We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Annastasia. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Annastasia below.

Annastasia, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I’ll be honest, yes. I knew I wanted to do music at a young age, but I wish I had stuck with it a lot sooner. I didn’t stand on my decision to be an artist until 2020, which is much later than when I had initially had the thought of being one. Growing up in American Samoa, I didn’t have anyone to look up to nor did I have access to things that I do now. Therefore, it was hard to avoid the naysayers as it wasn’t a career that was common or guaranteed back in the islands.

Although I don’t regret anything, I do believe that everything happens for a reason. I feel like I was meant to take the backroads, which is how I see this path that I’ve taken if it were from an outside perspective. If I had taken the freeway, a faster lane to where I’m trying to go, I absolutely would’ve ended up like many of the greats that have fallen too soon. To many, it seems like this path has taken so long, but the way that I see it is that it’s the perfect opportunity to take my time and build the foundation as strong as I can to withhold the storms ahead. Trust me when I say I can predict the weather, but I won’t ever let it discourage me :)

Annastasia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My full name is Annastasia, which I’ve decided to use as my artist name. For those who know me well and/or on a personal level, they call me Anna, which is honestly what I prefer. Whatever you choose to call me though, I won’t mind. I’ll respond either way. Just don’t call me Anesthesia. Trust me – I’ve heard it before and I’m still recovering ;)

At a young age, music was always around me – whether it was watching movies, being around family, going to church – you name it. Music was literally EVERYWHERE. I didn’t see it as a potential career because it seemed like everyone around me did it for fun. Additionally, no one that I knew personally made a living off of music unless you were a teacher and it led me to believe that teaching wass the only route. Learning the piano completely changed the game for me. I remember quite well being on my keyboard for so many hours because we weren’t really allowed to do sports or play with our game consoles, so this was my outlet of having fun. This, in turn, allowed me to really learn how the piano worked and master my craft.

Everything changed when grandparents were approached with a paid opportunity for my piano skills. I remember vividly when they were asked if I could direct and play for their church choir. Mind you, I was only 13 at the time and I’ve never led a choir before in my life with only, give or take, a year’s worth of lessons under my belt. This was the turning point of it all as it taught me two things. One – although I was very much still an amateur at the time, they saw potential in the little that I knew. That made me feel more motivated to get better at what I do. Two – it wasn’t much, but they provided a very small stipend to my grandparents. Knowing that I could earn something from doing something that I enjoyed opened my eyes to the possibilities of getting paid to do music.

To this day, I am most proud of myself for going after a dream that isn’t easy for most. It is very hard sometimes, but knowing that I can’t imagine myself doing anything else is what keeps me pushing.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

When it comes to making music, it takes a lot of internal digging on my part. Depending on the song, I’m constantly doing my best to write from that space – whether it’s being sad, happy, a baddie, etc. It really is a deep and true form of therapy, especially when the mood calls for it. When I write or when I sing/play, I try to tune in to my truest self and the rewarding part is when people say they can relate or they felt something within their own selves.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Back in 2020, when the whole George Floyd situation happened, I recall being very angry and upset with the situation. I felt helpless, tired and just frustrated that this was an ongoing issue, especially with people of color. There were so many riots rising up, so much hate going around and I remember also wanting to make a change, but not in a way where it caused more damage or hurt more people.

Before all this happened though, I wasn’t taking my music or myself seriously. I just considered myself to be good at music, but not good enough to make a living off of it. However, with all the emotions that were stirred because of this tragic event, words started coming out and I remember thinking “I need to write this down.” Suddenly, I started to hear chords in the back of my head and I remember feeling like there was no way anyone could stop me even if they tried. This was a very powerful moment as it was also the turning point of my music career. I even remember how the lighting was in my room that day, what time of day it was and how focused I was to get it done in that moment. Because of that song, which was my very first release, I felt like I broke down a door that I’ve been afraid to open for a really long time. It was then that I realized that I needed to make and release more music because my job isn’t done yet.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/annasmusic94
• Linkedin: https://www.instagram.com/annasmusic94/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AnnastasiaDiamond