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

Daniella, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents showed me constant support and love throughout my entire life. They always made me feel as though my voice, ideas and dreams mattered. They were great at listening to me as a young child and that, I feel is one of the most valuable and encouraging things a parent can do for their child. The amount of wisdom they gave back was equally as important and they always gave me the room to make mistakes. My father would always say “don’t make the same mistakes I did, make new ones!” and my mother would always let me know how proud of me she was, even til this day.

Daniella, 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?

My musical journey started at a young age. When I was about 5 years old, I started playing the piano, because a close of mine friend knew how to play so I became very interested. My mom and dad would sing to me all the time and they would play a variety of music as well, everyone from Nat King Cole, to Andrea Bocelli. I was always surrounded by music in some way. When I was little, I loved music I was drawn to it and I especially loved listening to Celine Dion’s voice. She is definitely one of my biggest vocal influences. I also listened to a lot of the jazz vocalists as well such as Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald. I believe being exposed to such a variety of genres really sparked something inside of me.
I was very shy as a child but at age 10 I began performing in musical theatre which definitely taught me a lot about the art of story-telling through music and the beauty of collaboration.
At age 19 I began taking voice lessons, and then by age 20 I joined a local theater company which definitely broke me out of my shell more. Being around other like-minded people who were actors and singers inspired me to just say, “okay you need to get over you fear and get out there instead of just staying inside you room singing to the walls wishing you were on a stage” I came to the realization that this is something I have to do and have always wanted to do – something just clicked in my brain at that point. There was no turning back.

My style of music is such a mixture, its classical crossover, musical theatre and pop. Somewhere between a cross of Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli, a blend of both pop and classical. Sing in different languages (Italian, French, Spanish and English) is a definitely a big part of my style. I’m drawn to storytelling in music, so songs that really create a visual in your mind are some of my favorite to perform.
I’ve always been fascinated with different cultures and languages. So, for me, singing in different languages is just another way of learning and connecting with people, from different parts of the world. I find that fascinating and just beautiful to be able to communicate with others through the power of music. Even if you don’t speak the same language, it moves everyone the same and everyone can connect to it.

Connecting to people through music and moving them is very important to me, but also, thinking of it from my personal perspective, what music has done for me in my life – it creates a sense of safety, joy, peace and inspiration. It had also been incredibly healing.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I remember as a little girl sitting in my room, listening to an artist and being so moved and inspired, and now hopefully my music can impact someone too, even if it’s one person in the world maybe 5,000 miles away from where I am, it makes it all worth it. I hope that person, young or old, feels a little less alone in the world.
There are many artists, musicians, actors, or painters who can inspire you to set the next goal for yourself, what you’d like to aspire to be or learn.
Reaching people on a personal level can motivate them go after the thing they’re most passionate about wether that is to become a singer, an architect, a chef, or a teacher, etc – any art form that speaks to them and ultimately makes them become a purpose driven, joyful human being.
I know God has given me this gift to share with others, It’s definitely something I don’t take for granted.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I think the biggest challenge – and this is something that many singers deal with, and artists in general is getting out of your own way. We tend to be hyper critical with ourselves and take a magnifying glass to every single thing we do. I have self-doubts and have had moments of feeling good about what I’m doing, but then I start comparing myself to other people, and to my role models too, and begin to think, “Well, should I really be doing this? Am I really that good? Do I really have what it takes?”

And the truth is that, ultimately, if I’m communicating well, and the audience is taking it in, and they’re enjoying it and being moved, then I did my job, because it comes down to authenticity and connection.

So, getting out of my own way has been the biggest challenge and it’ll continue to be that, but you have to realize that you’re human and that you’re not perfect.
Challenges are endless, it’s life. I think with any form of art you’re always going to encounter some sort of block or many blocks along the road.

Those are some of my biggest challenges, and also finding my own voice, because we have so many sources of inspiration and whatever we love, we always try to replicate.
But I think finding my own voice and gaining confidence in myself, is something that I struggled with for a long time.

For artist out there I would also say to remember that not everyone is going to understand your art and that’s ok. It might even be family members or friends. You may be feeling “less than” if they don’t accept your art, but you can never allow that to stop you. That applies even to strangers who don’t like your music or art, if they don’t enjoy it, ultimately, you’re not seeking for the approval of every single person on this earth. You’re art is going to connect with the people that are meant to be touched by it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.daniellamorrow.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellamorrowofficial/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniellamorrowofficial/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@daniellamorrow
• Other: Linktree / Streaming Platforms: https://linktr.ee/daniellamorrow
  Email: [email protected]

Image Credits

John Matsubayashi