Singer and songwriter of emotive dream pop who is originally from New York but now lives in Los Angeles. She was named one of the top 100 unsigned artists by Music Connection Magazine. A clip from one of her videos has been heavily featured at Hard Rock Cafes all over the world. Her first album resulted in her voice being in the same conversation as artists like Annie Lennox and Sarah McLachlan and her second studio album is just months from being released.
"He's had a couple of hits, Billboard hits, in the early 2000s, and it was just a surreal friendship that we had spawned, and, we instantly connected."
"Music has always been the only thing that really fuels my joy and happiness."
"I would say to an upcoming artist, I would start with aligning yourself with the right people who are going to not just, it's not about the surface stuff, it's about seeing that they believe in your vision and are you consistent with your vision, are you persistent with your vision, are you ready to take it to the next level and give it the respect and honor it deserves?"
"I write, like, very visually. So, like, I associate emotions and chords and melodies with something visual. And I think that it's supposed to take you someplace and it's supposed to make you feel, maybe, lifted out of the current reality experience that you're in."
"I think that a lot of the times we're so used to thinking in boxes and we don't realize that music is not just something audio. Like, I want to write a song where, like, you can imagine that you can feel the texture of something on your skin, or you can close your eyes and you can see the color blue. I want to evoke visual things for my listeners."
"I don't have the fairy tale story of being a child. Like, I had a very interesting childhood. I've experienced a lot of loss at a young age. My uncle who I was very close with, he passed away when I was seven years old. And my mother, who was his sister, followed him a few years later."
"When I lost my mother I felt like I had a duty that... whatever I did in this lifetime it was not going to be without purpose or without passion, not only for her sake, to carry on her name, but also, so that I can... make the most out of this experience and connect with others on a deeper level."
"There's a difference between having a career and living your passion."
"I had found the Whitney that I was missing all these years and I was unhappy for a very long time."
"...When you're an entrepreneur, you have to really believe in your vision, and not think about the money up front. That should come as a result of hard work and dedication. But, same thing with music. If you're writing music to be famous or make a lot of money, that's okay, but, know that sometimes chasing it for the sheer art of it and the passion of making great content and being able to connect with others, it just serves a deeper value in life."
"They tell you it won't work. Like, they say, 'Aw, being a musician is a tough lifestyle. You can't make it.' Like, there are people every day making it work. You just have to know how to be resourceful and find what you're great at and then really believe in it."
"Wherever there is fear, there is hope intwined."
"I'm here to serve the music, not myself. So, I try to remove my ego from this 90 percent of the time."
"Art moves through us, not by us."
"To all the singer/songwriters who are doing this, or producers -- your crew, your people, the people you make art with -- they should be always everyday pushing you to be the best version of yourself."
"With Me"
"Flowers By the Roadside"
Bonus audio content with Whitney Tai