Kata Hay is an American singer, songwriter and musician who was the youngest person to ever win Ed McMahon's Star Search

Star Search

Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...

 at age five. In recent years she has used the Internet to independently promote her own music. Hay's song "Western Way" appeared on the soundtrack of the film Coyote County Loser in 2009, and her band, Kata & The Blaze have two independently produced albums. Reckless and Remember That Summer were released on iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 worldwide in 2007 and 2009. Kata & The Blaze played their last show on April 1, 2010 on Knoxivi.com's show 11 O'Clock Rock. She was chosen in the finals of the search for the next "Shake Weight

Shake Weight

The Shake Weight is a modified dumbbell that creates a vibrating effect to work out muscles. As a result of the perceived sexually suggestive nature of the product, infomercial clips of the exercise device have gone viral.-Product specifications:...

" Jingle in 2011. Kata Hay is currently writing music for her first solo project in over 7 years.

Biography

Kata (prononuced KAY-tuh) Hay was born in 1987 in Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

 and started singing at age two. From the ages of two — twelve she traveled the US singing country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 and gospel music

Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

 at different Opry's and fairs, and opening concerts and working with musicians like LeAnn Rimes

LeAnn Rimes

LeAnn Rimes is an American country/pop singer. She is known for her rich vocals and her rise to fame as an eight-year-old champion on the original Ed McMahon version of Star Search, followed by the release of the Patsy Cline-intended single "Blue" when Rimes was only age 13, resulting in her...

, Rascal Flatts

Rascal Flatts

Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...

, Exile

Exile (American band)

Exile, originally known as The Exiles, is an American band founded in Richmond, Kentucky by J.P. Pennington. They started by playing local clubs which led to touring with Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars opening shows and providing backup for major rock artists of the period.Their name was shortened...

, Jim Ed Brown

Jim Ed Brown

Jim Ed Brown is an American country music singer who achieved fame in the 1950s with his two sisters as a member of The Browns. He later had a successful solo career from 1965 to 1974, followed by a string of major duet hits with Helen Cornelius through 1981...

, Ray Price

Ray Price (musician)

Ray Price is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone has often been praised as among the best male voices of country music...

, Kitty Wells

Kitty Wells

Ellen Muriel Deason , known professionally as Kitty Wells, is an American country music singer. Her 1952 hit recording, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", made her the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts, and turned her into the first female country star...

, Mickey Gilley

Mickey Gilley

Mickey Leroy Gilley is an American country music singer and musician. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1980s, bringing him further success on not just the country charts, but the pop charts as...

, and Barbara Mandrell

Barbara Mandrell

Barbara Ann Mandrell is an American country music singer best known for a 1970s–1980s series of Top 10 hits and TV shows that helped her become one of country's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s...

.

Hay's music career started off in beauty pageants. Hay was inspired by watching a friend sing in the talent category of a local beauty pageant, and wanted to enter one herself. Hay's father agreed to pay the $50 entrance fee. "I think he did it because he thought that a 2-year-old had no idea what she wanted to do, and that I would get up there and embarrass myself and that would be the end of it." She won the pageant and went to Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 for the finals.

Hay started performing at local Opry's, Fairs and Talent Shows, until one of the talent shows she entered sent out videos of all of the entries to Ed McMahon

Ed McMahon

Edward Peter "Ed" McMahon, Jr. was an American comedian, game show host and announcer. He is most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's sidekick and announcer on The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. He also hosted the original version of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995...

's Star Search

Star Search

Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...

. Star Search picked two contestants to appear on their show — one of which was Hay. She went on to receive two perfect scores, and defeated challenger Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake

Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...

. Hay won the grand prize in the 12 & Under Category, and became the youngest person ever to win Star Search.

At 10 yrs old Kata appeared in the independent film "Oklahoma Faded Love". She sang "Crazy" by Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...

, and played the lead character as a child. She also appeared in several regional commercials, in 2 Willie George

Willie George

Willie George is the founding and lead pastor of Church on the Move in Tulsa, Oklahoma.Born and raised in Texas, George converted to Christianity while in high school. He and his wife, Deleva, have been married over 30 years...

 Ministries short films and recorded voice overs for KVOO-FM.

At 13, Hay's music made a switch to western swing

Western swing

Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...

