Hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah, Chelsea Klein is a Brazilian American singer, who has been developing her craft with the celebrity vocal coach Nick Cooper over the past five years, now based in Los Angeles, her new slogan campaign is there’s really no competition, I hope everyone gets what they want, she said, the type of attitude to be considered our artist of this month.
Chelsea‘s new slap called Karma is debuting her first music video ever, influenced by classics and icons, including the likes of pop divas such as Destiny’s Child, Christina Aguilera, and Mariah Carey, the record combines smooth melodies and decent production, resulting in a song that puts you instantaneously in the mood.
Chelsea started her musical career very early, heavily influenced by her dad, enjoying Brazilian karaoke nights and guitar jam sessions with him.
Now finally sharing her talent with the world, she wants to bring strength back to kindness, causing a positive impact in the community using her voice.
We had the chance to have a lovely conversation where you can find out more about Chelsea’s new song and music career.
Where did you come from, and where are you based now, and why?
I honestly feel tied to a couple different places. My parents are from Brazil and a lot of my family members still live there, so I feel like that’s a huge part of me, but I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. I lived in Utah until I was 18 and then moved to California, originally for school. Shortly after moving, I felt like I was spending so much time and money on something that wasn’t what I really wanted. I knew music was the ultimate goal, so I found a vocal coach in Los Angeles and started commuting a few days a week to work with him (Nick Cooper). After doing this for a little while, I really felt like in order to take it more seriously I wanted to focus all my efforts just on music, so I took a huge leap of faith, left school, and moved to Los Angeles to pursue music full time, which is where I am now!
When did you start your music career, and what are the highlights so far?
I have been obsessed with music for as long as I can remember, but I definitely kept that to myself until around five years ago when I started working with my vocal coach. While obviously working on vocal technique, that’s also when I started developing more as an artist and my confidence in songwriting etc. I think my highlights have honestly just been finally releasing my own music. I released my first song in April of 2019, and as simple as that sounds it really was a huge thing for me. Even though I’m still so new to the game, just being able to search my name on Spotify and have my own music pop up is crazy to me. I might not be anywhere near my end goals, but the fact that I can call myself an artist and say that this is what I’m doing for a living is really a big deal for me, especially being someone who was so secretive about wanting to do this professionally all my life.
How is your experience working with Nick Cooper?
Working with Nick Cooper has been a huge life changing experience for me. Aside from the obvious that my voice has changed tremendously, Nick has also really helped me shift my overall musical and life perspective in a lot of ways. While singing technique is important, he also focuses a lot on matters of heart and soul. All that music is is sharing your heart with people, and as someone who grew up super shy and afraid of rejection, I was so closed off to that, which is the most important part of being an artist. You don’t have to have the craziest voice in the industry, you just have to be willing to share and when it comes from a real place, people connect with that. I also feel super lucky to work with someone who has been willing to really push me from day one. In this industry it can be hard to find people who want you to win from a not selfish standpoint. Nick has believed in me more than I have believed in myself a lot of the time, and I am so blessed to have someone like that in my corner.
What challenges did you face as a youth in pursuit of your music dream, and who inspired you?
I think my biggest challenge really has been my own self-criticism. When I was super young, I always openly spoke about how I wanted to be a singer when I grew up, and then I suddenly hit a weird age where I decided I wasn’t good enough, and I buried that dream in the back of my mind. I cared way too much about judgment I might receive and I let that dictate my entire life. I did this not only in terms of musical talent, but also just sharing opinions or any thoughts I had in my head really. I was much more of a listener than a speaker, but to a point that was super debilitating and I just let myself live life on mute. Ultimately my family inspired me to go after what I want. They have always been super supportive, and my parents have always wanted my sister and I to build our lives in a way that allows us to live out our dreams – they just wanted us to be happy, no matter what we chose to do.
Musically I was always super inspired by a wide range of artists, as I’m sure everyone tends to say. My dad pretty much strictly listened to The Beatles, so I grew up with their entire discography burned into my brain and I’m not mad about it. Once I got to an age where I was starting to branch out more on my own, I became obsessed with Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Destiny’s Child and anything in that soulful pop/r&b lane. I remember the first artist I watched that took me from just being a fan, to actually being someone I wanted to be like was JoJo. I think she was different to me because we were such similar ages, and she blended so much soul and r&b influence that I loved into pop music, it really made me feel like it was something I wanted do too. I have so many memories carrying this blue CD player I had around the house with her CD on repeat. I’d even have headphones on during car rides so I could listen to her, she was definitely a huge inspiration for me and continues to be!
