Wilson music teacher Lori Williams was scrolling through her inbox on September 13 when she came across a note from a Starpoint Radio announcer saying, “look what I found.” Williams clicked on the link to see that her newest album, “Out of the Box,” was ranked number one on the UK soul chart.

“My heart is still beating! I’m so excited because I’ve never been [number] one on a national or international chart like this, which is pretty amazing,” Williams exclaimed. “I’ve never performed in the UK, so hopefully that will happen, so I’m really excited.”

Williams isn’t new to the music industry. While singing professionally for the past 27 years, she’s managed to accumulate quite a following. Although“I’ve never received this kind of recognition for myself, so it’s kinda big,” she stated.

Williams began the process of composing “Out of the Box” in November 2017 and released it on August 3. It soon climbed to the top of the charts and features 15 songs.

“Out of the Box” was William’s fourth album, however, it was her first under the label City Sketches, Inc. Previously, Williams was signed to Pacific Coast Jazz. Williams credits much of her recent success to her new producer, Bob Baldwin. “Baldwin and I collaborated on this one, and it was pretty magical, and that’s why it’s number one!” Williams said.

To gain recognition, Williams sends out either CDs or digital copies of her music to radio stations. “They’re playing like crazy in the UK,” Williams explained. “Every time, on Facebook or Twitter, they’ll say ‘now playing…’ and they’ll mention one of the songs from the CD. It’s so cool.”

William’s favorite song on “Out of the Box” is “I Like the Way You Talk (To Me),” which has received a lot of airtime on Sirius XM. “When I’m performing it live, the audience sings along too and chimes in which is so cool… I love it, the fact that they even know the song,” Williams said.

Looking forward, Williams hopes to tour Japan and England and to get more recognition in the U.S. For more information about Williams and her music, visit her website lorijazz.com, or find her music on Amazon, Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, or Sirius XM.