Rising Music Star Diandra On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry

An Interview With Ming Zhao

As a part of our interview series with leaders, stars, and rising stars in the music industry, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Diandra of Diandra Reviews It All.

When it comes to Diandra, making music is a pleasure born from honesty and self-confrontation as much as reflection. For her, music is the bridge to turning the highs and lows of your life into a legend you’d want to hear time and time again. Out now, her debut, single, No Bad Lasts, is the legend of her regaining hope after the pandemic shut down the world, and, like for many, her views on what her future would be.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit about your “origin story”. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I grew in the Bronx with my mom and my grandma, and all my family remained in Puerto Rico. We would always be visiting them, which could make New York feel a little lonely for me. For that, I would watch a lot of telenovelas or spend time with the theater kids dreaming up plays and singing along to Broadway. I am 100% a nerd and proud.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I think my story is more about all that I did to avoid it. I always felt like a singer and that it was my destiny, since childhood, but my family felt it was a cruel, unstable world. For them, being an artist was the equivalent to being poor and bullied, which we already were: so it was something meant to be a hobby while you went off to school, became a lawyer, and a millionaire via your own firm. Thus, I got my Masters in International Relations early, started working, and felt a gnawing emptiness like, something inside me was saying, “If you do not try, you will not have fulfilled your life,” which for me is the biggest goal: to feel complete as myself.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I think the funniest mistake I made was just the plain mishaps of learning apps and production. You want to go a 100 miles per hour, and something as basic as, “Can you send me your song stems?” can launch you into hours of google search to figure out what that means and whether it has to do with the science program. It is just so funny the amount of times you are going to act like “you know,” to avoid looking stupid, instead of just asking for clarity.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I am, actually, going to the recording studio and recording some Spanish tracks, which is so exciting. I feel like Selena (ahahaha).

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in music, film, and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Stay focused on the love you have for music and take breaks. Remember you did this because it was fun so when you need to feel refreshed towards it, go outside, take a nap, or learn how to crochet; whatever you need to do or learn so that you remember and better enjoy your main passion, which is music.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I wish to do more for environmentalism and animal rights. How we treat the earth and its animals is 100% reflective of how we treat ourselves and each other as human beings, and, right now, it looks like we are going through a deep depression because our resources and the extinction rates amidst animals is skyrocketing. I kind of see it like we are a sad species that has completely let our room get untidy because we do not have the emotional courage to confront that we chose to keep our sadness over build our self-esteem, and it really did push us to create this mess. So I would like to connect personal therapy with cleaning up the oceans or Amazon or protecting and learning about animals and their needed care.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I know it sounds strange, but I am truly grateful to me. Like I said before, I have always had to do things for myself, on my own, and part of my pain was refusing to see that. Yet, when I accepted I am the leader of my own life, I also accepted that I need to be good to myself, and that changed things for me. I felt brave and open, to myself and others, which is nice to feel.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I always say that you can be “right in your anger, but you can never be righteous in it.” When bad things happen, you have the right to feel bad, but you do not have the “righteousness” to become bad to others. It is like when people say “hurt people hurt people.” I prefer to answer with “hurt people heal people when they heal themselves.” That, to me, is way more beautiful, and I try to remember that in times of heartbreak.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

OoooOOoooooOOoO….. Joji! I am kind of fascinated by him, strategically, as an artist. He is so meticulous and intelligent even when he makes his image feel casual and messy. I do not know how to explain it, but I am fascinated by artists’ that know how and embrace the fact of imagery and branding as an integral part to making your music feel like a vibe that is genuine to you. In a way, he proves your business can be you.

How can our readers follow you online?

TikTok: @diandrareviewsitall

IG: @diandrareviewsitall

TW: @diandrareviews

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

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