Stuck on Stacie
by Lindzi Scharf

It pays to be a student! Save 10% on your fave CDs. Find out how!

Most girls sing in front of their mirror waiting to be discovered. Seventeen-year-old singer STACIE ORRICO has left those days behind. It all started when she got a music industry fix after attending a JARS OF CLAY show. Little did she realize she'd wind up singing more than the group's praises.

As luck would have it, the concert was to take place during a weekend music workshop. Over that weekend, Stacie entered a singing competition and won a deal with a gospel label. Since then she's released a studio album, a Christmas album, her hit single "Stuck," and her major-label debut, Stacie Orrico, with Virgin Records. With all those accomplishments, we had to catch up with this gifted gal to find out how she manages music and school.

Go-Girl.com: What's your school situation like?
Stacie: I've had to be out of school since I was in the seventh grade because of my music career. I've been doing correspondence [courses] on the computer. I want to get through high school, and I definitely want to go to college. I want to go to New York University (New York, NY) to study photography or fashion design.

Go-Girl.com: What's it like taking classes on a computer screen?
Stacie: It's hard enough to stay motivated in school, but it's even tougher when you're out of school and don't have a teacher breathing down your neck. I have a job and I have to stay focused. But I'm motivated! I want to get my schoolwork done by the time I'm 18.

Go-Girl.com: Do you feel like you've missed out on high school?
Stacie: I'm getting to do so many things that most people never get to do in their lifetime. I've gone back to school [to visit] and have been able to go to prom. I get plenty of social interaction outside of school, and I'm happy to be where I am.

Go-Girl.com: So you're not doing music to avoid the SAT?!
Stacie: The years I have to take them are different than if I were to take them in public school. I don't stress out about tests. Some people freeze up and freak out. The SAT is supposed to state where I'm at in all my subjects and tell me what I know and what I don't know. I can't freak out about it because all it does is tell the truth about my brain.

Go-Girl.com: What was it like working with famed songwriter DIANE WARREN?
Stacie: I think any young girl who grew up listening to WHITNEY HOUSTON, MARIAH CAREY, and CELINE DION, loves Diane Warren. She played 20 songs and said, 'Just pick what you want.' It's like going into your favorite designer store and being able to pick whatever you want. I loved all the songs she played, but I thought "I Promise" was really me.

Go-Girl.com: What's your ultimate goal as an artist?
Stacie: To sing and write music about the things that I struggle with, learn about, and enjoy as a 17-year-old girl. I want other girls to relate to that and evaluate their lives for the better.

Photos by Darren Keith