Pleasantville Teen's Song Featured on ABC Family

By Valerie DeBenedette

At just 13-years-old, Chloe Collins of Pleasantville already has a few years experience singing and writing songs under her belt. Now she is getting national attention after a song she wrote and performed was used on the ABC Family show The Vineyard.

The song, "I've Had Enough" was used as background music in a scene from the show, which is set on Martha's Vineyard. (The clip, with the soundtrack can be seen above or here.)

Collins, an eighth grader at Pleasantville Middle School, has been performing at area open mic nights and school talent shows for a few years. This song came to the attention of the producers of  The Vineyard because her father, Wallace Collins, a music lawyer, had circulated it to some of his clients, she said.

"Eventually the TV show said they wanted my song and they told it when it would be on."

She earned some money both for the use of her recording and as a songwriter, her father said.

Collins' inspiration for both singing and songwriting is superstar Taylor Swift, she said. "Some of her songs are country and some are pop, and that is my style of writing. Mainly it is just me, what I feel like writing."

Collins elaborated, "I am thinking this is what I want to do when I grow up. I want to be a famous singer."

Chloe started playing guitar when she was just eight, according to her father. "I taught her some chords for some songs that she was interested in at the time," he said.

She soon picked up other chords on her own.

"She started writing her own songs sometime later, maybe at nine or 10. I heard a couple of things she is doing and thought it was pretty good." The songs were so good that Chloe's mother, Barbara Zats, thought that she was playing something by Taylor Swift, he said.

Collins is continuing her musical education. "I am learning piano just this year. I started taking voice lessons seven years ago," said Chloe. She studies voice with Monica Robinson of Yorktown.

Another song from Collins that is getting attention is 'Upside Down." You can see a video for it that Chloe created here. An 11-year old Collins performing "Upside Down" can be viewed here.