Reneé Olstead official website.
Rebecca Reneé Olstead, born 18-June-1989, Houston, Texas, USA.
Reneé has been onstage delighting audiences since she was 5, and cut a self-titled album "Reneé Olstead" at 15 -- despite the fact that she had no formal musical training.
Her live performances have included appearances with Billy Joel, Elton John and Celine Dion.
Reneé has appeared in several major movies. And she continues to star in the CBS sitcom Still
Standing.
"I love acting, but I'm most passionate about music. I was determined to give this album everything I had, even if it meant working on it every minute I wasn't studying or on the set [of Still Standing]. And that's what it took." -- Reneé Olstead.
"I came to David [Foster] with a list of songs I love. I knew a lot of the material had been done by some of the greatest artists ever and, of course, that was a little intimidating. I wanted to do them justice, but I was also grateful for the
opportunity to keep the flame alive by introducing this music to my own generation and making it new for them. Some people may not take me seriously because of my age, but I can't let that stop me. This is music that belongs to all of us." --
Reneé Olstead.
Her singing of the ballad "A Love That Will Last" (by Reneé's producer, David Foster) also appears in the movie "The Princess Diaries 2 - Royal
Engagement" (soundtrack).
Renee Olstead, co-star of the Top CBS comedy series "Still Standing" releases her self-titled major label debut. With a seriously bluesy jazz voice, Olstead wows everyone who hears her, including the renowned David Foster who co- produced this album of classics. Unless someone told you, you might never suspect that Olstead is only in high school! Renee Olstead ... hear her ... you won’t believe your ears.No less an expert on pop affairs than Neil Sedaka likens the impossibly mature voice of 14-year-old vocalist/TV star (CBS' Still Standing) Renee Olstead to "Patsy Cline, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday all wrapped in one." There's no disputing the sultry vocal talents showcased on this debut that balances familiar chestnuts from the great American songbook ("Summertime," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Sentimental Journey") with more recent fare that veers from R 'n' B sass ("Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby") to 70s chart hits like Sedaka's own "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" and Maria Muldaur's "Midnight at the Oasis." A cynical ear might question how much of Olmstead's own life informs these bluesy performances: how trying can eigth grade be for an attractive redhead with a major label contract? Indeed, the tagline for at least one latter-day Ella Fitzgerald project comes frequently to mind here: "Is it real, or it Memorex?" Olmstead is yet another teen protege of hugely successful producer David Foster (who's midwifed the careers of Josh Groban and Michael Buble in recent years), and he provides her with some sturdy jazz arrangements to riff emotively on here--even if his production is as slick and bloodless as ever. Still, Foster's penchant for overwrought melodrama is kept mercifully in check on his own composition "I Want a Love to Last," while his shrewd teaming of the young chanteuse with fellow teen pop phenom Peter Cincotti on Sedaka's "Breaking Up.." deftly underscores the promising talents of both. --Jerry McCulley
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