Bianca
Bianca- the fiery solo artist from Houston, Texas. She is the life of the party, and if you follow her on instagram, you will see exactly what I am talking about. It’s been a long road for the young artist as far as finding her voice, her confidence, and her place in the music world; it took going to the lowest of lows, self-reflection, and a mentality of “FUCK IT” for her to finally find herself and where exactly she is meant to be. Her and I spoke over a year ago before I launched my website, and she was lined up to be one of the first artists I interviewed, but it ended up just not being the right time for her; Bianca was battling some inner demons that prevented her from even being able to pick up a guitar. Fast forward a year later- she’s back and better than ever, and she is bringing even more confidence to the fire. As always, let’s start with a video to get the article going and show you how truly dope she is!
WHAT A TALENTED HUMAN BEING. Am I right? Where did it all start for her? Like most artist, Bianca grew up surrounded by good music from her parents, but one random karaoke night with her sister is what really turned the tables for her. She was just an 18-year-old getting dragged out of the house for a fun night with her sister and some friends, but it ended up being much more than that.
At first, she decided not to go up and participate in the singing due to her shyness. As the night went on though, the pressure from her sister started to build. Bianca eventually pulled herself out of her seat and performed, “Wrecking Ball,” by the iconic artist, Miley Cyrus. This would mark the first time ever that Bianca sang in public. As you can imagine with a voice like that, everyone there was SHOOK.
Miley would eventually come to be someone Bianca looked up to because of her indifference to what people thought of her. As a young artist and female in a world full of judgement, it can be very difficult and a quite daunting task to have complete confidence in yourself when the world seems to have so much to say about it; it is even harder when you already know what you want to be and who you are on the inside, but are a bit timid to let people in due to overwhelming judgement. I’m sure many people can relate to this. Fortunately, Bianca was able to overcome that fear and began putting herself out there using her music. She had found her place- on stage, showing everyone watching who she really was. Ever since that one karaoke night, there seems to be no taking the mic away from her!
Houston’s music culture has always been heavy in the R&B and hip-hop scene, so early on Bianca bounced from genre to genre. Ultimately, she found her home in artists like, Destiny’s Child, B2K, Eminem, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Biggie Smalls, Tupac and so on. This is also the music that would pave the way to karaoke nights and beyond.
Before she dove into the R&B world, she started a rock band; it was just a TAD bit different compared to the music she is creating now. This was a massive step in her music development. She learned from the other musicians about how to structure a song and work with a group to create all kinds of music. This part of her musical journey would be short-lived, lasting about two years.
Even though this was a massive leap in the right direction for her as far as learning how to write, Bianca knew she needed to go solo. Additionally, although Rock-n-Roll is a great genre of music, with a voice like Bianca’s, the guitar solos, loud drums, and mixture of everything together ultimately overpowered her voice. With her range and vocal ability, she knew solo was the way for her to go, but this would be a slow and steady transition; she really took her time with this change to ensure her long-term success and happiness.
She began to write more and more, and had tons of voice recordings saved on her phone, but nowhere to record. She started asking around, looking for a recording studio, only to continuously come upon the same problem- producers who would not give her the freedom to do what she wanted to do as a musician. She eventually stumbled upon an amazing sound engineer that gave her complete control. Shortly after meeting her new producer, they recorded and produced her first single, “Just Wondering.”
This song is about a really bad breakup she went through, and although it was mutual, it was still difficult for her to go from seeing someone every single day to not seeing them at all or for her not to wonder, “are you thinking about me?” When Bianca wrote the song, it was from a place of suffering and sadness, but she was able to use music as a therapy to help her process her feelings and instead forge a place of comfort for herself out of it.
As most of us did, Bianca began to face some very tough, personal battles at the beginning of the pandemic. I had reached out to her asking if she wanted to be one of my first interviews to help launch my website, and she responded that it just wasn’t the right time. We kept talking back and forth, but come to find out she wasn’t even playing music at the time. So what the heck was going on in her world to halt her dreams so suddenly of being a musician? We dove into this topic in great depth during our interview; she was battling with particular feelings regarding the innate human need to be wanted. She relied on alcohol as an anti-depressant to help her cope with the emptiness she was feeling, but no matter who or what she brought into her life, the feeling of being alone wouldn’t seem to leave her.
Shortly after this started for Bianca, the entire world shut down. In the midst of her own struggle, she was told that she now could not even leave her house anymore due to the coronavirus. This would prove to be an added challenge for her mentally as she also tried to overcome her already taxing mental battles. As someone who can attest to the struggles that can come with alcohol (or any substance use), getting yourself out of your own head while also trying to hide all of your problems with a substance is a tough nut to crack. Almost a damn near impossible nut to crack.
During this trying time, she got a slight hint of inspiration and began channeling it into the song, “Always Fallin'.” This was a huge leap towards sobriety and self-love for Bianca. It wasn't just the music that drove her to this new hope and outlook; she began to be very active on social media- posting videos of herself singing, dancing, and just being a goof. She told me that this played a major role in her happiness because she was doing everything that she enjoyed and didn’t really care what other people thought. Being completely free from the negativity in your own mind is a difficult thing to achieve, but she was consistent. She would post random things like, doing her makeup, dancing, and tiktoks; this is what ultimately kept her smiling. Something had changed for Bianca.
“I flipped a switch. I started dancing, singing and running, which I ultimately hurt myself doing 😂 , but I was moving and doing the things I needed to do for me. ”
Everyone copes differently and pulls themselves out of the darkness in different ways, but this new hit (above) was a way for Bianca to look back on her struggles with a new, more positive perspective. Her song speaks volumes to the long road she has endured and where she is now. The young Houstonian is looking to implement her new outlook on life and do what brings her the most happiness each and every day.
I enjoyed my chat with Bianca because I was able to also reflect on my own past. It was a breath of fresh air to see how far she has come, as well as how far I have come. Life is great- I am doing what I love and taking the right steps to set myself up for even more happiness in the future because I am now always doing what makes me happy as an individual, much like Bianca. My son is happy and healthy, and I have many people in my life who I love unconditionally.
We’ve only got ONE chance at life, my friends, and Bianca is a living testimony to always follow your heart.
Love yourself. Screw what anyone else thinks. If you want something, you gotta go get it! Again, I need to thank Bianca for taking the time to talk with me and share her story. I look forward to our newfound friendship and the many interviews to come! I wish you the best in, not just your music career, but your life as well.
Cheers ✌️
-Stephen
P.S. Check out the video below for a good laugh.
