Just over a year ago Lucia Evans got 500,000 public votes in the final of the RTE TV Show You're A Star. The Zimbabwe born, Galway domiciled songstress swept the boards in the competition. Her dynamic soulful performances seen by millions of viewers over the preceding 18 weeks had won the hearts of the nation.
That was the spring of 2006 and since then Lucia has experienced a roller-coaster of events. She released her debut single which topped the Irish charts, then soon afterwards parted ways with her record company when she declined to extend the development period. She had exceeded her wildest expectations, but yet still in some quarters was branded a flop! At this stage Evans decided to hibernate - go home and reinvent herself. "There are so many artists who win competitions like this only to find that their shelf life is very short. I wanted longevity and felt to achieve that I needed to write my own songs and develop my sound away from the public eye, no matter how long that took." After signing a worldwide publishing deal with Sony Music in London she locked herself away in her new home studio set up, developing her songwriting skills. It was a self-imposed exile of almost a year- a sacrifice Lucia believed she needed to make in the interest of having a real and substantial career. "I felt that unless I stood up to be judged on my own merit then I wouldn't be happy. I feel more content about myself and my music than ever as a result of the freedom I've had to begin becoming the artist I'd like to be".
The first of these self penned songs to be released is 'The Other Man', a soulful, powerhouse of a song with her trademark outstanding vocal performance.
Apart from the writing and recording process over the past while Lucia has also taken steps towards a career in TV. At the beginning of the year she travelled with an RTE crew to Burkina Faso in Africa to make a documentary about children in the developing world. The documentary will be broadcast on RTE on 21st June. "It was a privilege to experience a country many people would not even be aware of. I really enjoyed the process of filming and presenting and it's something I'd love to do again in the future". With a positive response to her presenting it seems likely that Lucia could well be
having a TV career in tandem with her music career.
In the immediate future though Lucia will concentrate on the promotion for the release of the new single 'The Other Man' on June 8th. She intends to travel the length and breadth of the country doing interviews and performances, "It's an exciting and positive time for me" smiles Lucia, "I still get the most amazing support from the public wherever I go. It's great to know that people still have faith in my ability as a singer but more importantly respect the decisions I've made. It's also encouraging to find that people are egging me on to do an album and live shows. And that's exactly what I intend to do".