About Me
Keely Marie Authement is an independent artist/songwriter from a low income Southern Louisiana family. She had a rough "coon ass" life from a section people refer to as "Down Da Bayou". Keely began singing as an infant; her parents say that she would hum melodies in her sleep. By the time she was three, she could recite every song on the radio. Her daddy, T-Larry says,"She always knew that she wanted to be a singer, and I knew she could do it. We could never shut her up!"
However, Keely lost all hopes by the age of 14. She stated,"I thought that you had to come from a wealthy family in order to achieve major goals. My dreams seemed to be unreasonable, and I had been confident until that point. I thought the whole world was crashing down on me; I was literally living on the streets. How was I gonna ever record an album?" At 16, Keely moved from her parents and began working for a tax service company. After her 18th birthday, she decided it was time to grow up, stop living the street life and start attending church. She got involved with leadership classes and attended Bible studies on a weekly basis.
"All of a sudden one day," as Keely explains," I was supernaturally blessed. A girl that I had met one time in church, called me and asked if I wanted to be in a movie. Naturally, I freaked out and was like WHAT? Of course! This is the day that I received my determination back. She went as an extra for the movie Brook Ellison Story. This was the last movie Christopher Reeves directed before he died. After that, she was plugged into the circuit and worked on several major feature films throughout Louisiana. Films such as Glory Road, Just My Luck, The Elvis Mini Series, Campus Confidential, For One Night and Same as It Never Was. Soon, she landed a lead role in an independent horror film Shadow Grove.By May 2006, she decided she had enough of the bayou and wanted to move to a bigger city. She didn't have any family left down there, because her mom had moved and brought her brother and sister to Texas. Keely then left her wonderful boyfriend and moved to New Orleans to pursue her music career.Keely enrolled herself into vocal lessons at Choice International School Of Music Ministry and Performing Arts. She participated in acting classes. Keely said that she always believed that God might have blessed you with a talent or gift, and that you may be really good at something, but there is always room for growth.Keely had worked with Mista Matt of South Coast Coalition on several movie sets, but it was on Dukes of Hazzard when they became close friends. After hearing her sing, he invited her to record in their studio. Soon after, Hurricane Katrina hit the New Orleans area, and they lost touch. When she finally got in contact with her dad, she found out that he had his construction business up and running. She moved in with him, and he put up money to get her album recorded. Keely would write and record nearly four songs a week. She was determined to get her album as soon as possible.Mista Matt of S.C.C. tells us, "I was really impressed with her work ethic, and she seemed very mature for her age. You could tell she had been through a lot, and I doubted her drive at first. She proved me wrong and finished the cd in less than two months." In December 2005, her debut cd was complete; however, a few graphic difficulties delayed the release. The way she sees it, everything happens for a reason. "I have faith in her cause like Keely put it, "You Gotta Believe."
