Priscilla Ahn (born Priscilla Natalie Hartranft; March 9, 1984) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She released her single "Dream" from her debut album, '' A Good Day'', produced by

Joey Waronker Jon Joseph Waronker (born May 20, 1969) is an American drummer and music producer. He is best known as a regular drummer of both Beck and R.E.M., and as member of the experimental rock bands Atoms for Peace and Ultraísta. Background Waronker ...

for EMI's

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. ...

, in 2008. After growing up in Pennsylvania and graduating from high school, Ahn moved to Los Angeles, California, adopted her mother's Korean maiden name, and began to pursue a music career. Ahn has toured with

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

, Amos Lee (for whom she sang backup vocals),

Ray LaMontagne Raymond Charles Jack LaMontagne (; born June 18, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. LaMontagne has released eight studio albums: ''Trouble'', ''Till the Sun Turns Black'', '' Gossip in the Grain'', '' God Willin' & the Creek Don ...

, Devotchka and

Joshua Radin Joshua Radin (born June 14, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter. He has recorded nine studio albums, and his songs have been used in a number of films and TV series. His most successful album, '' Simple Times'', was released in 2008. Beginni ...

. Her collaborative efforts include

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( ), is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted "the Greatest DJ of All Time" by '' Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, he was v ...

's "I Am Strong",

Cary Brothers Cary Brothers (born 1974) is an American indie rock singer-songwriter originally from Nashville, Tennessee, United States. After moving to Los Angeles and becoming a regular performer at the influential Hotel Cafe venue, Brothers first gaine ...

' "Maps" and Ashtar Command's "The Breakup Song". Ahn has released several albums, including ''A Good Day,'' ''When You Grow Up,'' and ''This Is Where We Are''. She has toured internationally, including tours in Japan, China, Korea and the US.

Early life and beginnings

Priscilla Natalie Hartranft was born in

Fort Stewart, Georgia Fort Stewart is a United States Army post in the U.S. state of Georgia. It lies primarily in Liberty and Bryan counties, but also extends into smaller portions of Evans, Long and Tattnall counties. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census. T ...

, to Kay (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Ahn) and Harry Hartranft. Her family visited South Korea, where her mother is from, several times. Her parents met when her father was stationed there while in the military. Ahn spent her childhood growing up in

Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County (Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading. The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware Rive ...

, and attended Tulpehocken Area High School. She started playing guitar and harmonica at the age of 14 and performed in choirs and musical productions throughout high school. After graduation her music professors Charles Eckhart and Douglas Crowder encouraged her to pursue her music career full-time. She soon moved to Los Angeles. She took her mother's maiden name as her stage name, saying, "Ahn is so much prettier and simpler. It’s also an ode to my Korean background, which is where I get my musical genes from.”

Career

After years of performing at open mic nights, Priscilla Ahn played a showcase in New York City for

and was signed to the label. In 2008, Blue Note Records released her full-length debut album, ''A Good Day'', produced by Joey Waronker. The following June, Ahn went on a national tour. Her album, ''A Good Day'' included musical contributions by keyboardists Greg Kurstin, Keefus Ciancia, guitarist Mike Andrews, musical saw player Ursula Knudsun, cellist and string arranger

Oliver Kraus Oliver Kraus (born 1970 in Shepherd's Bush, London) is an English musician best known for his work as a cellist and string arranger/ producer and composer for film and television. String Arrangements and Performance Kraus has performed with nume ...

, keyboardist Larry Goldings and singers

Jim Gilstrap James Earl Gilstrap (born November 10, 1946)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 1 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American singer, considered one of the most prolific session musicians in the industry. He is best known fo ...

and Orin Waters. Priscilla Ahn has toured with

, Amos Lee,

and

Ray Lamontagne Raymond Charles Jack LaMontagne (; born June 18, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. LaMontagne has released eight studio albums: ''Trouble'', ''Till the Sun Turns Black'', '' Gossip in the Grain'', '' God Willin' & the Creek Don ...

and contributed vocals to the albums ''

Supply and Demand In microeconomics, supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a Market (economics), market. It postulates that, Ceteris paribus, holding all else equal, in a perfect competition, competitive market, the unit price for a ...

'', '' Mission Bell'' and '' Kaleidoscope''. She was selected as Artist of the Week in '' Paste'' magazine in June 2008. Ahn's songs have appeared on the television shows ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

'', '' Knight Rider'', ''

Make It Or Break It ''Make It or Break It'' ( ''MIOBI)'' is an American teen/family drama television series that focused on the lives of teen gymnasts who strived to make it to the Olympic Games in 2012. The series was inspired by Touchstone's 2006 teen comedy-dra ...

'', '' Married Single Other'', several episodes of the ''

Ghost Whisperer ''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010. The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate wit ...

'', and in the films '' Disturbia'', '' Bride Wars'', '' Love Happens'', '' My Sister's Keeper'', '' Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove'' and ''Moms' Night Out''. After contributing to the compilations album, '' His Way, Our Way'', Priscilla Ahn collaborated with

Inara George Inara Maryland George (born July 4, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, one half of The Bird and the Bee, a member of the band Merrick, with Bryony Atkinson, and a member of the trio The Living Sisters, with Eleni Mandell an ...

