January 9, 2026 – Pop icon Willa Ford embarks on a bold new musical era with amanda, her first new album in over two decades, set for release on March 6th. Alongside the album news, Willa has shared her new single and video, “Love4Life” – listen HERE and watch the new music video HERE. Signaling her most confident work to date, Willa will launch her new album this morning with a performance on NBC’s Today Show.
“Love4Life” showcases Ford’s evolution as both an artist and storyteller – playful and unapologetically in control. Driven by pulsating beats and infectious hooks bridging nostalgic pop energy with a modern dance sound, the track reintroduces Ford to longtime fans while welcoming a new generation of listeners. The song is a euphoric ode to her husband, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Ryan Nece, and follows her first return-single “Burn Burn.”
““Love4Life” is a song about finding someone who understands and acknowledges your worth. Someone who knows how to do hard things without giving up on love. We all deserve someone to be a person of their word. We should be the same in return and never settle for anything less!” Willa explains.
Her new album amanda, (its title taken from her birth name), marks the first complete manifestation of Ford’s dynamic musicality—an element honed through her classical training as an opera singer, as well as her background in writing alongside luminaries like Grammy-winning hitmaker Diane Warren. It’s both a bold rebirth and a brave reclaiming of a dream nearly destroyed. After joining a longtime friend for a series of informal songwriting sessions in 2023, the Northern California-based artist quickly reconnected with her long-dormant musical passion, tapping into her formidable talent.
But as she delved deeper into the creative process, Ford suffered her first bout with a type of seizure known as PNES—a phenomenon later found to be triggered by unresolved trauma closely tied to her past experience in music. While working through that trauma and learning to cope with her condition, she dove back into music with an even fiercer sense of purpose, soon arriving at the sublime catharsis of amanda: a triumphant return delivering equal parts pure pop pleasure and daring self-revelation.
“This album was never supposed to happen” Willa says. “In fact, I never thought I would return to music. Somehow through my trials, music found me and healed me when I didn’t even know I was in need of healing. My hope is that if my music can bring love and healing to others, then I’ll have done my job.”
Ford made a splash in the early 2000’s with her Top 40 breakout hit “I Wanna Be Bad” from her formidable debut, Willa Was Here. Her impressive career spans multiple disciplines including music, film, television, producing, modeling and her own successful interior design company. Her varied resume includes notable pop culture moments guest-hosting TRL, appearing on Dancing with the Stars, starring in Friday the 13th, and a turn on the E! reality show Flip It Like Disick with Scott Disick, among others.
