Serena Ryder, a budding young artist from Millbrook Ontario, has taken Canada by storm. Her first album, If Your Memory Serves You Well was certified Gold and landed her a Juno Award in 2008 for Best New Artist. Her newest release, Is It O.k., has also gone Gold in Canada and won the title Adult Alternative Album of the Year at the 2009 Juno Awards.

Any songwriter would understand that Ryder’s accomplishments are a testament to her talent, ability to tell a story and three octave vocal range.  At Canadian Music Week (CMW) this year, Serena performed alongside Sass Jordan, Tom Cochrane, Arkells, and Randy Bachman. Her interactive acoustic performance was spectacular and left the audience in awe.  During her acoustic set, Serena divulged her inspirations and motivation for the songs she performed. This up close and personal concert was part of the Songwriting Spotlight, sponsored by Sirius Satellite Radio.

If you weren’t standing in front of the singer it would have been hard to imagine that she was only 27 years old. Her seasoned musical abilities have been noted since her early days of touring and performing. She has been compared to “the teenaged Aretha Franklin” (Elle), noted for her “impressive fearlessness” (Boston Globe) and famous for her “pipes, presence [and] potential” (No Depression). It has been observed that “Ryder brings a range and vocal maturity of someone twice her age” (American Songwriter).

Just recently the tracks from a special live performance were brought to Metalworks Studio’s to be mixed and mastered. It was a blend of her old classics (If Your Memory Serves You Well) and the newer tracks off of her latest album (Is It O.k.) such as Sweeping the Ashes, Little Bit of Red, and Weak in the Knees.

What do fans have to look forward to for her new studio album and future releases? Aside from the fact that Serena claims she is now just writing good songs, the artist also contests that this is her most honest album. “This whole record is about realizing that the more we think we know, the less we do know,” she insists. “It’s about me coming to terms with the fact that I’m imperfect, about being comfortable with feeling what I’m feeling and embracing being human in any way I possibly can.” She believes that this will be the album that people will be able to relate to the most.  Look out for this intimate live performance as well as Serena’s new studio album on iTunes.