Amarika Records, a small local label based out of San Diego, has just announced that it will sign a music deal with up and coming singer Alicia Watts. Though the precise details of the contract have yet to be worked out, the deal is a groundbreaking one for the entire nation because Watts is an actual singer.

The recent trend in the past decade for many major companies has been to sign people based on any number of other requirements, though they often remain a mystery. The most obvious qualification for signing a record deal is the the desire to be famous at any and all costs-including sacrificing your body, your style and your dignity in order to get attention and cell more music.

Watts, however, is a rare find in the music industry. She is a genuinely talented musician who is truly interested in growing in her style and expressing herself through song. Though she would like to make a living being a musician, she has no desire to sacrifice everything she has created for herself in order to fit into some wacky, pop star mold built out of supposed expectations. She just wants to sing.

The strangest part about Watts, for a singer, is her ability to hit actual notes in tune and stay in specific keys. Not much except over all balance and color changes need to be added by the recording studio after she lays down a song. Not only is there certainly no need to tweak certain notes because she can hit them, there is no auto-tune placed over her voice in order to make her sing like a singer.

Watt’s success will depend mainly on a number of unforeseeable factors, like if people are willing to pay big bucks to see actual singers sing-or if they just expect huge, outlandish experiences from the performers. Only time will tell, but if Lady Gaga’s success is any indication of the decision the public is making, the future may not be too bright for Watts.