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Steff Mahan’s “I Don’t Want To Know” Named October “Best Song Of The Month”

By Dale Kawashima

Steff Mahan, a talented, country singer/songwriter based in Nashville, TN, has won the SongwriterUniverse “Best Song Of The Month” Contest for October, for her song “I Don’t Want To Know.” This song is from her first album Steff Mahan, which was released in 2000. She has also released a second album, 42.50, which came out at the end of 2005.

Steff Mahan performing live.

“I Don’t Want To Know” is an appealing, gently playful country song, which is enjoyable to listen to. The lyric story is about a woman who sees her ex-boyfriend with another woman, and she’s wistfully hoping that the new girlfriend is not quite as pretty or smart. The recording features Mahan’s soulful, expressive lead and harmony vocals, accompanied by well-played music tracks. Mahan also adeptly produced this song, and she produced all of the songs on her first album.

Mahan grew up in Brighton, IL, which is near St. Louis. Her parents had Southern roots, and they were very supportive of her interest in country and pop music. Mahan was inspired by country singer/songwriter Bobbie Gentry, and she also loved listening to Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and Johnny Cash. Mahan learned to play guitar when she was 8, and by high school, she regularly played talent shows and other gigs. In fact for four years in a row, she won the Illinois state championship singing competition.

For college, Mahan attended York University in Nebraska, where she majored in Communications, and sang in a cover band called Red Alert. Upon graduating, she worked for a few years as an advertising exec in Memphis, then moved to Nashville to pursue her music fulltime. She signed a publishing deal with Bulls Creek Music, and was subsequently affiliated with other publishing companies. Then in 2000, Mahan wrote and recorded her first album Steff Mahan, which included “I Don’t Want To Know.” The success of this album led to her receiving an offer from Encore Music publishing company, which she remains signed to.

Steff Mahan

Mahan charmingly spoke about the true event which inspired her to write “I Don’t Want To Know”: “I had broken up with my boyfriend, and then I saw him and his new girlfriend at the grocery store. She was down the aisle, so I couldn’t tell if she was cute yet. I said to myself, ‘please be ugly.’ Then when I saw she was cute, I said ‘oh please be stupid.’ The song is about, ‘I don’t want to know if you’re happy’.”

Currently, Mahan is promoting her most recent album, 42.50, which was released in late 2005. She also tours steadily, performing over 200 shows during the past year. Mahan's shows are booked by her manager, Lyle Martin. “I love performing and touring,” she said. “I’ve met some of my best friends while being on the road.” And Mahan is continually writing new songs, both for her next album, and also to place with other artists.

Here are the Top Five Songs which were submitted for this month's contest, with the songwriter credits, plus their e-mail and website links.

"Best Song Of The Month" Winner

"I Don't Want To Know". Written and performed by Steff Mahan of Nashville, TN.

E-mail: smahan@steffmahan.com
Websites: www.steffmahan.com, www.myspace.com/steffmahan

More Best Songs Of The Month

Stephen Desjardins

"Look Into My Eyes" (country). Written by Stephen Desjardins of Orlando, FL, and Lisa Firestone of Winter Springs, FL.

E-mail: stevedesjardins@bellsouth.net
Website: www.stevedesjardins.com (Stephen Desjardins)
E-mail: lisafire@iag.net
Website: www.lisafirestone.com (Lisa Firestone)

James David

"You're Divorced" (rock/pop). Written and performed by James David of Seattle, WA.

E-mail: thejamesdavidband@hotmail.com
Website: www.jamesdavidsongs.com
Website: www.myspace.com/jamesdavidsongs

Ron Renninger

"No Longer Love" (AC/pop). Written and performed by Ron Renninger of Teaneck, NJ.

E-mail: songtrek@optonline.net
Website: www.ronrenninger.com

Brett Michael Wiesman

"In Too Deep" (pop). Written and performed by Brett Michael Wiesman of San Diego, CA.

E-mail: info@brettmichaelwiesman.com
Website: www.myspace.com/brettmichaelwiesman

To enter the next "Best Song Of The Month" Contest (the deadline is the last day of each month), please Click Here For Info