In a Zoom room filled with inquisitive and passionate student journalists, Sofia Carson is grace embodied. Over the past six years, she’s starred in several Disney Channel Original Movies, reached number one on the Billboard 200 as part of the Descendants soundtrack, and been nominated for multiple Teen Choice Awards; this week, she found time to spend an hour answering our questions, sharing genuine compliments, and describing the motivation behind her most recent career accomplishments.
The press conference shifted quickly into easy conversation, as she discussed the symbolism behind the music video for her newest single, ‘LOUD’ – her transformation into a metaphorical butterfly, coupled with explosive choreography, speaks to an audience that has watched her flourish and grow from her Disney origins into the first Global Ambassador of the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation. To encourage, elevate, and empower is the ultimate aim of her music, Carson explained.
The lyrics themselves are equally as striking: ‘Confrontation never has been my strength, Always feel like I should take all the blame, But something is changing… If I was a man then you would understand.’ To a female-oriented college community, there are few words more suitable. Many of us are learning that being unyielding in our convictions does not make us arrogant, that expressing an opinion is not obnoxious. To ask those around us, ‘Are you getting uncomfortable now?’, is a crucial reminder not to shy away from assertiveness.
The most moving moment of the conference was Carson’s description of how she created a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston. ‘I am honoured and grateful’, she explained, extending her role as Latin Grammy ambassador to co-sponsor this scholarship, ‘to change the life of a Latin musician.’ In particular, she continued, she hopes such opportunities will help to close the gender gap by inspiring young women to facilitate a career in the industry, ‘whether as a musician, technician, engineer or producer.’
‘The most important thing we can do in our lives is to give’, Carson states is her mother’s best guidance, which has followed her through every step of her career. ‘To lift a girl up is the honour of my career.’
It’s apparent how deeply she holds this philosophy, as she returns each student’s expression of deepest admiration with praise in turn. One student gushes over Carson’s role in Descendants, and Carson smiles: ‘I should do this all the time!’ The energy of the press conference is palpably uplifting, and the Zoom chat is filled with excited well-wishes and sincerity. The interactions echo the strength that Carson calls for in ‘LOUD’, and the warmth and light of her video. To share her time and positivity so generously, ‘that is the essence of what it means to be loud.’