Sarah Burgess…where have you been all my life? She’s got a sort of Kat Graham/Neon Hitch mixed with Jessie and The Toy Boys vibe about her, which I love! A new(ish) video for a song called “Sassy” was recently sent to me and while I’ve only watched it a couple of times, I can already safely say that I’m obsessed with this girl. The Ohio-born and current Pittsburgh resident, 24 year old Sarah Burgess first grabbed the attention of American television audiences during season six of American Idol. Burgess let it slip during her audition that her father was vehemently against Sarah having a music career, yet unable to stop her from playing hookie and auditioning in New York City. Unfortunately, Burgess’ Idol dreams were short lived when she was cut during Hollywood Week. Fortunately for Burgess, her time on Idol wasn’t for naught as she was quickly snatched up by indie label PME Records, with whom she released a couple of singles including the Colbie Caillat/Mikal Blue-penned “Didn’t Matter That” and “Dangerouz,” which received some national airplay in 2008 and supposedly was a top 40 hit for the singer (according to Wikipedia, however not according to Billboard archives). Following the release of her singles, Burgess dropped her debut album, One in June of 2008.
Parting ways with PME Records in 2009, Burgess has since signed with Swiss label, Solymar Music AG based out of Zurich in association with Iceberg Records and is in the midst of recording her sophomore record, presumably which will include “Sassy” (see video BELOW). According to posts on her blog, Burgess says that the new album will be more “edgy rock” mixed with pop, a slight departure from the more mainstream sound of her debut album. In 2010 Burgess entered into yet another competition, this time to compete on Swiss television for the chance at representing the country in the Eurovision Song Contest with her song “Just Me.” Where Sarah Burgess‘ love for Switzerland came from, I’m really not quite sure, but the country seemed to embrace her as she made it into the finals, ultimately losing out to Anna Rossinelli who received 23.93% of the national vote (Burgess only received 7.7%).
The video for “Sassy” was uploaded onto the Iceberg Records YouTube channel November 11th. According to the YouTube page, the track was written and produced by Måns Ek (Sarah Connor) and co-written by Charlie Mason (Miley Cyrus, Ashley Tisdale). Despite having a homemade feel to it, the video is packed full of energy, spunk and oh yes…lots of sass. Looking forward to hearing more from Sarah Burgess. Download her first album, One, on U.S. iTunes HERE.