. In 2000 She heard they were holding a Patsy Montana

Patsy Montana

Ruby Rose Blevins , known professionally as Patsy Montana, was an American country music singer-songwriter and the first female country performer to have a million-selling single...

 music festival in Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 and decided to attend. She entered the Patsy Montana National Yodeling Championship, never having yodeled in public before — and was named as the Champion. Montana's biographer, Jane Frost, said of Hay that day: "She stepped up to the microphone... and smiled like the pixie we knew as Patsy; as Kata strummed her guitar and sang 'I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart' we knew the music, the life and the career... of Patsy Montana would live on." She traveled the US representing Montana's music the following year and was a featured artist of Fan Fair

CMA Music Festival

The CMA Music Festival is a four-day music festival centered around country music hosted each June by the Country Music Association in Nashville, Tennessee...

 2000. The next five years were spent playing the western music circuit. Hay recorded three CDs during her western music years, one of which, Cowboys, Guitars, and a Lil Bit of Swing, made it to the #1 spot on the Western Music Charts. Two of Hay's original songs made it in the top 5 as singles off the same album. In 2004, and 2005 Hay toured Australia. The 2005 tour was cut short, and Hay was almost deported due to visa issues.

Tennessee

In 2005 Hay was hired as a performer at one of the music theaters in the Pigeon Forge music scene. That is where she met now husband, band-mate, and co-writer Robbie Helton. After one year at the theater, Hay and Helton decided to leave the theater, to pursue their own original music. They formed the band Kata & The Blaze and started writing new material for a debut album. In 2007 Kata & The Blaze released "Reckless" on iTunes, and sold thousands of copies across the US, Europe, and Australia. They released an even more successful follow up EP "Remember That Summer" in 2009. In 2007, Hay and Helton also founded the band The Grassabillies (Bluegrass/Rock Fusion Band), and released their debut album "Here Come The Grassabillies" in early 2009. They both became featured entertainers at Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

's Dixie Stampede in 2008, and played over 750 shows to over 1 million people in a little under 11 months.

In 2008, Hay began posting music videos on video sharing website YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

. When a video of Hay performing "Hey Stephen" by Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift

Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...

 was chosen and featured by Swift herself on her website, viewer response attracted worldwide recognition within weeks. Hay's subscribers jumped in less than a month from under 300, to over 3,000.

In late 2009, Hay and Helton decided to quit their steady gig at the Dixie Stampede and take a risk at making a living playing their own music full time.

2009 doubled Hay's YouTube subscriber base (6000+) and video views (1,000,000) as she continued to post videos of her original and cover

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 songs.

Hay's song "Western Way", off of her album "Cowboys, Guitars, and a Lil Bit Of Swing" was featured in the romantic comedy, Coyote County Loser in the opening scene. Which was released worldwide in 2010.

In August 2010, Lisa Lavie

Lisa Lavie

Lisa Lavie is a Canadian singer and songwriter originally from LaSalle, Québec, Canada.Lavie is known for using the Internet to independently promote her own music and concerts...

 hosted an "ANGEL COVER CONTEST" on her YouTube channel, asking Youtubers to submit their version of her song Angel. Lisa chose Kata's cover in the top 3, and sent Kata a brand new Xacti Sanyo Video Camera as a prize. Lisa said "I love Kat's country twanginess, I LOVED her video!". That same month she was also won the honor of co-writing a song with Kina Grannis

Kina Grannis

Kina Kasuya Grannis is a Japanese American guitarist and singer-songwriter. She is of Japanese, English, Irish, French, and German descent....

 along with 3 other Youtubers (Brent Morgan, Kate McGill, and Nicole).

While on business in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 in October 2010 Kata attended the taping of several TV shows. Once the Jimmy Kimmel

Jimmy Kimmel

James Christian "Jimmy" Kimmel is an American television host and comedian. He is the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a late-night talk show that airs on ABC. Prior to that, Kimmel was best known as the co-host of Comedy Central's The Man Show and Win Ben Stein's Money...

 Show and the Jay Leno

Jay Leno

James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...

 Show found out Kata was in the crowd, she was called up on stage to yodel as pre-show entertainment. Kata also will appear on an episode of Let's Make A Deal

Let's Make a Deal

Let's Make a Deal is a television game show which originated in the United States and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The show is based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host. The traders usually have to weigh the possibility of an offer being...

 with Wayne Brady

Wayne Brady

Wayne Alphonso Brady is an actor, singer, comedian and television personality, known for his work as a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and as the host of the daytime talk show The Wayne Brady Show...

 which is due to air in March 2011.