, Sia,

Eleni Mandell Eleni Mandell is an American singer-songwriter. Since 2000, she has published albums through Zedtone Records in Toronto, Ontario, which in 2012 began licensing her releases to Yep Roc in the United States, and Make My Day in Europe. She is also ...

Charlie Wadhams Charlie may refer to: Characters * "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise * Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority * ...

and Jake Blanton on her album ''When You Grow Up'' which was produced by

Ethan Johns Ethan Thomas Robert Johns (born 1969 in Merton, London, England) is an English record producer, engineer, mixer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Johns has worked with artists including Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon, Paul McCartney, Ray LaMo ...

. Ahn appeared on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' in May 2011 and ABC's ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

, ''performing songs from her debut ''A Good Day'' and the title track from ''When You Grow Up''. After a period of writer's block, Ahn isolated herself in a remote desert hotel to create new music for the album ''This is Where We Are''. "I found the whole thing really inspiring, and suddenly, all these songs came pouring out. I just needed a little isolation and focus, some new sounds to play with, and a carefree, 'this is just an experiment' attitude to begin writing again." ''This Is Where We Are'' was released in Japan on 19 July 2013 and later in Korea and Taiwan and was released in the US on 15 February 2014. She also composed and performed music for the nationally successful Ghibli film in 2014: When Marnie Was There directed by

Hiromasa Yonebayashi , nicknamed , is a Japanese animator and director, formerly for Studio Ghibli. After his directorial debut with Studio Ghibli ('' The Secret World of Arrietty''), he became the youngest director of a theatrical film produced by the studio. He was n ...

including the soundtrack in the credit sequence Fine on the Outside, as well as 9 other songs based on the film which were published in an album When Marnie Was There Song Album - Just Know That I Love You. Ahn's music is described as grounded in folk, country, and pop. Ahn explored

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

music in the album '' This Is Where We Are''. Of the album's stylistic departure, she said, " I like to let things naturally flow out when I’m writing, and be whatever they’ll be. I think the biggest reason why this album ended up sounding so different from my previous two is because I wrote most of these songs on a keyboard, instead of my guitar. I bought a keyboard, learned how to use

Logic Pro Logic Pro is a digital audio workstation (DAW) and MIDI sequencer software application for the macOS platform. It was originally created in the early 1990s as Notator Logic, or Logic, by German software developer C-Lab which later went by E ...

, and used their basic audio samples as a songwriting tool. It opened up a whole new world to me sonically, and all these new songs just came pouring out."

Personal life

Ahn married actor

Michael Weston Michael Weston (born Michael Rubinstein; October 25, 1973) is an American television and film actor. His best-known roles are the private detective Lucas on ''House'', the deranged and sadistic kidnapper Jake in the HBO serial drama '' Six Feet ...

in May 2010. They have 2 children.

Discography

Albums

EPs

* Priscilla Ahn (2007, self-released) * Live Session (2008, iTunes) * In A Tree (2009) * Sweet Hearts (2012, With

) * Waiting (2021)

Singles

Dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

" (2008, Blue Note) *"I'll Never Smile Again" (2009) *"I Am Strong" by

featuring vocals by Priscilla Ahn (2009) *"Where The Leaf Starts To Fall" featuring Taiwanese music band

Sodagreen Sodagreen (; stylized as sodagreen) is a Taiwanese indie band formed in 2001. Its members have been unchanged since 2003. Sodagreen emerged in the Taiwanese indie music scene after receiving the Grand Jury Award in the Hohaiyan Gongliau Rock Fes ...

(2013) *"從一片落葉開始 (It Began With A Fallen Leaf)" by

featuring vocals by Priscilla Ahn (2013)

Music videos

*"Dream" *"Red Cape" *"Vibe So Hot" *"I Don't Have Time To Love" *"When You Grow Up" *"Torch Song" *"Home" *"Remember How I Broke Your Heart" *"Leave It Open"

Compilation appearances

*'' His Way, Our Way (Sinatra Tribute)'' *''The Hotel Café presents Winter Songs- Silent Night'' featured on '' ER ''

Contributions

*Vocals and Piano on

's ''We Were Here'', Columbia, 2006 (as Priscilla Hartranft) *Vocals on Amos Lee's ''

'', Blue Note Records, 2006 *Vocals on Joshua Radin's EP ''Unclear Sky'': "The Fear You Won't Fall", 2006 *Vocals on Joshua Radin's ''Underwater'': "Let It Go", "The Greenest Grass", 2012. *Vocals on William Fitzsimmons' ''The Sparrow and the Crow'', Mercer Street, 2008 *Vocals on

' Vol. 1 EP ''Maps'', 2012 *Vocals on Ashtar Command ''American Sunshine'': "The Breakup Song", "Rosa", "All the Stars in Heaven", 2011 *Vocals on

TV on the Radio TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), David Andrew Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and ...

