Cassadee Pope Record Deal: 'The Voice' Winner Signs With Nashville Label

Posted Jan 17th 2013 2:00PM by Erin Duvall
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Cassadee Pope Country Record Deal Larry Marano, Getty Images

During Season 3 of "The Voice," Cassadee Pope insisted that she was a pop singer, but ultimately it was country songs that led her to the crown. Now, the Florida native has signed a record deal with Republic Nashville, a label known for its success with country acts such as Martina McBride, Eli Young Band and the Band Perry. The imprint is a part of the Big Machine Label Group, home to the leader of the pop-country revolution, Taylor Swift.

"I love the pop country stuff. I mean that's more my style," Cassadee told WetPaint. "When I would try to explain to people -- when I went solo before and didn't have a label and was trying to get labels' attention -- I would say it was like an edgy Taylor Swift and not super country. And people would be like, 'Oh country.' So I'm excited to be able to show what I meant by that and then shove it in people's faces."

The 23-year-old vocal powerhouse, who was previously a member of the pop-rock band Hey Monday, came into her own on "The Voice" when she sang Miranda Lambert's "Over You" -- which was co-written by her coach Blake Shelton -- during the Top 10 episodes. The performance earned her compliments from rival coaches; Adam Levine called it her "best yet" of the competition and Christina Aguilera encouraged her to explore more of it. More importantly, though, her version of the tune skyrocketed to No. 1 on the iTunes chart, knocking PSY's "Gangnam Style" off the throne.

Taking Christina's advice, and under the supervision of the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, Cassadee reached the No. 1 spot on iTunes yet again with rendition of Keith Urban's "Stupid Boy," which she performed during show's semifinals. Despite the crossing of genre lines during "The Voice," it seems that Cassadee has found the perfect place to call home.

"Cassadee was a standout from day one and once she delivered her incredible version of Miranda Lambert's 'Over You,' I started working over my NY label partner Monte Lipman [CEO of Republic Records] to try to convince him that Cassadee belonged in Nashville," says Big Machine Label Group President Scott Borchetta. "Each week Cassadee continued to knock down big country songs by Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban and Faith Hill, and after she won we were thrilled to find out that Cassadee was on the same page with us and wanted to come to Nashville."

Cassadee is being managed by former Live Nation head Irving Azoff and is now in Music City meeting with producers and writing songs.

Watch a Report on Cassadee Winning 'The Voice'

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