Jessica Harp became well-known in music circles as half of the Grammy-nominated duo, The Wreckers. But while she enjoyed success with partner and friend Michelle Branch, including a No.1 single, 'Leave the Pieces' and a CMA Award, she's anxious to prove her worth as a solo artist as well.

"I would never knock the Wreckers at all," she tells The 9513. "I love that record." Still, she admits that the path the duo was on ultimately wasn't right for her. "I definitely experienced a country festival of 30,000 people and had a set of a bunch of sad, sappy songs. One of my biggest goals when putting this record together was making a record that would be a blast to play live."

Jessica is now enjoying the freedom of writing the songs she wants to perform. "I'm a singer, but I'm also a songwriter and I always have been," she explains. "I wanted people to see different sides of me. And while there are some of the sad, heartbreak songs, there are definitely more feisty songs. That is definitely a piece of my personality. I wanted people to see all sides of me as an artist as well as a songwriter."

Jessica may be taking a different journey than Michelle, who is also releasing a solo album, but she insists they're both widely supportive of each other and their respective careers. "We're label-mates," she says, "and proud of each other and proud of each other's records. That was a long friendship, so there's no way we couldn't follow each other's lives and careers closely."

With a Top 30 single from her upcoming album, 'Boy Like Me,' and the title cut from the project, 'A Woman Needs,' just shipped to radio, Jessica says her upcoming album proves country music is where she belongs. "Country music has always been -- and it's probably why I was drawn to it at such an early age -- songs about real people and real things ... As a songwriter, I've always felt like Nashville and country music were my home."

Jessica's album, 'A Woman Needs,' is due to be released in the spring.

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