• Band members: Camaron Marvel Ochs

• Discography: Welcome To Cam Country EP (2015), Untamed (2015)

• Website: http://camcountry.com/

   

Our next showcase artist is an a great new US Country singer-songwriter originally from California but now based in Nashville, Camaron Marvel Ochs known simply as Cam. We are big fans of Cam here at LCM and feel she will be one of the big US Country stars of the future. Our song above the award-winning and beautiful 'Burning House' is taken from her debut EP 'Welcome to Cam Country'.

A fresh and heartfelt new force in country music that feels like home and sounds like the truth. Cam’s country roots trace back to her grandparents ranch in Southern California: imagine palm trees, horses, a blue barn and a tractor named Big Red. Her storyteller lyrics walk a romantic line between worldly wisdom and Disney charm, and judging by her fan base this sort of thing appeals to all of us. She writes music that exudes absolute comfort and trust in her own tastes. She is not afraid. Cam is the new kind of cool. Her songwriting cuts have spanned between country and pop, including Miley Cyrus' worldwide platinum album 'Bangerz'. People with ears and hearts, take heed! Cam's got something for both.

In 2010, Cam released her debut studio album titled 'Heartforward' under the name "Camaron Ochs". It was released under the independent label, Rubber Room Records and contained contemporary pop songs. Amber Schadewald of the San Francisco Bay Guardian called the album a brand of folk pop that "is light and sweet, with genuine lyrics that ask listeners to live with their 'heartforward'". Songs written for the project were based on experiences from her trip to Nepal. She promoted 'Heartforward' through performances in Oakland and San Francisco, California. This included shows at the Stork Club and Mama Buzz.

Cam soon moved to Los Angeles, California and began collaborating with Tyler Johnson. She recorded some demos with Johnson in an attempt to attract Faith Hill, eventually leading to the recordings being heard by Tim McGraw's manager Scott Siman. Her song "Fall Madly in Love with You" was chosen as a track for 'Cut to Impress', the 2013 debut album from Maggie Rose. She is also credited with the song "Maybe You're Right" on Bangerz, the 2013 studio album from Miley Cyrus. She soon moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and began writing music for other artists, turning down a publishing deal in attempt to prove herself on her own. She launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2013 to produce 10 songs with Johnson. The campaign was supported by producer Jeff Bhasker, known best for his work with artists that include Beyoncé, fun., Bruno Mars, and P!nk. The same year Cam toured Denmark and Sweden with Helsingborg band Karavan, having previously collaborated with Anders Mouridsen of the group while in Los Angeles.

Cam released a single in 2013 titled "Down This Road" with the encouragement of manager Lindsay Marias. Through a photo posted on Instagram, local radio director Michael Bryan discovered the song and played it on the air. According to Cam, radio airplay of the single helped her choose which label she wanted to sign to. Ultimately, she chose to meet with Doug Morris, the director of Sony Music Entertainment. She flew to the label's headquarters in New York City to meet with him. Using only an acoustic guitar, she sang a song she had already been developing, "Burning House". Morris started humming along to the chorus and stated, "This is the reason why I got into the music business." Morris would later ask her to perform the song at the Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony. She was soon signed to Sony's country division, Arista Nashville in 2014 and toured nationally with Dan + Shay that same year on their 'Where It All Began' tour.

Cam's major label debut single was released in early 2015 titled "My Mistake". In March, the song debuted at No. 58 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. It failed to become a major hit, only reaching the 52nd position on the country songs chart. Still using her full name (Camaron Ochs) during the single's promotion, she ultimately shortened it to "Cam" because some people found her last name "too hard to pronounce". "My Mistake" preceded Cam's debut EP, 'Welcome to Cam Country', released in March 2015. It contained four songs and production credits were given to fellow collaborators Jeff Bhasker and Tyler Johnson. It has since peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, No. 88 on the Billboard 200.

Cam's next single was chosen to be "Burning House". She performed the song live on the radio program The Bobby Bones Show, which attracted and fueled attention to the song. Shortly after the performance, it became the fastest-rising country single on iTunes that week, reaching the top 20 of its list. Sony then arranged a meeting and decided to release the track as a single on June 16, 2015. The companion video contained memorable images as well as revealing the singer's attractive appearance. "Burning House" became a top-five hit on the Billboard country songs and country airplay charts. It also was the highest-selling female country song of 2015, selling more than 500,000 copies in the United States. Thirdly, the song received a nomination from the 2016 Grammy Awards. Her major label debut album, 'Untamed' was released on December 11, 2015. The album was co-produced with Bhasker and Johnson, consisting of 11 tracks all co-written by Cam. It debuted at number two on the Top Country Albums chart and was the highest-selling debut country studio album of 2015. Rolling Stone ranked the album at number fifteen on their list of the "Forty Best Country Albums of 2015". The magazine commented, "For an artist at the start of career, Cam already sounds like one of the most secure in the game." "Mayday" was released as the album's third single in February 2016. It was a minor Top 40 hit on the country charts, peaking at number 36 on Billboard Country Airplay. Cam played her first UK shows in 2017 as part of the C2C: Country to Country festival, followed by a sold-out headline gig at Bush Hall in March 2017.

Cam was exposed to classic country music at an early age from the time spent on her grandparents' ranch. They introduced her to the musical sounds of Patsy Cline, Bonnie Raitt and Willie Nelson. She was largely influenced by the vocal phrasing of Cline and Ray Charles. She also developed an appreciation for the Dixie Chicks and the Indigo Girls, commenting that she was "so into those female harmonies". She additionally cites Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Randy Newman as influences on her songwriting style. Although she has a variety of musical influences, Cam stated that country music is where she felt most connected to. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, she explained her reasoning: "I grew up singing in a lot of different languages and a lot of world music choirs, so I have a lot of musical influences. But the songwriting structure of country music is the standard in my mind. ... That structure seems to feel the most homey to me."

Cam's middle name is 'Marvel' and we couldn't agree more.

With a new album and a UK Tour promised for later in 2017 the sky is the limit for the Grammy, AMA and CMA nominated Cam.