While Willa Ford has built a career as an interior designer, she's returning to her musical roots decades later.
By next January, fans will have new Willa Ford music -- and, as she told ET, "Be ready to dance!"
The singer, who rose to fame with her hit 2001 debut single, "I Wanna Be Bad," confirmed to ET's Deidre Behar that she's returning to music 20 years after she last put out a track.
"Honestly, I didn’t really know if I'd ever put out the record," she said. "I just knew I wanted to write and try to articulate things happening in my life and process some of what I'd been through."
Ford has previously explained that she walked away from the industry in the early aughts after the ill-fated release of her second single on September 11th followed by ownership shakeups at her record company. Her last single, "Sexy Sex Obsessive," came out in 2004. She later pursued acting and competed on Dancing With the Stars in 2006.
As for what kept her away from the industry all this time, Ford told ET, "I was uncertain if I was worthy of making a record. I knew I worked my entire life at my craft with music and writing, but somehow got lost along the way. Nobody’s fault -- it just happened. There was so much around music that was amazing, but then a lot of emotional baggage connected for me with it as well. So much has been revealed through therapy which I can't recommend enough. Any record I would’ve made before now, I wouldn’t have been able to speak my truth like this record because I myself was still uncovering all those truths."
She's now poured her life experiences into her lyrics. "The good, the bad, and the ugly," she said, "that ultimately created something beautiful!"
It also will pair well with a dance floor. "This is 100 percent a pop record. It's exactly as it should be. Hopefully what the fans have been waiting for! I have so many messages and love letters to them in it. Love letters to myself as well," she explained. "Be ready to dance!"
In the meantime, she's juggling her new music with her interior design firm, WFord Interiors, marriage to former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Ryan Nece, and motherhood. The couple, who wed nearly a decade ago in April 2015, share son Elijah, 7.
"Never a dull moment, but I am beyond blessed," Ford said of life today. "I have an interior design firm, WFord Interiors, where I’ve been able to continue creating in another way. I’m a creative to the core. It’s been my outlet. Not to mention it’s been an absolute dream to build such a successful company. I have the most incredible husband, Ryan. There are no wasted days in our home."
Of their son, she praised, "He is a force and full of joy. He’s been in the studio with me watching, listening, and even participating at times. So grateful he can just walk over to the studio and watch his mom do something she loves while asking for more Mario Kart time with the producers."
Now 43, Ford has gained more perspective on her younger self as she's officially returned to the studio.
"I am so proud of my 20-year-old self. I achieved things that most will never and feel so much gratitude for that," she said. "We talk a lot about legacy in our household and what I leave on this Earth matters to me! I'm proud of 'I Wanna Be Bad.' Just as it’s time to evolve and leave more!"
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