Artist without border Danna Paola clues us in on her upcoming music projects

​​Danna Paola is an extremely charismatic and multi-hyphenate artist whose talent measures beyond imagination. The actress turned singer is a young trailblazer; Danna has won 87 awards out of 122 nominations, her most recent nomination being for the MTV Millennial Awards for Mexican Artists. Apart from her constellation of successes, Danna is one of the phenomenal artists in the new TV soundtrack for Blade Runner, which also features artists like X Ambassadors, Tori Kelly, G-Eazy, iann dior, and Alesso.

Her talent knows no borders as Danna was nominated for her first Latin Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album for her album K.O. (Knockout). She also had a phenomenal performance worth watching! K.O. was produced by Stefano Vieni, Saak, Mango, Nabález, Andrés Munera, Andrés Guerrero, Toby Tobón, Sebastián Yatra, Supicic, Bruno Valverde, Macgregor Leo, Tido, and Alexander Palmer. K.O. takes the listener on a journey through the artist’s love life in recent years, starting from the first song which opens the door to the possibility for love, to romance, fights, breakups and then letting go. . . the knockout that marks an end to the heartbreaks she has experienced; highlighting the importance of self-love, one of the most important messages of the album. The album includes 11 tracks in Spanish as well as English including collabs with international artists.

To stream or download K.O. click HERE.

Here at Galore we got a chance to converse with Danna about the multiplicity of her talents and passions. We got to learn more about her journey as a singer, and actress. Letting us into the world of her childhood, Danna shows us how her talents have been a driving force at a young. We also talked about her Latin pop music and how she aims to continue to expand what her music represents by creating an album in both English and Spanish and showcasing the many musical influences and genres that shape her.

FEATURE INTERVIEW

1.    Was making music something you learned along the way or has it been a part of your life as well as acting?

Both have been a very important part of my life. In fact, they came together…when I was singing, I loved to perform the songs and while acting, I loved to listen to music too. For example, since I was a child, although I always loved both areas, I was much more focused on acting and I didn’t know that music was going to be such an important part of my life. But years later, I realized that I have always been the singer who acts and not the actress who sings.

2.    What influence did your childhood play in your current career?

My childhood was always about dreaming big enough in terms of singing and acting, but my whole career has been based on fulfilling my dreams and preparing myself. Since I was a little girl I knew that this was what I wanted to do…I always knew it; and my parents’ support has been essential… Everything I learned, all the classes I took from a very young age, either singing or acting, I had the chance to always be influenced by music in many aspects.

3.    Do you see yourself expanding from Latin pop to other genres?

I absolutely do pop. Pop is my main genre and I think it’s not just about singing Latin pop…I mean perhaps because it is in Spanish…but what I’m really looking for in the near future is to be able to make a whole pop album in English and another one completely in Spanish with the same songs in order to do something different…What I’m working on right now with my new album is a different kind of pop and fusing it with other genres such as trap, rock, reggae, without losing the Latin essence…well, I’m Latina and no one can take that away from me – my Latin roots in my music are my #1 hallmark..

4.    If you could organize your own music festival, who would you like to be part of it? 

Wow!… It would be a huge festival, super diverse, with many different artists. I admire a lot of my industry colleagues, but I think that it would be from a C. Tangana to Lady Gaga…For example, my favorite rock band has always been My Chemical Romance and I think they would also be at this festival too. LOL

5.    On Elite, what was the most difficult about playing your character?

I think the most difficult thing was to get over all the shyness and letting go of the taboos I had based in how I was raised, my values, my conservative education (as it is in Mexico), my parents’ education, etc…And step by step I was breaking many taboos, many barriers and also many judgments about myself.  Also letting go and giving everything to my character gave me a big life lesson as well…So the hardest thing was to let go of all of that so that I could give it my all, creating a completely new and different person for this, someone free, expressive and extroverted.

6.    How did your character bring you personal growth?

I think the most important lesson from Lucrecia was that… I don’t give a shit about what people say about me and at the same time I do care a lot…it’s something that Lucrecia was very conscious of …. Also that telling the truth sometimes hurts and with those you love the most, sometimes we don’t know how to assimilate certain truths and we keep on lying. One of the things that she really taught me was not to waste people’s time and to always be very clear about things. People may or may not like my personality, but I do believe that being honest is the basis of everything, as long as obviously we do it with respect – Lucrecia was not respectful, but I am!. She taught me that I don’t need a man in my life in order to be successful and I think that is another thing that helped me a lot in moving forward with my life.

7.    What’s the funniest experience you’ve had with someone watching the show?

Well…at first, when Elite premiered, none of us had any idea what a smash it was going to become and how successful it was going to be; but I think the funniest experiences were when we went out partying obviously at clubs, on the street and restaurants, even during interviews nobody approached me or talked to me, ’cause they thought I was super bitchy! It was really hilarious that people thought I really was just like Lucrecia, and when they realized that I wasn’t, it was very funny. And although this is among my funniest memories, it also let me know that my character had gone beyond the screen and that’s something I loved to achieve because after being so hated she (Lucrecia) ended up being such a beloved character. 

8.    What does Latino support mean to you?

Uff, a lot! I believe the more we all support each other as Latinos, the stronger we are. I think music in Spanish has taught us a very powerful lesson, well thanks to urban and Latin music we have also broken down barriers regardless of language; and I really consider myself a very supportive person with everyone out there who’s fighting for the same dream as I am. Supporting and helping each other, collaborating, it’s something that has been very important for me from the beginning. There are many doors that were closed for me, people who didn’t show solidarity with me even though they were Mexicans or Latinos or whatever. I’ve learned a lot from the fact that in this life you should always support and be proud of being Latino. I feel very proud to be Latina and to see so many of my fellow colleagues doing the same thing; helping each other! it’s a huge boost to our souls. So I think we have to keep on doing this.

9.    You are so talented!…What other projects do you have in mind besides music?

Thank you so much! Besides music, well…obviously acting projects; but also as a producer and writer…I’m working on this stuff too. Opening up to other areas into this industry. I’d love to release a book or a documentary. Actually about my music, which is what is paramount right now in life…I’m working on my new album for next year. Many collabs, many music, film projects and many more surprises are coming up soon…and I’m having fun in the process!

To stream or download K.O. click HERE.

CREDITS

Transcribed by: Jennifer J. Nieman

Interviewed and Edited by SHIRLEY REYNOZO @moyamusic_

Photography + Creative Direction: PRINCE CHENOA @princechenoa

Cover Art: SEBASTIÁN CHICCHÓN @jager.noon

Glam Makeup: Gerald Santiago

Hair: Omar Alvarez

Stylist: Paula Machado and Bayardo Estrada

Studio VAULT PLACE MIAMI


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