We caught up with the brilliant and insightful CECILIA LEMES a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi CECILIA, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

When I was 17, I decided to move to another city to go to college and study Civil Engineering. It was 5 years of much learning, struggle, work. I have so much affection for everything I experienced in those years, for the people who passed through my life at that time, but despite choosing to study Engineering, music was always my passion, always what I wanted to do. When I finished college I decided to pursue my dream of living abroad and making music. It wasn’t easy and it is still not, but for me to feel in my heart that I was making the right choice for my life, I had to take the risk of leaving everything, family, friends, a possible career as an engineer. And despite missing my family, my people, my home, my country, I feel that I made the right choice and that I am on the right path. I’m not afraid of taking risks, I am afraid of not living all I have to live.

CECILIA, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a New York City based pop singer and songwriter, born and raised in Queluz, São Paulo, Brazil. My passion for music started at a very early age while watching my parents singing at the church with their group.
As a teenager, me and my friends created an alternative band and performed around my town. Later I started singing in street carnivals in my hometown and region, including the trio elétrico, which is a kind of truck or float equipped with a high-power sound system and a stage for music performance on the top, playing for the crowd as it drives through the cities, with another group formed in my hometown. That’s when I really felt like the stage was my happy place.
Being a dreamy girl since childhood, I always wanted to leave the country, study, explore, learn a new language and have the opportunity to sing to the world. So I moved to the United States to work as an Au Pair, learn English and pursue my biggest dream.
It was in 2018 that I had my first opportunity to return to the stage at a restaurant in Mont Vernon, NY. This gig opened doors for me to sing at one of the biggest Brazilian parties in NY, Baile de Favela NYC at Le Poisson Rouge, where I performed for 3 years.
In 2020, during the pandemic, I decided to take my stories to the studio. With lyrics in English and Portuguese, I transform experiences into melody, taking messages of empowerment and remaining true to my roots.
In April 2021 I debuted in the music market with my first single “CONTROL”. Its music video exceeds 120,000 views on Youtube and 125,000 streams on Spotify. The success was so great that it became a TV agenda in the Vale do Paraíba region. Still in 2021, I released my second single “Dare You”. Its music video was recorded with amazing directors who have worked with Brazilian artists such as Claudia Leitte, Wesley Safadão, Padre Fábio de Melo, Kell Smith and many others and reached 127 thousand views on Youtube and 160 thousand streams on Spotify. The track “RULE IT ALL” released in early 2022 already exceeds 100,000 streams on Spotify and its music video, released in June 2022, exceeds 85,000 views on Youtube.
Besides my own music, I am also featuring a song called “Until the End” with an amazing artist Ricky Allson.
In February 2023 I had my first Carnival Block in my hometown “BLOCO DA CECILIA” and it was a success.
Nowadays I perform in concert halls, bars and restaurants in New York and region, sharing my Brazilian roots and my art.

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

I think that leaving my degree behind to move to another country and pursue my dreams as an artist was a radical change of paths in my life

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Yes, they struggle to understand that music is not just for fun to me. It is fun to make music, I feel alive. When I am on stage I am the happiest version of myself. I enjoy every single moment when I am doing anything that involves music but that doesn’t mean that I am just having a good time. It is my work. That’s what I live for. And even if it is difficult to understand, support us, because we never know what the future has in store. We never know.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/shesoceci
• Facebook: facebook.com/shesoceci
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CECILIAOFFICIAL
• Other: linktr.ee/shesoceci

Image Credits
Personal Photo: Elegance Films Additional Photos: Photos 1 , 4 , 6 , 7 – Kaio Cesar Photo 2 – Ricardo Nasi Photo 3 – Gustavo Arrais Photo 5 – Couraça Films Photo 8 – Elegance Films