Hello again, thank you everyone for your support and your patience. As you know, the last kickstarter attempt of raising $5,000 was unsuccessful and no exchange of money was made. We fell just $189 short, so in many ways we really did reach an equally nice goal of $4,811 and I really, truly thank you for that. I'm humbled and amazed and grateful for all of you.

Embedded in this email is a track I did back in 2008 called "Over. Now." It's pretty appropriate for this juncture of one thing ending and another one beginning. Enjoy the song!

Here's the link to the new and improved kickstarter for the album. It features some new rewards, like The Dollar Pack, and a digital short story that I'm currently writing about Loss and Redemption.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1656802463/under-control-album-kickstart-redemption

I just made a big payment on the Under Control album yesterday, because the previous highest backers went ahead and fronted me their pledges so that I could resume working on the album. Everything is still underway and moving quickly as planned. But I need your help! With this new kickstarter, I reset the goal to the new lower amount ($2,811) which is void of the previous higher pledges. So, theoretically, if everyone pledges the same amount that you did on the first kickstarter, we will make the goal this time. 

These are my NEW goals, and I need YOU in order to achieve them.

1) Retain all of my pledges from the first kickstarter. I really need you guys to stick with me on the same amount you pledged before, and we'll surely make it this time.

2) Get as many new people as possible to pledge $1.

3) Have everybody being as watchful as they can be on the last two days on Thursday July 19th and Friday July 20th, to ensure that we do what we need to in order to reach the goal before midnite on the 20th.

We can do this! Thank you for your support, and let's try this again. Please join me in.... the Kickstart Redemption.

Yours,

May Hwen

"Under Control, don't worry it's under control... Under Control, it's alright she's under control..." - Under Control by May Hwen, the title track from the new album.

So, although we had a bit of an error at the end of our kickstarter that caused us to fall just $189 shy of the $5,000 goal, we are moving forward, and I am thankful to realize how much people are supporting me. Very positive things are happening, including the making of this album! Our two most generous backers (outside of the constrictions of kickstarter) are collectively giving us $2,000 this week to begin production of the album, which is sooner than we would've gotten it from kickstarter. And the other 3,000 will be raised with a new kickstarter which will appear within the next few days.

I hope that all of our backers will still be with us when the new link appears. Thank you for your patience, and just know that this is the story of my life! I have lived a life of very high highs, and very low lows. I have had great successes and great failures. I have worked alongside celebrities for insanely high day-rates with my own makeup artist by my side, and I have also mopped the floors of restaurants for less than minimum wage. Within the same pay period, no less. I have lived with luxury, and I have lived without power. And the thing that I have learned the most, is to be resilient, to pick yourself back up quicker than anyone would think possible. Don't stay down, don't give up, believe in yourself, and if you don't make it, try again. I believe so very strongly in redemption, but you absolutely have to go through loss before you can even consider the very alluring possibility of Redemption.

So, to explain! As I had mentioned before, there were two of my backers who were generously willing to make up the difference of whatever was not raised within the final hour. In our haste, one of those generous backers, Chris Dowdy, put in a slightly incorrect higher amount. Yep. He meant to punch in $200 more than he did, and then it was too late. Fundraising was over. He wanted me to mention it was him, haha! (He also told me to call him an asshole, but I won't do that.) He feels pretty bad about it, but his intentions were so incredibly good. And in his defense, he put down one of the top two pledges on my album and (outside of kickstarter) he's dropping me a large sum of money to begin production of my album this week. Thanks, Chris!

I'll leave you with this song which I was planning to play for you regardless of whether the kickstarter was successful today or not. Thank you. I appreciate everyone's support more than you will ever know.

Thank You Lord
Boby Marley

Thank you, Lord, for what you've done for me
Thank you, Lord, for what you're doing now
Thank you, Lord, for ev'ry little thing
Thank you, Lord, for you made me sing

Say I'm in no competition,
But I make my decision
You can keep your opinion
I'm just calling on the wise man's communion

Thank you, Lord, for what you've done for me
Thank you, Lord, for what you're doing now
Thank you, Lord, for every little thing
Thank you, Lord, for you make me sing

Sing along, sing along

I don't fear their aggression
Just to prove my determination
I don't yield to temptation
I have learned my lesson in Revelation

Thank you, Lord, for what you've done for me
Thank you, Lord, for what you're doing now
Thank you, Lord, for every little thing
Thank you, Lord, for you make me sing

Sing along, sing along

Say I'm in no competition
But I made my decision
Lord, in my simple way
Comin', comin', comin', comin'
I love to pray

Thank you, Lord, for what you've done for me
Thank you, Lord, for what you're doing now
Thank you, Lord, for every little thing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9DDDj_JdMA

Hello, beautiful Kickstarter people! This might be my last update until after the battle is over. Thank you again for everything you've contributed, and for believing in me and this album. It's going to be something that we all love, and I can't wait to get it to you! Please help me execute Plan A, and -just in case- be prepared for Plan B. (Always have a Plan B). Here we go!

Plan A: The Backer Plan

We are more than halfway through to the goal of $5,000 and I'm told by friends who have had successful kickstarters that the other half will often snowball in on the last day, which is about to begin. Fundraising closes off at 8:59pm central time on Monday July 9th. I will be promoting on the phone and online nonstop until then, but there's a limit to how many people I will be able to remind about this during these most crucial hours. That's why I need your help! If you know people that know me or know my music or just people that you know would want to get behind this kinda project, please personally reach out to each of those people with a personal facebook message or a text or a call. It would be a tremendous help! Since we're more than halfway there, if everyone gets ONE more person to match what you pledged, we will reach the goal.

Plan B: The Backup Plan

Today I received a very generous offer from two of my backers that if (worst case scenario) the kickstarter were to fall short, they will raise their already generous pledges higher enough to secure the $5000 goal. I'm hoping we don't have to use that insurance plan, again as their pledges are already quite large. If anyone else is willing to raise their pledge (even if it's just a little!) on the final day please do so if it looks like that's what it will take to reach the top of the goal. Rather than having all the weight on two awesome people, we might have a scenario where we can reach it by everyone increasing their pledge just $5 or something of that sort. So, keep an eye on the link tomorrow evening and help us check on our little kickin baby. For those of you who might not already know, if we don't raise the full goal, we get nothing and no one's cards are charged or anything, and there would be major sadness in the land. But that won't happen - we've got this!

Thank you, I appreciate you so much! You are supporting original music, and dreams, and my voice, and the incredibly hard-working group of talent that's involved in this album. My first kickstarter has already been an amazing experience. Really loving it!

"So thank you... I can't do what I do... Without you..." - It Shows by May Hwen (from the upcoming album, Under Control)

Yours,

May Hwen

Happy Saturday! We've got less than three days to go on this kickstarter! This is when the magic happens, or so I'm told by kickstarter connoisseurs. We are setting a goal to get past the halfway-mark by the end of the afternoon! Only $370 more til we make the majority of the cost of this album! So please help us by getting one or two more people to make a pledge today! Facebook or email or call or text people who will care!

Thanks!

May Hwen

Hey everyone! Today we raised about $650 and the day isn't even over yet. We are more than a third of the way to the goal, so if everyone can get two people to match what you pledged, we'll have it! Please help spread the word in the final stretch!!!

Thanks,

May Hwen