In a recent interview with Alternative Press , Amy Lee revealed that she had to fight for the integrity of Evanescence early in her career. According to the singer, the band's original record label, Wind-Up, wanted to bring in a man to share vocals with her full-time. They also forced the addition of a male voice on the single "Bring Me To Life" under the pretext of making the song more "radio-friendly."
“I was completely against having any male vocals on our music. It was very difficult, and it was an idea that came from the record label,” said Amy Lee. “They came up with this idea of having something in the music that would be familiar to listeners in exchange for getting us on the radio. I really didn’t understand what that meant.”
The singer also reported that the record label's intention was to transform Evanescence into a kind of " Linkin Park ," and it was suggested that the band hold auditions to choose a permanent vocalist to sing on the songs. When Amy Lee's response was negative, Wind-Up cut off all funding to Evanescence, and she had to move back in with her parents.
A ray of hope came when the band received an offer to include "Bring Me To Life" on the soundtrack of the film Daredevil (2003). The song had been passed on as a female-male duet, but this reassured Amy Lee as it was "just a song." The singer's only remaining concern was that she wanted "Going Under" to be the debut single and not "Bring Me To Life."
“I was just worried that people would hear that sound – like, this is the band – and expect it to always be that way. And that wasn’t who we were,” she explained. “I hate it when you hear a band’s first single and think they’re one thing and then when you hear the rest of the album, you think, ‘Oh, this isn’t what I thought it would be.’” The end result was the addition of vocals by Paul McCoy of 12 Stones on “Bring Me To Life.” The song proved to be a hit (one of the biggest of Evanescence’s career). “I loved the song and Paul was a sweetheart,” said Amy Lee. “I love him. We were just kids in a crazy time.” Check out the full video interview:
READ ALSO: Evanescence releases first album of new material in 10 years; listen to 'The Bitter Truth' now
