We were lucky to catch up with Joel Junior recently and have shared our conversation below.

Joel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

Being an artist should always be a synonym of happiness, it’s the way a person can freely express their feelings. But the reality of it shows the different layers of following art as a career path. So many factors must be taken under consideration, and as young artists we believe that we will make it big soon enough. But time goes by and despite the steps you’ve taken, you still feel stuck where you started. Then comes the fear, regret, doubts, and the desire to leave everything behind and settle for something more stable.
As a filmmaker and a musician, art is basically what I’m made of. Do I think what my life would be like if I had settled for a regular day job? A lot. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that I’d rather die trying to make it then let myself give up on my art, and that decision always brings me peace, and being in peace makes me happy.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I grew up in a very artistic family. My father is a great musician, he was a choir and orchestra conductor, and also an incredible singer. My mom is also a singer with a natural technique that very few have, she is an amazing soprano and has such a powerful voice. In a home like that, I had no escape but to fall in love with music too. But not only that. In church I loved being in plays. talent shows, presentations, dances and choreographies, anything artistic. Since a very young age I kept working with music, becoming a choir leader and vocal coach by the age of 16, sing and performing all over town. But in 2023 I decided that I would study musical theater in NYC, and so I did. Back in Brazil, I just dove into the ocean of possibilities and got my first role in a professional musical production as the lead. From then on, the passion for acting, singing, performing and writing just kept growing.
In 2015 I moved to LA to study acting and have been here ever since. From the acting and singing, I started writing as well, which led me to producing the scripts I have, which ended up going further than I expected. All my shorts have on multiple awards each and earned millions of views on YouTube.
Now I have a production company called “Joel Films” that works towards telling impactful stories, and I also own a company that provide music lessons called “Sharp Notes Academy”, where I also provide my services as a vocal coach.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

There are many rewards aspects as well as hurtful ones. But there are two very rewarding for me, which is my fulfillment of turning that project that came from a simple idea in my brain into a big reality and realizing how much we are able to achieve; the second is definitely when people come to say how much what you created resonated and changed them. I never get used to hearing those and it does feel like winning a big award.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think non-creative people don’t really understand that being a is a “real” job. Everyone loves to be entertained, that’s all human beings work towards to: entertainment, be it movies, TV, sports, theme parks, music, concerts, racing, gambling, etc. And no one gets entertained without an entertainer (that includes any position in the industry). Yet, you say you’re an artist, people insist to ask “but do you have a real job?”, as if our passion for the art is just a hobby. It’s very hard to make it big coming from nothing, but just because someone isn’t there yet, it doesn’t mean their career is not a real one. It takes time, and non-creatives should understand that more and give support, learning that for a creative person, every step, as small as it may be, is big step forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: sharpnotesacademy.com
• Instagram: @joeljunior.official
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxt3ZD2Ew7eb4fpfsJUwhsg
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sharp-notes-academy-music-lessons-los-angeles

Image Credits
Joel Junior / Joel Films