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Welcome back y'all! We are back with a stellar feature with the artist Yaniza! She is a New York based artist that has some of the happiest and most upbeat music I have had the opportunity to hear. I swear, you cannot help but smile when listening to her music and honestly, it makes sense. Yaniza is described as always smiling and even the music that has a sad storyline to it, still has an upbeat sound. When I first received the song i love you in my inbox, I was immediately reminded of Sara Bareilles and her tune Love Song. This was not due to a similarity in song but mostly in the vocalization they both have. I was quickly enamored by Yaniza's voice and knew I had to get her on Stay Vibrant. The interview below explores the song, how she is always smiling and touches on some tricks that she uses on her down days! Give the interview a read and stream the song whilst doing so, excited for you all to meet the artist Yaniza.
Hello and welcome to Stay Vibrant, Yaniza!! I am so excited to have you here for our feature especially with your newest single. How are you doing today?
Thank you so much for having me! I'm excited to be here as well. I'm doing well, thanks! I'm so happy with all the love my new song has been getting and I taught a fun music lesson today. Can't complain :) The new single “i love you’ is such an interesting concept especially when listening to how happy it sounds. Can you explain the inspiration behind this single?
The song was inspired by my inability to stop talking about someone I had a huge crush on. Everything reminded me of them and every other sentence out of my mouth involved them! So I started feeling bad about how much I talked my friends' ears off about it and decided to turn my feelings into a song instead. Something important to me, though, was to convey the entire trajectory of a crush, which usually ends with someone getting, well, crushed. The beginning is all lovey-dovey, happy, exciting, and full of pixie dust, which is what I hope the verses and choruses convey. The ending is meant to feel like all of the heart-eye-emoji vibes come crashing down upon getting rejected. I didn't want the ending to be completely sad but more so accepting of the situation.
You got your start with covering pop songs on YouTube and are now working on music with some incredibly talented producers like Gian Stone and Joe LaPorta -- what has that shift been like, where do you feel like that is pushing your career?
So the order of everything is actually a bit backward. I met Gian years ago through a mutual mentor figure, and we worked together on a bunch of my original songs back when I was still posting regular YouTube covers. He made the connection with Joe LaPorta and they truly delivered on my 2018 single, "Fly Away (Free Bird)." So it doesn't feel too much like a shift because, even though Gian has made HUGE accomplishments in the music industry since we met, to me, he will always be a wonderful and kind friend who believed in me in the beginning when I had very little to show for myself. I am extremely lucky to know him and work with him. For "i love you," and a few other singles, I'm very fortunate to have had Kornel Sylwester on production! His kindness, talent, and patience are unmatched. Getting to work with different producers pushes my career in a very creative way. I love learning from all of them and using their insight to help me figure out exactly what I want my sound to be for each release.
Listened to a ton of your catalog and your music is all so upbeat and happy -- your bio also describes you as “always smiling”. How do you maintain such an upbeat personality especially amidst this pandemic?
Thank you for listening! Fortunately for me, being positive and smiley just comes naturally to me. I live in a bit of a fantasyland in my head where there are no problems and everyone is nice, haha. It's super unrealistic, but it keeps me going. Of course, I have down days, struggles, and unhappy past experiences just like everyone else, but I've been gifted with a natural ability to greet everyone with a smile and a chance for positive interaction. Part of my secret is putting aside my problems for a moment when I'm interacting with others. If I can serve as a helping hand or a beacon of hope for them when they need it, I can come back to my own issues later. It's why I like to release happy music as well. My goal is to spread joy in little 2-3 minute increments whenever I can and especially during this pandemic. I released my silly dance bop, "Quarantine Bae," back in September to try to accomplish exactly that.
As someone described as always smiling -- within your down days what does your selfcare routine look like?
Great question - I'm still trying to figure that out! Even though I try to push aside my problems when talking to others, a huge self-care step for me when I'm alone is to let myself feel. Let in the sadness or anger or disappointment because I can only push it away so much. If I'm upset, I like to watch funny/cute videos, talk to trusted friends/family, or make art. I'll either write a song about it, or when that feels too much like work, I'll journal or record a voice memo, or do arts and crafts. Creating art is my favorite way to heal, and it's fun to do no matter what mood I'm in.
I am beyond excited to continue to watch you grow, what are some words of wisdom you would like to leave the reader with as well as any upcoming projects you’d like to plug?
Thank you so much :) In keeping with the theme, I'll give some words of wisdom about love. With Valentine's Day approaching, just remember that there are so many forms of love and they're all important! The holiday specifically celebrates romance, but familial, platonic, fur baby, career, and so many other kinds of love are also valid and worthy of celebration. Reach out to an old friend or family member that you haven't seen in a while and remind them that you care about them. It'll go a long way. And for anyone else experiencing the crush-like feelings like the ones in my song, I'm right there with you, haha! Turn your feelings into art! As for upcoming projects, I'm so excited. You're going to hear SO much new music from me this year and I'm going to show some of my other moods, aside from the peppy and upbeat. I hope you dig the new music and thanks so much again for chatting with me!