What is the message behind Karma, and how was the creative process behind it?
Karma is an interesting one because I’ve been sitting on it for about four years now. Even though it was written so long ago, it’s definitely one I still connect with. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been a very non-confrontational person most of my life. When I was younger, I thought this was a helpful trait to have, but it definitely caused me to be taken advantage of quite often. Even when I knew I was being treated poorly, I usually wouldn’t say much about it and just walked away from the situation, assuming karma would take care of it for me. The day I walked into the studio when we wrote this song, I remember just feeling very defeated. It felt so unfair to me that all the people who had hurt me in the past seemed to be doing so well presently, while I was still here sorting through all the walls I had built up due to their mistreatment. I felt like karma hadn’t had my back after all, and I had a few hints of regret for not standing up for myself more strongly when I had the chance. We all got to talking about it, and it went from frustration to more of a joke that karma was my own personal hitman, and I could send it out on people when they wronged me. Even though we were joking about it, it helped me feel like I was taking some of the power back. While I didn’t want to directly harm anyone, it was a good way to pretend I had more control over these situations than I had, and so we leaned into this idea and the song Karma was born!
Describe your feelings when you are recording music in the studio?
My feelings when I’m recording definitely vary. Depending on what song I’m recording, it can go from super confident and fun, to overly in my feels about it. I love to set a good mood with dim lighting (colored lights are the best in my opinion) and just let myself go all in! When I first started out, I definitely had a lot more nervous energy going into the studio. I wasn’t used to hearing myself on a mic that picks up every single nuance, and I definitely wasn’t used to having nice headphones on and hearing it all back in real time. If you let it, it can definitely amplify your insecurities, and being the person I am, I used to really let that get in the way of my recording. It took some getting used to for me, but nowadays, I’ve come such a long way and I really enjoy recording. Whether it’s a happy or sad song, at the end of the day I’m doing what I always dreamed of doing, and I try to remind myself of that. Once I got out of my head and stopped being so self-critical, it became a more therapeutic place where I am free to just let out my feelings and have a good time.
How do you see this situation; the world is facing right now will change the music industry?
I think it changes a lot of things immensely. The fact that people can’t do live performances, touring is cancelled, all of these are huge parts of being an artist. I think the biggest shift for now has been moving things online. Even though seeing music live in person is definitely a different experience than watching it online, I do think there is a lot of room to get creative and bring something different to the table when doing it virtually. The internet really gives people such a wide reach, and as an artist, I love how many places across the world I can reach by taking things online. I have yet to personally explore the idea of streaming shows, but I think it’s a great way to keep things going, and I definitely have some ideas for the coming months.
Are you excited to be the artist of the month?
It is such an honor, thank you guys so much!
Which message do you have to your fans and people who are checking your craft for the first time?
You have a lot more coming your way! The singles that I have released thus far take you through the steps of my own musical exploration, and have kind of shown me trying out different sounds to see what I connect with. The music I am currently working on, I believe, finally FULLY sound and feel like me, and I can’t wait to share them with you! In the meantime, I also really love connecting with people! I have an email list that I started up last month where you can contact me directly. I do send out little updates and behind the scenes stuff here and there, but I mostly just wanted to create a space where I can be there for and support my fans in the same way they have me, so if that interests you definitely sign up! The link in my Instagram bio takes you right to the sign-up page.
What is next for Chelsea Klein!
I have SO much new music coming that I can’t wait to share. Like I said before, the songs I have released up to this point have been songs that I’ve been sitting on for quite a while, and while they are some of my favorites and will always hold a special place in my heart, I feel like I’m finally coming into myself as an artist and am now creating some of the best music I’ve ever created. I can’t wait to start releasing more of the music that feels like a part of me, and I am so excited to continue connecting with new people and seeing where it takes me. In the meantime, check out my most recent single Karma, and go watch the music video! It’s the first music video I’ve ever done, and I worked with a great group of people on it – I’m really proud of how it turned out!
That is it for now guys, see you soon…
The Hollywood Six 