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She’s had her ups and downs along the way, but happily for her loyal fans everywhere from New York to Europe has emerged with great Wisdom From The Pain, her compelling new five song EP that perfectly crosses the line between country and adult contemporary music.

Not surprisingly considering her diverse resume and unique ability to make key connections, Coppola hooked up with several well known singer/songwriters in crafting the project’s five compelling originals: pop/rock star John Waite and Anthony Krizan, former Spin Doctors guitarist who has written songs for many pop artists, including Lenny Kravitz. Waite and Krizan wrote “When You Were Mine” (an upbeat song reminiscing about the joy of falling in love for the first time) and the explosive “Your Love Is Like A Rodeo,” a track about being jerked around by a feckless lover that the singer calls “the most country song on the EP.” Coppola wrote the beautiful title track with Krizan and veteran tunesmith Mark Conklin.

Gearing up for the release of Wisdom From The Pain, Coppola recently performed the title track and several other songs at The Bitter End at the new Girls Night Out event sponsored by the performer showcase Songwriters in the Round. Highlights from the show are featured on Time Warner’s On the Beat, NY1’s entertainment program that will air on demand in all five New York boroughs in June.

Coppola’s been making her mark as both a singer and songwriter in various genres for over a decade, starting with when she backed up Billy Joel on Saturday Night Live and appeared in his “All About Soul” video. Her former band Broad, which became one of NYC’s premiere live acts gigging at hotspots like Brownie’s, AKA Spiral, The Bitter End and at the World Cup tournament at Giants Stadium, landed record distribution deals for its album Human Conflict in Germany, Austria and Switzerland through BMG/ARIS. Coppola, whose resume includes being a backing vocalist with Marshall Crenshaw, John Eddie, Glen Burtnik and Mitch Malloy, was also a member of The Party Dolls, one of The Jersey Shore’s most popular and flamboyant cover bands throughout the 90s. She brought in her former Dolls cohorts Christine Ghilino, Judy Wilson and Kim Latiano to sing on the tender ballad “Make This Moment (To Love Again).”

Earlier in the 2000s, she emerged with the acclaimed solo album A Rose By Any Other Name, which featured six of her own compositions. Produced by Russ Bonagura, the recording earned her a $2,500 grant from B.E.A.M. (Benefiting Emerging Artists in Music program), a program for emerging artists from all musical genres sponsored by Jim Beam Bourbon. Coppola later appeared at the venerable NYC cabaret Don’t Tell Mama, and later starred in her own cabaret act, “Songs I Grew Up With,” which she performed to SRO crowds at Odette’s in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Coppola began polishing her country credentials opening for The Charlie Daniels Band at the Southern Rock Festival and regularly singing the national anthem and “God Bless America” at the annual New Jersey\'s Official Memorial Day and Veterans Day Ceremonies at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. She continues to perform at major events throughout the New York metropolitan area and the Garden State, opening the show with the young finalists of “New Hope Idol,” and singing at Hambletonian Day at Meadowlands Racetrack.

While she plans to head soon for Nashville to hook up with songwriters, producers, labels and clubs there, Coppola is also excited about the possibilities of a publishing deal and placing her songs on TV shows and in film. Still, the thing that drives her most is the opportunity to perform her own music live.

“That’s the most transformational thing of all for an artist and so much fun,” she says. “When you’re up onstage, you know you’re taking people out of their own world and the cares of their lives and have the power to completely change the mood and attitude of everyone there. I especially love when someone comes up to me and says that one of my songs helped them get through a tough time. That happened recently with a lady who told me a song helped her heal from her divorce. It was one that I wrote after my own divorce. That’s a pretty interesting and exciting way to make a connection.”

Hamilton Radio Friday 8/12/2016: