Amanda Lee Williford-Modano (born January 22, 1981 in Ruskin, Florida), known professionally as Willa Ford and often as Mandy Modano, is an American singer, songwriter, model, television personality and film actress. She became known in 2001 as the self-proclaimed "Bad Girl of Pop," when she released her debut album,
Willa Was Here . Aside from her music career, Ford has had acting roles in movies, hosted several reality television shows, posed for Playboy and has competed on ABC's top-rated Dancing with the Stars.
In 1999, the 18 year old Ford started performing under the stage name Mandah and was signed to Music Corporation of America, MCA.
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While with MCA she wrote and recorded a song called "Lullaby" which was featured on the double-platinum soundtrack for the motion picture Pokémon: The First Movie. Ford's label decided to change her stage name from Mandah into Willa Ford, as to avoid confusion with Mandy Moore .
In 2000 she was one of the opening acts for the Backstreet Boys Into the Millennium Tour.
At the age of 20 the singer signed on to a new label, Lava Atlantic Records, while on a mall tour for Nautica Kids. The new contract put her into the recording studio with a variety of writers and producers. Ford preferred to write most of her own lyrics as well as becoming executive producer for most of her first album. On July 17, 2001, Willa Ford released her debut album Willa Was Here. The album gave birth to the single "I Wanna Be Bad.", which peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Willa Was Here reached 56 on the Billboard 200 and sold roughly 200,000 copies. Ford went on to release a second single from the album titled "Did Ya' Understand That" which failed to garner much attention.
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