Name: Gina Zo
Year: Freshman
Hometown: West Chester, PA
How did you get into music?
At a young age, I was always dancing in my local dance company and performing around the country. As I got older, I wanted to try new things and began to do musical theater. But what really got me into music was my grandfather giving me my first guitar at the age of 13. I taught myself and learned as many songs as I could. This eventually led me to becoming a songwriter.
Where do you find inspiration?
I find my inspiration from nature. It’s really random, but I actually write my best songs when I am in the car traveling far distances, looking at the world around me. There is something about the beauty of the mountains and trees that brings out some really deep and relatable songs. Other inspirations for me are the relationships that I encounter on a daily basis with the people around me. I am someone who feels things at extreme levels, and it really plays out in my songs.
What is it like being on The Voice?
For me, being on The Voice was an extremely life-changing experience, especially in the way I approach music. Blake Shelton led me to meeting Gwen Stefani, who is actually the most influential person in my music career thus far. She told me that she has never seen anyone change and fix corrections so fast, and gave me a hug for being so adaptable. It was cool to hear her talk about how I exuded confidence in that moment because I was feeling anything but confident. It is a terrifying experience standing and singing in front of Grammy award-winning artists and trying to take their critiques without freaking out!
What inspired your song, “Lost”?
Interestingly enough, “Lost” is a song about someone going completely insane and losing their mind in love. Most of my songs are about the person I wish I was or who I imagine myself as. In my head, and as portrayed in the song, I can love someone to the point of destroying them. You know someone isn’t good for you, yet you keep them lagging along for your own benefit and satisfaction. This love is in no way one that anyone should model after. It is extremely toxic and leads to the demise of two characters.
What was it like to film your music video?
Filming my music video was probably one of the coolest experiences of my life. Working with such an incredible director, Robbie, and hearing his critiques and ideas was incredible. I also got to pick out the coolest clothes from Free People. Fashion is one of my favorite things about being a performer, so having a store to pick from was so fun.
Working with another musician who played the male role in the video was extremely fun as well because they understand how to play the part. The actor in the video was very into this song and understood it very well, which greatly helps the music video flow as a whole.
What is next for you?
Right now, I am in the process of getting my music video up to 10,000 views so it can be on MTV Jams. My label, Raw Life Records, and I work extremely hard to promote this music. Social media these days makes it extremely easy to get this music out into the world, but it can also be difficult with the amount of content that is uploaded every day. You have to be persistent as an artist and keep people interested and motivated to come back to your music, so it can be difficult.
I have shows coming up at Milkboy, Chaplins and World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, PA! I am currently working on writing music for my next project and having tons of rehearsals with my incredible band. My project “My Weakness,” which features “Lost,” will be out hopefully this winter or early next year! We are extremely excited to be sharing this project.
What are your goals as an artist?
As an artist I just want people to continue to take me seriously and be interested in what I am doing. I work extremely hard at my job and look to touch everyone that listens to my music. I hope to be able to do an all jazz album at some point soon! I love jazz music and sang a lot of jazz in the band in high school. I’m also hoping to do a music festival tour next summer to get to meet many other artists and learn from them. I plan on keeping this as my career for the rest of my life, so I’m crossing my fingers that everything continues to go in the right direction!
All photos courtesy of Gina Zo.