An Article from the Tennessean (3/9/03)

She still loves her dad and her brother, and…

Amanda Wilkinson, lead singer of the family trio The Wilkinsons (26 Cents), is going on with her bad self.

Amanda has a solo record deal with Universal South, a new boutique-ish label headed by Music Row heavyweights Tony Brown and Tim DuBois. Amanda, 21, says The Wilkinsons will stay together and in fact, she and her dad and her brother will put out an album this year.

But Amanda also loves her solo deal. ''As an individual I have something different to say,'' she says.

Among the songs Amanda, who is a thin 5-foot nuthin', has written: Little Girl.

''Because I'm so small people underestimate me as a person. They're always like, how big are you? I wrote this song, kind of like tongue-in-cheek.''

Among the lyrics: ''I got big dreams, I got grand schemes. ... So what? Cool beans. Ya'll can all stand back, I'm breaking free. Cause this ol' world ain't ready for a little girl like me.''

Says Amanda: ''You like how I got 'ya'll' in there? A Canadian girl. I'm turning into a real Southerner.''

Yes you are, darlin'.