Willa Ford (born Amanda Lee Williford on January 22, 1981) is an
American pop singer, songwriter, and record producer. She became
popular in 2001, when she became the self-proclaimed "Bad Girl of
Pop". She also works as a supermodel, TV personality, and TV host.
Willa was born and raised in Ruskin, Florida. She began pursuing her
dream of becoming a singer at the age of 8, when she started singing
with the Tampa Bay Children's Choir. By the time she reached age 11,
she had moved on from the children's choir to the Tampa-based
children's performing arts troupe Entertainment Revue. This group
consisted of 20 girls ages 5 to 16 who toured the area and sang at
such places as Walt Disney World and Busch Gardens. Willa moved her
way up from a chorus member to the role of featured soloist. When
Willa was 15, she left the troupe and landed spot with a local
foursome called FLA. She didn't stay long with the group before
deciding to head out to Los Angeles.
In 1999 Willa, then performing under the stage name Mandah, was signed
to MCA. While with MCA she released a song called "Lullaby" on the
double-platinum soundtrack Pok?mon The First Movie. She also landed a
spot as an opening act for the Backstreet Boys, which brought her
attention for her performances as well as her relationship with one of
the group's members Nick Carter. Soon Willa's label changed her stage
name from Mandah, to avoid confusion with another female singer, to
Willa Ford and tried to promote her as a beautiful singer with a "good
girl" image. After some negative publicity that tainted their
clean-cut image for Willa, MCA decided to drop her, letting her move
on to a label that would embrace her "bad girl" image.
While during a mall tour for Nautica Kids, Willa was noticed by
Lava/Atlantic Records. It wasn't long before Lava/Atlantic would give
Willa a deal and put her into ther recording studio with a diverse
variety of writers and producers. Unlike some other teen singers at
the time, Willa preferred to write most of her lyrics herself.
On July 17, 2001, Willa released her debut album Willa Was Here. The
album contained the single "I Wanna Be Bad". The album used smooth
pop/R&B grooves, hot dance beats and vocoders. Despite the hit single,
the album only reached #56 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
In 2001, Willa served as the spokesperson for Pantene Pro-V's
"Pro-Voice" campaign, and appeared on the in-concert cable special
"Teensation". Also, Willa hosted MTV's TRL and Say What Karaoke many
times. MTV was impressed by Willa's hosting and she received a
contract with them.
In 2002 Willa co-wrote and sang a duet with Korean pop star Park Ji
Yoon entitled "Nastified", which appeared on Park's 5th album Man.
Also, Willa hosted "The Morning After," which lasted throughout 2003,
along with her debut reality series - "I Bet You Will." Willa's song
"I Wanna Be Bad" became the theme song for Six Flags theme parks and
was also used by 7 Up for one of their campaigns. Willa also became a
model for Bongo ads.
In 2003 Willa came back with a hot dance song that forever
immortalized a sorority chant, "A Toast To Men", which featured guest
rapper Lady May. The single was from her unreleased sophomore album
Sexysexobsessive. The single did well, but because of some legalities
at her label her album wasn't released. This also caused Willa to
leave the label and go in search of a new one.
While fans wait for her sophomore release, Willa received huge
success. In 2005 Willa was chosen from many candidates to host the
fighting competition reality show The Ultimate Fighter. After becoming
a smash hit for the cable network in the U.S., it went international
through other viacom channels including Bravo. After the show's finale
Willa got a shot at being the Summer's guest doll for the Las Vegas
Pussycat Dolls shows, as well as being one of the celebrity
quarterbacks in the 2006 Lingerie Bowl III, which will be shown, on
pay-per-view, during the halftime of Super Bowl XL.
While only two months through, 2006 appeared to be an already bright
year for Willa. In February, Willa was featured in the March 2006
issue of Playboy Magazine, where she appeared in a nude pictorial. In
February Willa also played in the third annual Lingerie Bowl playing
quarterback for the team Dallas Desire, sang lead for The Pussycat
Dolls in Las Vegas including a special St. Valentines day show which
included Nicollette Sheridan, Cindy Margolis, and DJ AM. In February
MTV2 began airing "I Bet You Will" once more and continues to run
through now, March. Willa is currently dating UFC Light Heavyweight
Champion, Chuck Liddell.
Discography
Albums
* 2001: Willa Was Here
Singles
* 2001: "I Wanna Be Bad" (feat. Royce Da 5'9)
* 2001: "Did Ya' Understand That"
* 2001: "Santa Baby (Gimme, Gimme, Gimme)"
* 2002: "Nastified" (with Park Ji Yoon) - from the album Man
* 2003: "A Toast To Men (Fuck The Men)" (feat. Lady May)
Filmography
Music videos
* 2001 I Wanna Be Bad
* 2001 Did Ya' Understand That
* 2001 Santa Baby (Gimme, Gimme, Gimme)
* 2002 Uncle Kracker's: In A Little While -"Girlfriend"
* 2003 A Toast To Men (F*ck The Men)
TV
* 2001 Teensensation -Herself
* 2001 Pantene Pro-Voice Commercial - Herself
* 2001 Pantene Pro-Voice Featuring Jewel - Herself
* 2001 The Mind of the Married Man - Herself
* 2002 Six Flags Commercial - Herself
* 2002 Rasing Dad - Edie "Bully"
* 2002 I Bet You Will - Herself
* 2002 The Miss Teen USA Pageant - Co-host
* 2003 Morning After - Herself
* 2004 VH1's 100 Most Outrageous Celebrity Moments - Herself
"commentator"
* 2004 VH1's My Coolest Years: Bad Girls - Herself "featured"
* 2005 VH1's 100 Greatest Kids Stars - Herself "commentator"
* 2005 WB Morning Show - Herself "featured"
* 2005 The Ultimate Fighter - Host
* 2005 My Fair Brady: Episode 3 - Herself "model"
* 2005 The Fabulous Life Of: Las Vegas - Herself "featured"
* 2005 ESPN Hollywood: Lingerie Bowl - Herself "featured"
* 2005 Last Call With Carson Daly: Lingerie Bowl Event - Herself
"featured"
* 2006 VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars - Herself "commentator"
* 2006 The Lingerie Bowl III - Herself "Dallas Desire quarterback"
* 2006 I Bet You Will - Herself "host"