Eventually as a teenager, I was pulled up on stage by James Brown's saxophone player, Maceo Parker, during one of his concerts and scatted on his stage for 20 minutes. After I was done, Maceo's bass player got down on one knee as if he were proposing, took a string off of his bass guitar and coiled it up around my ring finger. He hushed the crowd and said into the microphone, "Wendy, from this day forward you are married to music. You have a gift from God. You must devote your life to using this gift or else you will deprive the world of something so special." I got the chills.

There is no question that the US market is the hardest to break into. I believe that the reason for this primarily has to do with the fact that the majority of the most powerful radio stations in the US are owned by Clear Channel. They are massive and have the ability to break artists worldwide. For the most part, they are dealing directly with the major labels in the US, with whom they have had long relationships. If you are an artist that is not being pushed by Clear Channel radio in the US, your chances of becoming a household name are slim.

I have certainly faced my fair share and will likely come across more. These experiences have been fuel for my music. Facing these challenges has forced me to recognize my own inner strength.

Social media has been an incredible tool to connect to my fan base, and collaborate with people around the world. Some of my biggest breaks have come through people hearing my music on the Internet and then contacting me through social media.

Everyone faces challenges from the fierce competition as well as the manipulative crooks that are rampant throughout the music business.

If you want to be a songwriter and place a song with a popular artist, then it's ok to follow the trends. This is mainly because many labels are afraid to take big risks on something that sounds too different than the status quo.

I would describe my style of songwriting as classic. I learned very early on and have stuck to the core principles of song structure regardless of which genre I'm writing in.