A light-hearted tune

Suzie Harrison

She’s always wanted to sing, since she was a little girl. But even

with the influence of her mother, an opera singer, it wasn’t until 10

years ago that Suzy K found her voice.

Now in her 30s, the Laguna Beach soccer mom and wife has reached

her roots with the April 29 release of her third album, appropriately

named “Circle.”

“I think this is very cool,” Suzy K said. “I’ve always wanted to

do this. Music was always around but I didn’t take it seriously, I

didn’t dive in because I thought of it as selfish.”

She said that all her life she has wanted to give, and she didn’t

feel that music fit in that category, at least not until she was

performing at a fund-raiser a decade ago.

Someone at the event approached Suzy K to tell her how impressed

he was with her voice. She explained her philosophy and his response

was a turning point for her.

“He said you should be ashamed of yourself, you have a talent to

touch people, a love within your music -- you need to share your

music on an international scale.” Suzy K said. “That’s when I finally

saw the selflessness and said to myself, ‘I’m going to do it.’”

Two weeks ago the adult contemporary song “Teaching” was released

from “Circle” it has been ranked No. 1, 2 and 3, as the most added

song to playlists in the county.

“The words in ‘Teaching’ mean a lot to me,” Suzy K said. “It’s

about knowing what direction to go, where to go, the path, it’s a

barometer of life.”

The dance remix of the title song has reached No. 8 on the music

choice requests. “Circle” has also climbed the Billboard charts for

hot shot debut in the dance music category, and the album has made

the top 50 National Pool Chart for DJ Times.

“‘Circle’ is like a big love hug,” Suzy K said. “I love knowing

we’re all one organic and earthly thing. With ‘Circle,’ I loved the

irony of choosing something with a lot of meaning to become a huge

hit,” Suzy K said.

To get her music heard Suzy K initially made a two-song demo and

gave it to her brother, a dentist in Beverly Hills. As a captive

audience, an entertainment lawyer, with his mouth full of tools,

became a fan.

“It was very funny,” Suzy K said. “That’s when he hooked me up

with Tom Callahan, president of Vellum records.”

Suzy K describes her first CD “Coast of Paradise” as a kind of

stepping stone and her second album “As I Am” to be an apt

description of her and her life.

“The message is to take me as I am, this is what I do,” Suzy K

said.

On that album, she did a duet with Donny Osmond that charted

number 25 on the Billboard charts.She said the journey has been

exciting for her, but she’s been able to balance it well with her

priority, her husband Jeff and her three boys Nicolai, 9, Bryson, 5

and Luca, 1.

Suzy K said she’s having a lot of fun and that’s important. She

chooses not to take the career too seriously adding that the music is

not who she is -- it’s just something that she does.

“Circle is what life is about,” Suzy K said. “I just want to have

fun doing this and touch people’s hearts, not in a corny way, just in

a hip, fun sort of way.”

* SUZIE HARRISON is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. She may be reached at 494-4321 or suzie.harrison@latimes.com.