'Unfabulous and More: Emma Roberts'; Columbia Records Unveils Soundtrack to Hit 'Tween' Series

'Unfabulous and More: Emma Roberts'; Columbia Records Unveils Soundtrack to Hit 'Tween' Series

'I Wanna Be' Slated as First Single

Album in Stores Tuesday, September 27

LOS ANGELES, July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. And when life pushes you into the punchbowl, you belt out a song called "Punch Rocker." Such is the coping strategy of Addie Singer, the "'tween" protagonist of Nickelodeon's hugely popular TEENick series "Unfabulous." Now Columbia Records is bringing the show's musical charms -- notably the talents of series star and singer Emma Roberts -- to the world at large with the soundtrack album "Unfabulous and More: Emma Roberts," slated for release on September 27.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050720/NYW147 )

"She's a normal teenage girl who has to deal with the same things everyone else does -- family, friends, school, crushes," Roberts says of Addie. "But instead of writing in a journal, she sings and plays guitar to get her feelings out."

In addition to making the character of Addie so relatable onscreen, the 14-year-old Roberts -- whose aunt is film superstar Julia Roberts -- is a canny, confident vocalist, able to invest the songs with the vulnerability, confusion and joy of adolescence.

Music has been key to the appeal of "Unfabulous," which averages 2.5 million viewers per episode and is the #1 show among the 9-14 set in its time period and a Top 5 show overall with 'tween girls.

Addie picks up her guitar and sings numerous times on each episode, and her solitary concerts provide a catharsis for scores of young viewers. So it's hardly a surprise that the soundtrack's sparkling pop-rock material more than stands on its own.

Of the 10 songs Roberts sings on the album, six are from the show's first season -- including already-classic numbers like the slamming "Punch Rocker," the exuberant "New Shoes" and the bittersweet "Mexican Wrestler" -- and the rest are new, among them "This Is Me," co-written by Roberts. "Unfabulous and More" will also be available as a dual disc, featuring videos for the first single, "I Wanna Be" and "I Have Arrived" as well as series outtakes.

Acclaimed tunesmiths Jill Sobule, Andrew Williams, Franne Golde, Daniel Holter, Michael Standal, Lindsay and Christopher Sorensen, Holly Mathis and Jeannie Lurie, among others, also contributed material. "Unfabulous and More" was produced and mixed by Brian Malouf, with additional production by Marshall Altman.

"The songs are really fun and playful -- and yes, they do kind of describe me," notes Roberts, whose first mainstream musical exposure came from the track "If I Had It My Way," which appeared in the 2004 film "Ice Princess" and on its soundtrack. "I wanted to pick songs that I could relate to, or that I thought other people could relate to."

"My favorite song to record was 'I Wanna Be,'" she adds. "I can really relate to it because it's more than just a story. It's saying I want to have fun and I want my life to mean something -- I wanna be."

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050720/NYW147 AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN1 PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Columbia Records

CONTACT: Angelica Cob Baehler, Vice President of Media, Columbia Records, Santa Monica, +1-310-449-2508, angelica.cob@sonybmgmusic.com

Web site: http://www.columbiarecords.com/ http://www.emmaroberts.net/

------- Profile: Ent