Ford was raised in Ruskin, Florida. She began singing with the Tampa Bay Children\'s Choir at age eight. At age 11, she started singing with the Tampa-based children\'s performing arts troupe, Entertainment Revue. She attended East Bay High School in Gibsonton, Florida.\n', '

In 1999, the 18-year-old Ford started performing under the stage name Mandah and was signed to MCA. Ford was later dropped from MCA and signed by Atlantic Records. Atlantic placed one of Ford\'s songs, "Lullaby," on the soundtrack for Pokémon: The First Movie. Ford changed her stage name from Mandah to Willa Ford in order to avoid confusion with Mandy Moore.\n', '

In 2000, she was one of the opening acts on the Backstreet Boys\' "Into the Millennium" tour.\n', '

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