Priscilla Renea, 22, went from singing in her bedroom to signing a major record deal!
As told to: Lisa Freedman
I remember the first time that I signed an autograph. It was in 10th grade, after I’d starred as the lead in my high school’s production of Seussical the Musical. I couldn’t believe my classmates and their parents wanted my signature—I was thrilled but also a little self-conscious. I’d sung my whole life around the house, but I had a hard time imagining anyone would really want to hear me. I’d only auditioned for the play because my choir teacher insisted. But starring in the show and getting so much praise for it made me think for the first time in my life, Maybe I do have talent.
INTERNET OR BUST
A few months after the play, I heard about a YouTube contest to win the chance to perform with Justin Timberlake at the Grammys. It seemed like a safe way to put myself out there—the Internet felt anonymous; if I wasn’t good, no one at school would ever have to know. So I posted a video on YouTube singing “Cry Me a River.” I didn’t win the contest, but making the video was so much fun that I began posting more videos of me playing guitar and singing songs by my favorite artists, like Rihanna and Beyoncé. Since I was alone in my room singing, I still felt like I had a safety net—if people didn’t like my voice or guitar-playing, they couldn’t tell me to my face. Then one day I posted myself singing “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from Dreamgirls. Jennifer Hudson’s version from the movie wasn’t online yet, so when people searched for the song, they found mine—and I got thousands of views! I felt like my whole body was glowing! The feeling was so addictive that I couldn’t stop posting—at one point, I’d uploaded more than 350 videos!
People started commenting on my posts—some said I inspired them to learn to play guitar; others said they loved my voice. I responded to every comment—I was hooked! It felt like I was making friends with people who were getting to know a new side of me.
A few commenters told me I could sing the dictionary and it would be pretty—so I decided to try it! I posted the video, then e-mailed everyone I could possibly think of to check it out. Then I googled to find an e-mail address for someone who worked at YouTube, and sent a message telling them about the video. They must have liked it, because the next morning, my video was posted on YouTube’s home page—with almost 200,000 views!
MAKING IT BIG
Even though I was getting more and more recognition online, performing still felt like a hobby—it was just something I did when I was bored with homework or nothing good was on TV. Then about two months after my dictionary post, a rep from a music management company called. He said he’d seen my YouTube videos and wanted to fly me to Atlanta to talk about “future business opportunities”—there was a chance I could get signed to a record label! My parents and I flew out to meet him, and we agreed that he seemed legit—he didn’t make us sign any papers, and he didn’t want to mold me into some image that wasn’t me. So I went back and forth to meet with him for about a year, writing and recording songs. When I first saw other girls in the recording studio, it was crazy intimidating. They were all wearing high heels, tight dresses, and hair extensions. I thought, Is that what I have to look like to make it? It made me question whether I was cut out for such a competitive business. But the more I recorded, the more I realized that I had to be myself, and do what I felt comfortable doing—even if that meant I’d be the girl in baggy sweatpants while every other girl was decked out in a tight dress.
Being authentic—and working my butt off—finally paid off when one day Katy Perry’s rep at Capitol Records called me! He said he’d heard my songs and seen my fan base on YouTube, and thought, Oh, man—this girl is a star! He signed me that month to a four-year record deal! My first CD came out in December, I’m playing at this year’s Lilith Fair concert series, and I’ve had about 10 million views on my YouTube page.
I never set out to get “discovered.” But putting myself out there turned into something bigger than I ever could have imagined. I know I’m not a huge star yet, but someday I’d love to be. I haven’t forgotten how this all started—with a few videos on YouTube. And even though my schedule is now too busy to post as much as I used to, it’s still something I love to do when I get a few days off—just sitting in my room, me and my guitar, singing my heart out.
Get Discovered! Follow Priscilla Renea’s lead to fame.