Amvets in Haverhill, 8 p.m. 978-374-9700.
Links:www.aprilrenzella.com; www.youtube.com/user/AprilRenzella11
Lauren Daley
Lauren Daley can be reached at ldaley33@gmail.com.