's ''

Nine Types of Light ''Nine Types of Light'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band TV on the Radio, released on April 11, 2011, through Interscope Records. It is the final TV on the Radio album to feature bassist Gerard Smith, who died of lung cancer nine ...

'': "Will Do", 2011 *Vocals on Amos Lee's '' Mission Bell'': "Stay With Me", 2011

Filmography

Credits of Priscilla Ahn as a vocalist and/or songwriter

Television

Credits of Priscilla Ahn as a vocalist and/or songwriter *2009: Men in Trees – '' Leave the Light On ''(

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

) *2009:

– ''

''(

ABC Studios ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...

) *2009:

Psych ''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened obser ...

– '' A Good Day (Morning Song) ''( NBC Studios, Inc.) *2009: Knight Rider-''

I Don't Think So I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

''( NBC Studios, Inc) *2009:

– ''

''(

) *2009:

Eli Stone ''Eli Stone'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series, named for its title character. The series was created by Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, who also served as executive producers alongside Ken Olin who directed the pilot, wit ...

– ''

''(

) *2009: ER Promos – ''Silent Night ''( NBC Studios, Inc) *2010:

Jeep Wrangler The Jeep Wrangler is a series of compact and mid-size four-wheel drive off-road SUVs manufactured by Jeep since 1986 and is currently in its fourth generation. The Wrangler JL, the most recent generation, was revealed in late 2017 and is produ ...

"We Build" – ''In a Tree ''(commercials –

BBDO BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, B ...

) *2010:

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and ha ...

– ''

''(DanceNation Productions, Inc.) *2010:

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...

– ''

''(

NBC Universal Television NBCUniversal Television and Streaming is the television and streaming arm of NBCUniversal, and the direct descendant and successor of the former division NBCUniversal Television Group, which existed from 2003 to 2019. History NBC Broadcasting In ...

) *2010:

The Biggest Loser ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show '' The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight; the winner receives a cash pr ...

– '' Red Cape ''(BL4 Productions, Inc) *2010: Brothers And Sisters – ''

''(

) *2010:

– ''Christmas Time Is Here ''(

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Calif ...

) *2010:

Kansai Electric Power , also known as , is an electric utility with its operational area of Kansai region, Japan (including the Keihanshin megalopolis). The Kansai region is Japan's second-largest industrial area, and in normal times, its most nuclear-reliant. B ...

– '' Leave The Light On'' (

EMI Music Japan , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

) *2011: So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 – ''

''( Dick Clark Productions, Inc.) *2011:

– ''Christmas Time Is Here'' (GEP) *2011:

– '' Leave The Light On'' (

EMI Japan , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

) *2011: " Married, Single, Other" BBC – '' Find My Way Back Home ''( EMI UK) *2011: " Married, Single, Other" ITV – '' Find My Way Back Home ''( EMI UK) *2012:

ABC Family The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its h ...

Make It or Break It ''Make It or Break It'' ( ''MIOBI)'' is an American teen/family drama television series that focused on the lives of teen gymnasts who strived to make it to the Olympic Games in 2012. The series was inspired by Touchstone's 2006 teen comedy-dra ...

– ''

''(

) *2012: United States: In Plain Sight – Season 4 – ''

Wallflower ''Erysimum'', or wallflower, is a genus of flowering plants in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. It includes more than 150 species, both popular garden plants and many wild forms. The genus ''Cheiranthus'' is sometimes included here in whole o ...

''( NBC Universal Television Music) *2012: WB: Men in Trees (ET Upgrade) – '' Leave The Light On ''(

) *2012: RIS – ''

''(

EMI Music France EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

) *2012:

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

Soko wo Nantoka is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mikoto Asou. It was serialized in Hakusensha's manga magazine ''Melody'' from 2007 to August 28, 2018, with its chapters collected into 15 volumes. was adapted into two Japanese tele ...

– ''I'll Be Here'' (

) *2014:

: Soko wo Nantoka 2 – ''Best I can ベスト・アイ・キャン'' (Universal Music Japan)

Television appearances

*2008:

– (Ep. 16.107 –

NBC Studios NBC Studios may refer to: * NBC Studios (New York City), 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, home of NBC TV, NBCUniversal, MSNBC, WNBC * 10 Universal City Plaza in Los Angeles, home of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment * NBC Tower, office building i ...

) *2008:

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing ...

– (Ep. 5.1 – CBS) *2009:

Later with Jools Holland ''Later... with Jools Holland'' (also known as ''Even Later... with Jools Holland'', and previously known as ''Later Live... with Jools Holland'' and ''...Later with Jools Holland'') is a contemporary British music television show hosted by Jo ...

– (Ep. 34.4 – BBC) *2011:

– (Ep. 19.140 –

) *2011:

– (Ep. 12.13 – CBS)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahn, Priscilla 1984 births Living people American musicians of Korean descent American women singer-songwriters American acoustic guitarists Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania People from Berks County, Pennsylvania Guitarists from Pennsylvania 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) Banjoists American singers of Asian descent American folk singers Autoharp players American keyboardists American pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) 21st-century women pianists