Sophomore Lana Carollo began her singing career early, taking singing lessons while in elementary school. Carollo also performed in various showcases through Gizmo Productions, where she got her first experience performing in front of groups, something she quickly found an interest in and would continue.
“When I was little, I loved performing in those little showcases,” Carollo said. “As I kept doing them, I saw other people around me releasing their own music and having success, so that made me want to do it too.”
Carollo began writing musical lyrics and poems for fun as a child, but it quickly became a passion as she began her journey in becoming a musician.
But writing the lyrics to her songs is just the first step for Carollo. Alongside writing the lyrics to her songs, Carollo also plays the guitar, a skill which she started learning at age 12 and dedicated years to learning, as well as the piano, which she first learned at 11.
“A lot of times, I write the lyrics first, but it really depends. Either I write something on a guitar and then have a melody, and then I throw in lyrics, or a lot of times I write poems, which I turn into lyrics later,” Carollo said.
Carollo has performed live at multiple venues through the School of Rock program, which provides people of all ages with experience, singing, playing instruments, and performing live. Her largest performance was at Vivo! Miami, a venue which seats 2000 people.
“I love being able to perform songs in front of people and put out stuff that I did myself,” Carollo said. “And since it’s never the same band, it’s fun to learn how to work with different people all the time, and everyone has their own style of music and their own style of playing, so you get to learn different skills.”
In addition to performing her own song, Carollo sings covers of songs from her favorite artists such as Queen, Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan and others. These same artists inspire Carollo in her songwriting and melodies.
“My inspiration for my songs, I get it from all my favorite artists, more older artists,” Carollo said. “I look to artists like Queen, Aerosmith or Blondie, and use their work to help decide what I want my next song to be or how I want it to go.”
Another way Carollo is able to extend her outreach as an inspiring artist is through posting on social media. By using TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, Carollo can promote not only her covers, but her released music as well.
“If you want to get into the world of music, you need to put yourself out there,” Carollo said. “Like posts on social media, ask people, really just find those connections.”
Working with an independent producer, Carollo released her first single, “April 17,” available on all streaming platforms, with plans to release another in June.
“I’ve been planning the steps I’m gonna take for some time now, which includes my next single that I’m working on now, and just what I want for the future of my music,” Carollo said. “I’m very excited to release more music and share it with everyone else, and to see how my music grows.”
