Chester County Teen Uses Past Pain To Make Beautiful Music

WAYNE, Pa. (CBS) - A young woman from Wayne will celebrate the release of her debut album with a show at World Cafe Live on September 29th.

But the 18-year-old singer-songwriter's journey has been anything but smooth.

Livvie Forbes sings with a maturity beyond her years, most of which have been rough.

"Between first and second grade, I grew six inches, and gained, like, 30 pounds," she tells KYW Newsradio.

The cause, which was polycystic ovarian syndrome, took years to diagnose. But she says her classmates didn't waste any time:

"I was bullied for twelve years of my life."

So she found solace in music and poetry, and started making her own. At the end of her junior year, she performed a cover of "Gangsta's Paradise." Suddenly, her foes were fans.

"It was really weird, all these people who used to bully me, and be really awful."

A few years ago, her dad slipped a demo to Hooters drummer David Uosikkinen, who she says was floored by her sound:

"He called my dad, and was like 'I want to set her up with Eric (Bazilian). We want to make music -- can we do that'?"

The two, along with Smash Palace's Steve Butler, co-produced Livvie's album, titled "Chronic." It's already getting airplay.

"Having this album and music, and being comfortable in my talent, definitely proves 'it gets better'," she says.

Now, she counts respected musicians among her friends:

"Being able to relate to a lot of people, and being able to have conversations without it ending in a negative way, is a whole new experience."

You can find her "Chronic" album on iTunes.