Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Alisan Porter co-wrote every song on her new album, Pink Cloud, drawing on her country and soul influences as well as the highs and lows of her own journey. After a lifetime of roles on TV, film and Broadway, this is the moment she’s been waiting for.

“I wanted to make sure the album had a throwback feel,” she says. “My wish was that it was like a front-to-back story. My favorite albums are the ones I can listen to all the way through, like Carole King’s Tapestry or Joni Mitchell’s Blue, or even Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour.”

Throughout Porter’s remarkable career, she has taken on many roles. As a child in Massachusetts, she won Star Search and soon relocated to Los Angeles. She landed roles in films like Curly Sue and Parenthood, as well as TV series like Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and The Golden Girls. With a passion for music, she immersed herself in her high school’s musical theater program. She landed parts on Broadway, returned to Los Angeles to form a band, then headed back to the New York City stage for a role in A Chorus Line.

Not long after that, she briefly went off the radar to spend time with her growing family. A friend submitted her to The Voice without telling her—a surprise move that opened the door for the next phase of her career. Making an intentional decision to turn her creative energies to music, Porter accepted the offer to appear on the show—and ultimately won the competition for Team Christina in 2016.

The musical diversity found in Pink Cloud emulates the albums of her heroes, from contemporary artists such as Brandi Carlile and Chris Stapleton to groundbreaking women like Patty Griffin, Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt.

“Music is all-encompassing,” she says, “and music is such a great healer and such a great therapist. And I wanted people to know that there was love after heartbreak. I wanted people to know that it was OK to be wild and free sometimes and to let your freak flag fly.”

Asked what she hopes listeners will hear in Pink Cloud, Porter replies, “That I really just genuinely care about the music. I’m a writer and that was what was important to me. It wasn’t about hanging on to some 20 minutes of fame or whatever. It was about just continuing this journey, and getting to this point where I can make a piece of work like this.”

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