UPDATE: Amid backlash, Willa Ford has clarified her comments regarding the end of her pop career. In a statement to People Friday, the singer said, "In a recent interview with Billboard, I made a comment about the release of a single by my record label on Sept. 11, 2001, where I stated, 'Everything that happened that day froze; the world stood still as it should have.' During the past day, other news outlets have taken the liberty to say that I somehow blamed 9/11 for my song not taking off…this could not be further from the truth," Ford said. "It was meant to be an inspirational piece about how the universe sent me in a new and different direction, one that has led me to success and joy in other areas of my personal and professional life."
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Willa Ford's career was a casualty of 9/11—or so she says.
Ford burst onto the music scene in May 2001 with the raunchy single "I Wanna Be Bad." The track, which featured rapper Royce da 5'9", peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts; it was the lead single from her debut album Willa Was Here, released on July 17 via Lava Records.
But the pop star's second single, "Did Ya' Understand That," failed to chart.
So, what happened? "That's the question I get on the daily, literally," Ford tells Billboard. "It was the perfect storm. A lot of people don't realize this, but my second single was released on Sept. 11, 2001. Everything that happened that day froze; the world stood still, as it should have. My second single didn't do well because anything that launched that day kind of got canned."
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