Jamie O'Neal photo courtesy of 1720 Entertainment.

Jamie O'Neal grew up with a microphone in her hand, singing in her family's band and putting into practice what she learned studying music's biggest legends at close range.

"From a young age," she says, "I had a bird's eye view as entertainers like Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Crystal Gayle performed. I watched from the side of the stage at the way they connected with a crowd, and that's what made me want to be a performer."

Jamie's lifelong zest for performing, her love of country music and her "Ferrari of a voice," as one critic called it, have since made her one of the genre's most respected artists.

The successes are well known to country fans. Jamie launched her career with back-to-back #1's- "There Is No Arizona" and "When I Think About Angels"—and followed with hits like "Shiver", "Trying To Find Atlantis" and the #3 tribute to moms everywhere, "Somebody's Hero". Along the way, she has earned four Grammy nominations and a host of other awards and critical accolades.

Now, with the release of her first 1720 Entertainment single, "Like A Woman," Jamie shows that both her powerhouse vocal abilities and her knack for conveying real emotion are as strong as ever. A song filled with passion and insight, "Like A Woman" talks about reconnecting with the spark of love and romance that launches relationships.

"Sometimes in the day-to-day routine of children and errands," she says, "we lose touch with that basic need we all have to be recognized and appreciated as a woman. That feeling and that need is what this song is about. It's something women everywhere would want to say to their husbands, and men like hearing the message as well. Both can relate to it and I like that in a song."

"Like A Woman" is from Jamie's 1720 debut, a project that is a testament to her perseverance after creative struggles with previous record labels had taken their toll.

"There was a time last year when due to artistic differences I left my record label and I thought, 'I'm just getting off the carousel,'" she says with the easy laugh of the survivor. "It's been such a roller coaster ride, with such dramatic highs and lows. But I write and sing with more passion than ever now because of everything I've been through."