We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sara Beth Yurow . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sara Beth below.
Sara Beth, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
So I started singing and dancing when I was 3, but I think 10 was when several things happened that caused me to fall in love with performing pop & rock. My first solo performance came about when a girl in my performing arts center got sick and asked me to sing her Christmas solo. It was so last minute there was no time to get nervous, and I just fell in love with owning the stage. I just remember everyone clapping and not wanting to get off. My parents then signed me up for singing lessons so I could try out for the school talent show and I’ll never forget my first vocal coach saying to me, “Have you ever thought of doing something more with singing beyond your school’s talent show?” and I was like, “Like what?” Around that time, my grandpa suggested to me trying to write my own songs, instead of just singing everyone else’s, and it almost immediately became just this incredible emotional outlet for me. What I love about songwriting is how I can get real intense feelings out in the middle of a crowded room-I’ve written some of my best songs in real time-during class on my math notes or on condiment paper during work. Flirting with my man? Just wait til you hear your name on the radio. Trying to get me fired? Thanks for inspiring my comeback anthem. When life gives you lemons, make music.
The thing I wish more people understood, is there is so much more to musicianship than just spontaneously posting a sick beat on TikTok at 2 am. I studied opera for 7 years. I studied stage presence-the fine line between being sexy and classy, and how striking the perfect balance between familiarity and spontaneity in a good hook made my favorite songs so effective. I used to spend hours in front of the mirror with headphones in, just practicing my facial expressions. When you hear my songs, you’re listening to my soul. When I perform for you, I’m talking to you. I’m not gonna pretend us artists don’t love attention, but at my core I’m really trying to take something meaningful from my life to touch yours.
Sara Beth, 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 always dreamed of being a PopPunk Recording Artist, but it wasn’t until my senior year of college that I seriously started considering going after it. In Hawai’i, there simply isn’t enough of an entertainment industry to support fulltime work, so it took several industry experiences for me to realize, “Wow, this is something I could really do.” Through my choir I got the opportunity to sing backup to Rachel Platten in the Pro Bowl on ESPN, and I loved every second of it. Then, that summer, I was selected to represent Susan Page Modeling at Disney World for the Annual Talent Inc industry showcase, and even got a callback from their Atlantic Records associate. Finally, towards the end of the year, I got to appear on an episode of Hawai’i Five-O. I’d been performing in Hawai’i my whole life, but the LA-NYC industry circuit is a completely different world. I got experience doing photoshoots & film acting, working on movie sets, formatting a resume and reel, basically how to conduct myself in the industry at the highest level…and I absolutely loved it. I loved these experiences so much that I decided to save up and move to LA alone, which I’m incredibly proud of. Being on a stage or a set just makes me incredibly happy. My producer Natalia (Grammy Nominated Producer Natalia Bortolotti) has really helped take my music to the next level, and I want to say that the way I came to meet her was nice and streamlined, but it was honestly very happenstance and I’m just incredibly lucky, which is something I think anyone who enters this industry should be prepared for-it’s really fun and sounds impressive a lot of the time, but it’s also incredibly messy and often doesn’t feel like it’s making much sense. I met Natalia in the middle of the pandemic-the world had gone nuts and I had no idea how to move forward with my music, and was just looking for more vocal lessons to keep myself in the game, and it was just incredibly healing having someone of her caliber see potential in my songs, and to help me bring them to life, and I’m really proud of the music we’re creating together.
I think what sets me apart is how ethical and authentic I try to be. I only write songs about things that really happened. I refuse to sabotage or tear down other artists to boost myself up. We edit my voice as little as possible-if a high C’s in there, I sang it. I’ve turned down a lot of incredible opportunities because I refused to lie, or sell a sob story, or work with someone who doesn’t respect my boundaries. I’m not gonna write a techno hook because that’s what’s currently trending, and I am not going to make sexy TikTok videos just for likes. I’m also big on prioritizing my mental health, and I’m so blessed to have a producer who not only supports but encourages that-I’m not gonna sacrifice my sanity over whether people like me or not. What you see is what you get, and I’m not going to fake it or pretend.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Obviously, I would love to be able to build a decades-long career out of doing my absolute favorite thing-which is creating incredible art-but something I would really love to do in my lifetime would be to use any influence or profits I get for some really, really good causes. I’m really passionate for instance about what’s going on in other countries, and I wish people knew more about what was going on with the Uighurs in China or the Rohingya in Myanmar. I’ve always admired Angelina Jolie’s work as a United Nations special envoy. I would love to collaborate with say, an Arab artist to bridge the gap between east and west. Or to raise funds for displaced Syrians. Music is just such an incredible way to bring people together, and all I can think about when I see how much money some of these world tours are bringing in, are how many people it could help.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding part of being an artist is being fully absorbed in a project. It’s getting excited about a vision, and trying to bring it to life. I have synesthesia, so my world is very colorful-and it’s very fun to have music playing in your head and colors dancing across your minds eye all the time. I think life’s just richer that way. It’s communicating my vision with other people, and seeing them get excited about it too is one of the best feelings. Feeling like I’m making something bigger than myself-like we’re all together in this life-in this moment. My favorite compliments I get are when people tell me I gave them chills, or made them tear up. That’s powerful; the ability to make someone feel.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sarabethsings.com
- Instagram: @it_wasnt_sara_beth
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaraBethSings/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-beth-yurow-04934854/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/sarabethsingsxo
- Other: @sarabethsingsofficial on TikTok Sara Beth Yurow on IMDb
Image Credits
Yellow Lights – Shane Lopes Photography, H&M: Beauty by Berenz
Singing Close-up – Nate Serota
Live Shot-Anmercil Canoneo
Splits & Guitar – Shane Lopes Photography, H&M: Beauty by Berenz
Vertical White Lights – Shane Lopes Photography, H&M: Beauty by Berenz
Guitar & Pink Background – Shane Lopes Photography, H&M: Beauty by Berenz
Pink on Pink-Shane Lopes Photography, H&M: Beauty by Berenz
Acoustic Guitar Shot- Shane Lopes Photography, H&M: Beauty by Berenz