Supermodel Strikes Musical Balance
For years, Karen Elson was a secret songrwriter; no longer the case with album.
NEW YORK, July 18, 2010 — -- Supermodels successfully making the transition to songstress can be tough.
Tyra Banks, the iconic supermodel, may have had success as an entertainment entrepreneur, but it didn't appear to pave the way to her career as singer when she debuted her first recorded single, "Shake Ya Body," on her TV talk show "America's Next Top Model," in 2003. Other supermodels who have tried their hand with singing careers include Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and model-turned-actress Milla Jovovich.
The transition for English fashion trailblazer Twiggy to singer was said to be a smooth one; she retired after four years of modeling to launch her acting and singing career. And France's first lady, Carla Bruni, has been a successful supermodel-singer before stepping onto the world stage in grander pursuit.
Now, the most recent supermodel to release an album is crimson-haired British beauty Karen Elson, 31. She says she realizes some may view her as "just" another supermodel wannabe singer who believes putting out an album will gain her added notoriety, but she hopes her vocal cords will be given a fair chance.
ABC News' Dan Harris spoke with Karen Elson about her life as a model, wife, mother and now singer, and the genesis of her new album, "The Ghost Who Walks," which was released May 25. The New York Times gave reviewed the album on May 23, a few days prior to the album's release, saying, "The Ghost Who Walks" may have "too clear a back story to claim down-home authenticity," but that some of Elson's lyrics "are focused and persuasive, with a girlish feistiness."
Elson is trying to stay away from the "model/slash" way of thinking with her new career in music, which she began cultivating a few years ago with the satirical Citizens Band troup in New York.
"I was very aware of model slash, model slash anything, maybe too aware for my own good for a long time," she says.
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