Ellise talks about how social media helped her music career
In the past musicians have had to take some creative routes to getting themselves heard. Whether it be passing out CDs on the street or trying to get friends to spread the good word about your music. Nowadays, it's as "easy" as uploading your latest cover song or single to YouTube, Twitter, Instagram you name it!
That's how up-and-coming singer Ellise started gaining steam and now has a social media following that can't get enough of her sound. We had the chance to talk with Ellise about her inspiration, fan interaction and more.
Check out part two of the interview below!
#YouShouldKnow is a feature that showcases rising talents. To see more past interviews, including more features on Ellise, click here.
How did you begin to start putting your songs on Instagram and YouTube and making use of social media platforms?
The first thing I ever put out was a cover of 'Hello' by Adele on YouTube. I had no social media following at all, but that began to take off and got me really positive feedback. I continued to put out covers on YouTube, and then Instagram announced that you could post 60 second videos, and now you can post 30 second videos on Twitter. So, it seemed so easy to just take my iPhone and just sit at my keyboard or sit in my living room and sing and upload it right away. I started doing that and it's gotten a really good response. Once a week or so I'll try to post a singing video and some covers on YouTube and it's been really helpful.
How do you decide what songs to cover?
I'll be listening to music and hear a song and just know that's the song I'm going to sing. People will tell me I should cover certain things and I'll listen to it and decide to cover it. It's sort of a random process. I either really like a song and I hear it someone, or someone recommends it to me. Sometimes I'll even ask fans to comment and request what they'd like to hear next, and whatever people comment the most I'll cover next.
What's your creative process for making some of your longer YouTube or Instagram videos?
For Instagram it definitely takes time to figure out the camera angle and what you're going to do. I'm trying to get into piano a bit more, so I'll go online and learn the chords and learn the piano for a bit, try to find a key that works, and then just sitting down and trying to get a good take where you're not messing up.
For YouTube, I go into the studio and we record a track. I'll have my friend film it, and we just get a few takes and put it out there.
How has social media changed the way you operate as a musician?
Social media has honestly changed everything. It's definitely been helpful because it's an easy way to connect with supporters. I can literally go on and comment back to people who are supporting me, or just go in and read my direct messages and say thank you. It's been great in that way because it's such an easy and quick connection. It's also such an easy way for fans to hear me sing, and I can just upload things directly to Instagram or Twitter and they can go on my page and see me sing right there with no studio or professional setting. That has kind of created a bond between my supporters and I. Social media has definitely helped a lot.
How would you describe your relationship with your fans?
It's not like a normal fan-to-artist relationship. I'm really close with a lot of my fans. I'll Facetime supporters or go into my direct messages and chat to people there for a few minutes and I'll recognize a lot of my fans' usernames. I don't want it to feel like I'm someone who's unreachable. I want to be able to always connect with my fans and appreciate them for everything that they do. Without your fans, you could have the best voice in the world but if you don't have people supporting you then it doesn't matter.
What was the fan reaction like to 'Dominoes' and the music you've put out so far?
It's been really positive! I'm really grateful for that. It's been a lot of positive reactions and sweet words. I've been very thankful to everyone who's been supporting it.
Where do you see the progression of your music going in the next few years?
I really like the sound I have going right now. For the next few years I definitely want to go on tour and put out an EP and another album, and just continue to reach people with my music and hopefully connect with people through it.
Who are the musical influences you look to currently?
Someone who I look to for vocals currently is Ariana Grande. I love her voice, she's very talented. Someone career wise that I really look up to is Selena Gomez. She's herself and she doesn't let anyone sway her in different directions. She does what she wants, and she knows what she wants. My big thing is that I always want to stay true to what I want and not let other people tell me who to be. I feel like Selena Gomez is a really good example of that.
It can be hard for new artists to put their foot down and really go for what they want. Right?
Yeah, it's definitely been hard. Especially because I'm so young. I've learned that people will try to tell you to be this or that and at a certain point you have to realize what you really want and what you really believe is the right thing to do and stand up for that. That's my big rule.
What's the one piece of advice you wish you had received before you entered the music industry?
I think definitely staying true to yourself and not letting anyone tell you that you can't do it. Also to have the courage that you can do it. If you work hard at it and keep at it for a while, things will happen. If you work hard then you can succeed.
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