Boasting 200 live music venues and internationally renowned film and music festivals, Austin, Texas; the ‘Live Music Capital of the World’, is the perfect city for an artist such as Paul Couture to hail from. It embodies everything he is about as an artist. It is virtually impossible to grow up in Austin and not be influenced by the city’s rich artistic heritage. A steady diet of everything from Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway to Willie Nelson and Garth Brooks helped shape the artist in Paul Couture growing up, but it was a live performance by Hip Hop mavericks Oukast that solidified his career path in music. Although born into a generation that has never known a time without samples or drum machines, Paul himself is actually an accomplished pianist, percussionist and trumpet player. Add to that his writing skills and many acting credits, and what you have is a pure, artistic reflection of his childhood environment. Paul Couture’s influences don’t all hail from Texas though. Upon graduating from high school, Paul moved to Hollywood, California like so many before him, to pursue his dreams. His time there spawned not only his first paying gigs; appearances in Disney’s That’s So Raven and the WB’s Gilmore Girls, but an ongoing friendship with Nicky Hilton who debuted her clothing line, Chick to Paul’s musical ‘collage of women I have met, known, dated, or just observed’ - New Chick. “Most songs are about idolizing and materializing girls.” Paul says of the popular song. “For me it was about empowering the women from a guy’s perspective.” Moving freely amongst Hollywood’s young elite has some advantages and that freedom, combined with Paul’s charisma and obvious talent, has afforded him the opportunity to work with an A-list roster of artists for his upcoming album. His debut Mr Lee-produced single, $elf Made Millionaire, features 3-time Grammy Award-winner Ludacris; a musical marriage that has club-goers and radio stations alike buzzing. Other recent Hip Hop collaborations have included Clipse’s Malice and emerging Dallas artist, Fat Pimp. Not content to be confined to a single genre though, Paul has also collaborated with such pop and jazz talents as Fergie, Chantelle Paige and James Torme, ensuring that his debut album will find a place in the collection of a broad array of music fans. Touring and performing are also a great love for Paul Couture and his current promo tour has him hitting both live venues and radio stations across the country. His high-energy performance and easy-going charm are quickly converting fans of all genres to Paul Couture fans. With over 10 million music plays on MySpace and a single that is impacting at Rhythmic and Urban radio nationwide, Paul Couture all is set to join the long legacy of musicians who have put his hometown of Austin, Texas on the map.