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

Hi Amanda, thanks for joining us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

In 2022, I had the incredible opportunity to sing background vocals on tour with Roger Waters. It was my first time touring, and first time performing at that scale. I was 25, and so immensely proud of myself. I had always dreamed of performing on these stages, and worked hard to get to where I was. And even though I was more than deserving to be in the position I was with my new peers, I put an unhealthy amount of pressure on myself. I felt as though I needed to be perfect to remain where I was. I wasn’t allowing myself to be fully present in some of the most impactful moments of my career thus far. I learned in those moments from my mentors, peers, and myself that being “perfect” is inauthentic and unattainable. The people that I look up to and have been inspired by in my life are human like me and have experienced the same doubts and fears that I do at some point in their careers. The most important lesson for me was that my craft and instrument require authenticity and emotional vulnerability, and neither of those things will ever be perfect. I carry that with me now in every part of my life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am currently a full time singer/songwriter, artist, and content creator based in Atlanta, GA. I have been singing since I was a little girl and playing guitar since the age of 9. My dream was always to become a performer. I sang in choirs throughout grade school and in church, and I performed in theater and talent shows before receiving a music scholarship and pursuing a degree in vocal performance. After a short period of time, I realized that I wished to follow a more contemporary music career. I dropped out and attempted several other fields of work to support my dreams before ultimately becoming a full time musician.

The pandemic jumpstarted everything for me and after building my brand from the ground up, I began playing anywhere and everywhere I could. I ended up meeting several of my now friends and peers through open mics and competitions that I would sign up for each week. We collaborated, and I released several projects and music videos. I also started playing at bigger venues and festivals as I polished my brand and sound. I even had a few videos of my hair go viral online and it kickstarted my content creating journey.

In the midst of all of this exciting growth, I had the wonderful opportunity to go on tour with Roger Waters as a background vocalist. It was my first tour, and I was beyond excited. I took this time to become a better performer, and soak up everything I could as an artist. It really fueled my creativity and drive to keep going after my dream. And it was inspiring to be a part of the message that Roger was so passionate about. I also used the traction from the tour to promote my art and sharpen my creative skills on social media.

I had already directed two of my music videos, built almost every visual aspect of my brand, and learned some basic editing skills. I used all of this, and content from other creators that I admired to learn some of the ins and outs of different social media platforms and their algorithms. When I returned home, I began growing my online presence and acted as a social media advisor for several clients. I have continued channeling my creativity into my content and music. Being an extremely artistic person, and I am so grateful to be able to incorporate that side of me into my jobs, and I look forward to the journey ahead.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My audience was built through several years of trial and error after a viral video. I initially downloaded Tiktok in 2020 after seeing it become increasingly popular. At that time, I had already been posting regularly on Instagram and Facebook, but I never seemed to gain the traction I desired.

I was posting random videos of makeup looks at first, and decided one evening to post an edited video of me styling my hair. Overnight, it went from a couple of likes and views to a couple thousand, then to millions. I was so excited and seized the opportunity to post videos of myself singing in hopes that those videos would also have the same effect. I quickly learned that once you go viral with that first video, you must maintain similar content, or the algorithm will bury the video.

I attempted to trick Tiktok’s algorithm by including my music in the videos of my styling my hair, and typing out announcements over the content. But the more I tried, the most frustrated I became. I have since created a separate page for my music and that has been helpful. I still attempt to incorporate my music into my hair content, and sometimes I am mildly successful. I’ve found that all social media platforms have their own set of rules and unspoken tricks that help each video appear on viewers’ discover or for you pages.

Since that video went viral, I have grown my audience to 50 thousand followers on Tiktok and over 7 thousand on Instagram. One of the biggest lessons I have learned is that quality is very important, but quantity and relatability will exponentially grow your audience. The content that consistently excels for me is usually me being myself and has the least amount of editing. I like to think about my favorite creators online. I don’t follow them because they have the best editing skills, or stunning quality. I follow them because I can relate to what they are saying or doing, and it almost feels like I am watching or talking to a friend.

I truly believe that you can follow every rule that influencers tell you to in order to go viral or gain followers fast, and their advice does work especially if you are consistent. However, the most important part that I don’t see mentioned enough is that viewers want to relate to your content, and being your authentic self will keep them coming back to your page.

It seemed daunting and almost cringy to create and post at first, but I was so passionate and excited to become a content creator, that I posted anyway. I believe that is the hardest part to overcome in the beginning. It feels weird to post videos that nobody has asked for and almost pretend like you already have an audience. But you will find your people that are looking for your specific content. And you have an entire world of content at your fingertips to gain inspiration and knowledge from.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist for me is seeing the final product in every form. There is so much behind music and art that people don’t see when it is released into the world, and it is so rewarding to look back on all of the hard work that went into the final product.

When I say every form, I mean not only posting it for the first time, hearing it play back, or sitting back to marvel at the art. I also mean listening back to voice notes in the early stages, finding sketches or lyric pages with scribbles indicating changes, looking at behind-the-scenes footage, realizing all the hours of studio time, editing, or painting that went into this idea you had.

It is so amazing what creative minds are capable of, and I believe the journey is the best part.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theamandabelair.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theamandabelair/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theamandabelair/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@amandabelair8801
• Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/B1ncKhsPZGmmAusr7
• Other: Tiktok : https://www.tiktok.com/@theamandabelairhair

Image Credits

Kate Izor
Marybeth Dinges