January 2011 Kata was announced as a finalist in the international search for the next Shake Weight Jingle. Eventually landing in the 3rd spot on the contest, she was awarded a brand new Apple iPad courtesy of the Shake Weight Company.

As of January 1, 2011, Hay's YouTube channel 14,376 subscribers and has over 1.5 million video views.

Discography

• Oklahoma Baby Kata Huddleston (1996)

1. "Oklahoma Baby"
2. "Canyon Del Diablo"
3. "Children Talk To Angels"
4. "Sister"

• On My Way To Nashville Kata Hay (2001)

1. "Let's Have Church"
2. "Gospel Yodel"
3. "Arise"
4. "I Go To The Rock"
5. "Jesus Gave Me A Yodel"
6. "Hotel Hallelujah"
7. "Daddy Was A Yodelin' Cowboy"
8. "He's A Mighty Good Friend"
9. "Miracle Man"
10. "Golden Horses"
11. "This World's Not My Home"
12. "Ride Across The Prairie"

• High In The Saddle Kata Hay (2003)

1. "High In The Saddle"
2. "Old Nevada Moon"
3. "Waltz Across Texas"
4. "Evelyn"
5. "Mule Skinner Blues"
6. "Dobro Tom"
7. "Candle In The Window"
8. "Howdy"
9. "In The Garden"
10. "Ridin' Along"
11. "Sioux City Sue"
12. "Don't Worry 'Bout Me"
13. "I Wanna Be His Cowgirl"
14. "Yodelin' John"

• Cowboys, Guitars, and A Lil' Bit Of Swing Kata Hay (2004)

1. "Twilight Serenede"
2. "Biggest Heart In Texas"
3. "Until Our Trails Meet Again"
4. "Cowboy Pete"
5. "Canyon Del Diablo"
6. "Spurs That Jungle"
7. "Night Riders Lament"
8. "Western Way"
9. "Along The Navajo Trail"
10. "Who Needs A Cowboy (When I've Got This Old Guitar)"
11. "Cattle Call"
12. "Rawhide"
13. "Farther Long"
14. "Shoppin' Spree" (Hidden Track)

• Reckless Kata & The Blaze (2007)

1. "Breakin'"
2. "1000 Miles (Tucson)"
3. "Lie To Me"
4. "Reckless"
5. "You Ain't No Better Than Me"
6. "A Song... (Hangin' On)"
7. "Unstable"
8. "Someday"
9. "Possum Anthem"
10. "Easy As Loving You"
11. "Burned"
12. "I Think I'm In Love"
13. "All Over Now"

• Remember That Summer EP Kata & The Blaze (2009)

1. "Remember That Summer"
2. "Waves"
3. "Better Day"
4. "Wanted 2"

• Here Come The Grassabillies The Grassabillies (2009)

1. "Sweet Memories"
2. "Travelin' Man"
3. "Blue Heart"
4. "Bang Bang"
5. "Fair and Tender Maidens"
6. "Molly Rose"
7. "Flowers On The Mountain"
8. "Foggy Mtn. Special"
9. "The Weight"
10. "How Great Thou Art"

Awards

• Ed McMahon's Star Search Champion
• 5 Time International Yodeling Champion
• Member of Oklahoma Opry Hall of Fame
• 3 Time Oklahoma Opry Female Vocalist 16 & Under
• Horizon Award Winner at Oklahoma Opry
• AWA's Rising Star Of The Year
• OTMF's Songwriter Of The Year
• Top 4 Video in Taylor Swift's Fearless Contest
• Grant Leftwich Legacy Award
• Lisa Lavie's Angel Cover Contest Top 3 Winner
• 3rd Place in the International Search for the next Shake Weight Jingle

See also

• Star Search
  Star Search
  Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...
  
  
• Dixie Stampede
• Western Music Association
  Western Music Association
  The Western Music Association was incorporated in 1989 to promote and preserve western music in its traditional, historical, and contemporary forms....
  
  
• Music of Oklahoma
  Music of Oklahoma
  While the music of Oklahoma is relatively young, Oklahoma has been a state for just over 100 years, and it has a rich history and many fine and influential musicians.-Official state songs:*Official state song:...
  
  
• Skiatook

External links