Alisan Porter

A badass vocalist with something to say, Alisan Porter is breaking free of all expectations – and that independent streak carries over into her newest album, Pink Cloud.

Porter co-wrote every song on the album, drawing on her country and soul influences as well as the highs and lows of her own journey. After a lifetime of roles on TV, film, and Broadway, this is the moment she’s been waiting for.

“I wanted to make sure the album had a throwback feel,” she says. “My wish was that it was like a front-to-back story. My favorite albums are the ones I can listen to all the way through, like Carole King’s Tapestry or Joni Mitchell’s Blue, or even Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour.”

To achieve that vibe, Porter recorded Pink Cloud live in just two days at the Sound Emporium in Nashville. Nearly all of these songs were written in Nashville during an eight-day writing trip.

“I knew what I wanted to accomplish and we did that – and then some,” she says. “It was a magical time period. I don’t think that’s normally how it’s done, or how I thought it was going to be done, but there was some sort of universe magic that was happening with the writers that I had chosen to write with. And it was just cosmic, and it came together really quickly.”

Naturally the albums open with “Pink Cloud,” setting the mood with a gorgeous, dreamy guitar.

“A pink cloud is a term that I learned in sobriety, which means when you realize that you’ve been living in a haze and you pop out and say, ‘Oh, wow! I see life again!’” she explains. “It’s also something you never look away from. It’s always something you notice that takes you out of whatever you’re doing and puts you in the moment. So I wanted everybody to be put in the moment before the record started.”

From there, Pink Cloud glides to the self-acceptance of “Wild One” and the slow jam of “Like a Drug.” One of the most emotional songs on the album is “What If I Wake Up,” about falling in love but still feeling nervous that another heartbreak could happen.

“That song came from thinking, ‘After what I’ve been through, is falling in love again even possible?’” she recalls. “Everybody can relate to that feeling. I’ll never forget when we wrote it. We all cried. It felt like we had done something really special with that one.”

Meanwhile, “Gone in a Flash” is an ode to living in the moment, and “Never Could” expresses the importance of loving yourself before you can love someone else. In addition, Porter added an older song, “Speed Racer,” which she wrote when she was 20 – although it fits the vibe of Pink Cloud perfectly. She notes, “My favorite line is, ‘This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me.’ Sometimes, you just gotta do you.”

That incredible individuality has been a part of Porter’s exceptional career from the start. As a child in Massachusetts, she won Star Search and soon relocated to Los Angeles. She landed roles in films like Curly Sue and Parenthood, as well as TV series like Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and The Golden Girls. With a passion for music, she immersed herself in her high school’s musical theater program. She landed parts on Broadway, returned to Los Angeles to form a band, then headed back to the New York City stage for a role in A Chorus Line.

Not long after that, she started a family with her then-husband and briefly went off the radar to spend time with a growing family. A friend submitted her to The Voice without telling her – a surprise move that opened the door for the next phase of her career. Making an intentional decision to turn her creative energies to music, Porter accepted the offer to appear on the show – and ultimately won the competition for Team Christina in 2016. She’s since formed a close bond with Christina Aguilera, who’s been a mentor and friend over the last few years.

The high-profile victory came with a major label deal, which she quickly realized she didn’t want. Once that situation was resolved and she could forge her own path, she knew it was time to make the music that would find its way to Pink Cloud.

“Music is all encompassing,” she says, “and music is such a great healer and such a great therapist. And I wanted people to know that there was love after heartbreak. I wanted people to know that it was OK to be wild and free sometimes and to let your freak flag fly.”

Finding happiness in a new relationship inspired the positive vibes of “I Like the Way You Roll,” while the piano ballad “Everybody Else” offers a message of gratitude. The musical diversity found in Pink Cloud emulates the albums of her heroes, from contemporary artists such as Brandi Carlile and Chris Stapleton to groundbreaking women like Patty Griffin, Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt.

Asked what she hopes listeners will hear in Pink Cloud, Porter replies, “That I really just genuinely care about the music. I’m a writer and that was what was important to me. It wasn’t about hanging on to some 20 minutes of fame or whatever. It was about just continuing this journey, and getting to this point where I can make a piece of work like this.”

Booking in conjunction with Sebastian Moody with Powerline Entertainment