Today we’d like to introduce you to Selina Albright.
Hi Selina, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My story is a rather unique one. I was born into a musical celebrity family, as my father is a Jazz Recording Artist. This meant that from conception, I went to many of the places where my father worked – from various recording studios to the tour bus to flights overseas. I have always been among talented musicians, actors, comedians and writers who treated me as their “baby girl.” Because I watched my father’s arduous journey in the music industry, for years, I feared becoming a Recording Artist myself. I turned down four record deals as a child in order to complete my undergraduate education… I considered music a really fun hobby for years, featuring as a background vocalist on my father’s records for practicum… I pursued a career in Art and Music Therapy rather than channeling my passion for music into becoming a solo artist.
Until… 2009 was the year I first felt the “itch,” as creatives call it. After that, I never turned back. I was already surrounded by music – I only needed to find my own voice and my musical lane. The past 12 years since I found my voice have been an amazing whirlwind for me! In 2010, I co-wrote “You and I” my first jazz single as a solo artist. It would be the first of many originals I would compose and arrange. My first tour date was in Reading, Pennsylvania at the Berks Jazz Festival as a Special Guest Artist, and since then, I have toured more than 75% of the United States, and in 2011, expanded my territory to the world, performing for audiences in Germany, Africa, the Caribbean, Australia, and Canada; and releasing collaborative projects with artists from Japan, Holland, and Italy… places I only dreamed of visiting as a child. I’m 6 solo projects in, with chart-topping singles like “Brighter” and “Holding On,” and I can’t imagine ever retiring. I’m so thankful that I faced my fear! I would’ve missed all of this.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Honestly, the hardest parts of my journey have been underestimating myself and being underestimated. I’ve learned the hard way not to get in the way of my own creative process, so now the struggle is being respected by a predominantly male genre that is only recently becoming more diverse. Thankfully, I have some good friends and colleagues to vouch for my professionalism and talent.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a multi-genre, international, independent singer-songwriter. I’m known for my angelic tone, cheery personality, and my tendency to write unpredictably candid lyrics. My musical sound rides a fine line between Jazz, R&B, and Pop. Many of my singles are Top Five Radio Hits, such as my Jazz singles “You and I” and “Let Go,” my Pop single “Holding On” (a call to action against social and racial injustice), and my R&B singles “Highest High,” “Discovering” and “Eat Something.” I’m also known to make a mean meal and post-cooking demonstrations on social media. I’m most proud of my 2020 project “Holding On,” because this was the first time I wrote a song as an activist. I also created an official music video for the song; it was my filming and directorial debut.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Absolutely! The Covid-19 crisis taught me that when home is working, everything is working. My husband and I moved into a new home and welcomed our first child into the world, just as the pandemic was about to ramp up, so our experience in 2020 has been quite eventful. My touring career came to a halt, which meant that we had to be creative about how to support one another’s careers while in close proximity – recording music at home while keeping the baby quiet enough, scheduling important conference calls around nap times, making our home accommodate all of these new realities coming at us without help from out-of-state family members. I learned to be more compassionate, more understanding, more patient, and more honest. I learned how strong I am and how strong my marriage is. Life doesn’t need to be as complicated as I once thought. I also don’t need as much validation as I thought – I am more than enough.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.SelinaAlbright.com
- Instagram: @SelinaAlbright
- Facebook: /SelinaAlbrightMusic
- Twitter: @selinaalbright
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/selinaalbright
- Other: www.teespring.com/Selina-Albright-Holding-On
Image Credits
Dinh Tran, Kory Williams, Brandon Albright, Joshua Mori, Ed Carr, BZFilmz, Rundown Studio
