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Dymond Harding

Photo courtesy of Dymond Harding

Speaking about what happened to a friend who was recently stuck in an abusive relationship still brings tears to 15-year-old singer Dymond Harding’s eyes.

Harding's friend was a victim of physical and mental abuse, and that situation was part of the inspiration behind Harding's new single, “Selfish Love”, which was written for the PAVE The Way Project. The project’s aim is to raise awareness of teen dating violence, and seven youth singers and songwriters between 13 and 20-years old were selected to write songs for the cause.

Harding, who lives in Ypsilanti and is an honor roll sophomore at Lincoln High School, was one of those selected, and her new single is available on April 24 on PAVE's website.

“I’m so happy to be a part of the project,” said Harding, who added that she has also navigated her own tough moments and confusion in relationships. “I wrote the song to help teens recognize an unhealthy relationship and to inspire and convey a positive message through music.”

The project is also a contest, and people can vote for Harding’s song as their favorite at the PAVE The Way website from May 29 to June 12. Whoever receives the most votes during that time will have a chance to perform a song with Grammy award-winning singer/songriter Carlos Santana and his son, Salvador Santana.

PAVE (Preventing Abuse and Violence through Education) The Way is a partnership between Cornerstone, a Minneapolis-based domestic violence agency, and Verizon Wireless.

Harding co-wrote her first song with her dad, Rickey Harding, when she was 13-years-old. A friend of the family and Washington D.C-based producer Chuck Slay asked the father-daughter duo to write a song for a group he was working with out there.

The vocals were recorded on a Wii microphone but sounded great. When the group broke up, Rickey Harding asked Dymond if she wanted to use the song for herself, and she has been recording ever since.

But her early days as a singer were tough because she says she “couldn’t come out of my shell and sing.”

“Before, if you asked me to sing, I would break down and cry, but I knew it was something I had to do, so I just did it, “ she said.

Dymond and her father continued collaborating with Slay and have started recording her 12-song debut album, of which six songs were co-written by Dymond Harding.

And the album has been recorded in an unorthodox way. Songs are sent back and forth on the internet via a server on Dropbox. If Slay writes a song or has music that needs vocals, it’s sent to Harding in Ypsilanti, who then records the vocals before sending it back to Washington D.C. via Dropbox.

The “Selfish Love” single is a part of the new album, and is about recognizing an unhealthy relationship and choosing to discontinue it.

Harding has yet to perform live, but she says she will begin this summer at the Hamburg Hometown Idol contest. From there, she hopes her new album and blossoming music career travels to bigger stages across the globe.

“I’m loving this and it has been an amazing journey so far,” she said. “I cant wait to continue.

“Hopefully someone will hear me and I’ll be on my way all around the world inspiring people!”