Melissa Villasenor is never alone. Somehow, the Los Angeles-based stand-up star and America’s Got Talent veteran brought Justin Bieber, Wanda Sykes and a slew of celebrities to Café Rachel on Thursday, February 2nd.
“It all started with a Britney Spears impression,” she says. “I was twelve years old, and I listened to her a lot, and then I started singing and I realized, Wow, I could sound just like her.” Approval from supportive family and friends led her to tackle another teen sensation: Christina Aguilera. “I guess after that I just knew I had something,” she says. “I had that gift, and I was just so determined to learn a lot.” Villasenor didn’t have a bit of training before she stepped up to her first stand-up spot at the Laugh Factory Summer Camp; she was only 15. “I just wrote what was funny to me, I guess, and that was it.”
She got plenty of gigs in her teen years, but Villasenor’s career really skyrocketed with her appearance on America’s Got Talent. “I did this little show the year before called Latino 101 on CTV…and a lady working on that show called me and said, Hey, I’m helping with America’s Got Talent…. And she said, I really want you to audition, I think it’s going to be great for you.” Villasenor got past initial reluctance and took an appointment for a video audition in LA. While she wasn’t confident that she’d nailed it, America’s Got Talent saw a serious performer; they asked her to go to Seattle for the huge in-person audition. Villasenor was worried. “I think it was because whenever I heard America’s Got Talent or heard about it, you’d never see the comedian succeed,” she says. “They always kind of looked silly or just in a bad light.” Lucky for the U.S., she found the strength to step onstage. “It was probably one of my favorite moments,” she says. “The crowd, the theater was so huge and it was sold out…. It’s just the standing ovation, hearing that recognition.” Ultimately, she says, “It turned out to be quite a blessing.”
Beyond making it to the Top 16, Villasenor got a kickstart for her art on the show. “I think that show was the perfect fit for me at the time,” she says. “I think it was just kind of what I needed, that boost, to inspire me, and to take that leap to making my stand-up career a full-time job which I didn’t have before. I was working at Forever 21, and [America’s Got Talent] really gave me a launching pad.” Villasenor is grateful for the attention, but she’s also glad to get back to material development. “I mean, it was beautiful having fans, and it’s cool to have that fanbase now, but I think it was nice that it kind of settled down and cooled down after the show ended,” she says. “Not so many people recognize me anymore, but in some ways it’s nice. Now I can get back into my own little zone and work on my next new creation, so [America’s Got Talent] was like a nice, good taste for me.”
She may not be relying on voters to advance her career anymore, but Villasenor’s working hard. You may have seen her at the Just For Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival, watched her on Frank TV or heard one of her characters on Adventure Time and Family Guy. Beyond media work, Villasenor is currently on a huge college tour; she’s really enjoying the time it’s given her to develop. “You can’t write great, solid material overnight. For standup, I mean, it takes a good seven to ten years of really honing it. I think it’s worked out pretty good, but I’m learning a lot for sure, and I like the colleges a lot.” Working the university circuit comes with a more relaxed experience than high-pressure comedy club performances. “Starting from last week I had a blast just driving my rental car each day, listening to music every day and writing, and then I’d get to perform for an hour every night…. I think these colleges are giving me a really wonderful opportunity for this year because I could really get my stand-up hour maybe close to where I want it to be.”
Playing an empowering space such as Chatham is a nice antidote to the less welcoming gigs she used to play. “It’s a man’s world, the stand-up world,” she says, later adding, “I remember some shows…the host would bring me up like, Oh, wow, we’ve got a vagina…. It’s awful…. There was one comic [who was] like, Oh, yeah, y’know, female comics, I’d never want to be in a relationship with them but I’d sure like to bang ‘em. I’m just like, Ugh.” Even when people were truly disgusting, she took a courageous approach to comedy. “Since I worked so hard and love what I do, when I would get onstage I’d prove myself and actually probably kill…and then the host who’d come up after couldn’t say anything because the crowd actually did like me.” The importance of resilience isn’t lost on Villasenor. “I really want to make sure when I perform, I hope I’m a good advocate for women,” she says. “I want to inspire women to know that you can make things happen, you can be awesome and amazing as long as you just really work hard and…don’t buy anybody’s crap…and listen to your heart…and you’ll get where you want to be.”
Just as Villasenor inspires others, there are plenty of women who inspire her. “I have this little notebook…. I like to draw portraits of people, and so I think every day I’m going to draw a different female that inspires me, a portrait of their face, and fill up that notebook.” Villasenor’s spent plenty of time developing an encouraging support system. “I like who I am and I’m happy, and I just fill my life with good things and positive people…. There’s always going to be people who want to bring you down anywhere you go, but it’s just [that] they’re unhappy themselves.”
Her message to Chatham? “Just enjoy life, do what you want to do in life, listen to your heart and keep smiling.” Villasenor gives a big thanks to Chatham for supporting her career. To find out where she’s going next, visit her website, like her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, subscribe to her YouTube channel or read her Tumblr.
All photos used with permission from Melissa Villasenor’s Facebook page.