EX-EVANESCENCE BEN MOODY MISSING THE SPOTLIGHT?

Ben Moody has worked with Kelly Clarkson and Celine Dion, but is he missing the spotlight that he garnered while in Evanescence?

Former Evanescence songwriter and member Ben Moody says he misses the band. He’s carved out quite a niche as a top songwriter for such artists as Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion, and of course for Evanescence, the band he formed with Amy Lee. Moody has been behind the scenes since leaving Evanescence.

Moody and former Evanescence bandmate David Hodges worked with Dion with Hodges behind the glass and Moody crafting songs for Dion’s powerful voice for her album Taking Chances. He said that she has her feet planted firmly on the ground.

“She is amazing, actually. You’d think being the biggest selling female artist of all time, if anybody has the right to be a dive, she does and she’s just so down to earth. She met my mother. David Hodges, who worked on it with me, his wife was pregnant. She would talk about her kid with David’s wife, Kate. Not to mention she’s Celine Dion. Her voice is impeccable. She’s second to none.”

Moody also talked about his work with Clarkson and defined what he did and didn’t do for her mega-hit “Because Of You.”

“Actually, it’s funny. She called me several times, and I never picked up because it was a private number. She finally left a message and was like, ‘Hey this is Kelly Clarkson. I’m a big fan. I wanna know if you want to write on the next record.’ I came. I went to the hotel, she just sang me ‘Because Of You’. She had this idea. It’s brilliant. I mean, looked what happened, you know what I mean? I didn’t change it much. She sang into a tape recorder. I wrote music for that, fifteen minutes. It was very fast and organic. Her songs are awesome.”

Moody is coming out with a solo album and he talks about hopes for the album and missing the spotlight.

“I’ve written and recorded quite a number of stuff. Whether it’s going to come out or not is completely out of my hands. It’s there. It’s written. I’ve written some of the best stuff I’ve ever written for that. It’s very personal, it’s very honest, and it’s there. So, we’ll just have to see if people want it, and maybe it’ll be put out.” [on missing the band] “There are times when I am and there are times when I’m not. I’m happier in my life. I have real friends now, friends who love me. I have people in my life that I care about. I’m a lot more domesticated. I have a house full of six people, a little baby and a niece that lives with me. I’m happier. Yeah because that life, to be honest with you, none of us had a lot of substance in our life. I had a lot of substance abuse, but not a lot of substance, and yeah I miss the spotlight sometimes, but that’s just ego. If you’re not happy on your own without that s**t, then you’re just not a

Ben Moody left Evanescence in 2003, citing creative differences, and since that time he’s not only worked with Dion and Clarkson, he also helped pen “Nobody’s Home” for Avril Lavigne, and again collaborated with David Hodges on American Idol Chris Daughtry’s debut album Daughtry for the song “What About Now.” He is casually shopping his album Can’t Regret What You Don’t Remember.