Happy Birthday Pop Princess
I heard somewhere that only 20% of people can sing...
One of my good friends for about 7 years, Danielle O’keefe, is a pop singer living in LA and in the midst pursuing a career in the music industry. Today is her 22nd birthday.
I was very lucky that she put her busy schedule aside to grant me an online interview.
Rachel: What age did you discover you could sing? Do you remember how it happened?
Danielle: I discovered I could REALLY sing when I got the part of Annie in the play Annie in 5th grade at my elementary school.... All the other kids were like, "WOW YOUR VOICE IS GOOD!" I was like, "hmmm yea I guess it is!"
Danielle says that her inspiration comes from the “powerful woman singers” like Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Christina Aguilera.
“Growing up my favorites were Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera cuz... who didn’t want to be a pop princess? I know I did. Now my biggest influences are Leona Lewis as far as vocals and Beyonce just as an all around performer and woman,” stated Danielle.
Danielle tells me she has never seen herself being anywhere besides the music industry. “I always knew I would be a singer.... if by some strange chance that didn't work out, I planned on being in the media somehow for music entertainment or teaching vocal lessons and become big doing that,” she expressed.
I got her opinion on Lady Gaga:
"I think Lady gaga is a genius in a couple different ways. Not only is she is a serious pianist and super talented singer, she also knows how to get what she wants in the music industry which is a feat within itself. Her and I study with the same voice coach in New York City (Don Lawrence) and a few years ago before Lady gaga was huge he would always say... One of my students, stefani she's going to be so huge soon... I remember going to Z100 jingleball 2008 after I won the canon contest and seeing her perform for the first time and all I thought was... Why is that chick wearing no pants? I never thought I'd see her again. But now I see that she is seriously brilliant because she has turned herself into this pop phenomenon and created such an insane character out of herself in order to be different and get to the top in this industry. Reading her quotes online always inspires me because before she became famous she literally would eat sleep and breathe wanting fame. You have to want it so bad. And she did."
Danielle has been heavily involved in singing since 5th grade. “From the 5th grade play Annie, to every other play for the next 10 years, I always loved being in the spotlight,” she explained. In high school, she was the head of the choir program and also sang the national anthem at most school games and even sang on the morning announcements on occasion.
R: What is your biggest fear in life?
D: My biggest fear in life definitely has to do with my career. I'm so scared of the possibility of disappointing my family and myself and losing the belief and support from the people I love.
R: Has there been anything that has slowed you down in regards to reaching your dream?
D: The biggest thing that slows me down is other people. People talk a lot of nonsense in this industry. A lot of promises are made, a lot of hearsay, pretenders, wannabes, etc. I've learned over the years that talk is cheap, and actions speak louder than words. I've been slowed down by a lot of drowning industry nobodies. You can't let them pull you under too, you gotta just keep swimming. And you can only trust yourself. At the end of the day, I'm the only one I can trust to get things done for me.
R: What is your most exciting performance that you got to do?
D: My most exciting performance was either singing the national anthem at Shea Stadium before a Mets game or at Madison Square Garden before a Rangers game........... Shea Stadium was my first big performance ever so it was probably a little more nervous-excited whereas Madison Square Garden was more like surreal-excited because ever since I was young I told my parents I would sing there one day anytime we went into NYC to see a show or something.....So that was a really big moment for me.
Danielle says she does not get nervous to sing in front of a lot of people; she is actually more afraid to sing in front of her mom. “I'd rather sing in front of 10,000 random people I've never met than my mom. So weird right??? She's real and she knows how tough I am on myself and has heard me sing on my best days and my worst days. So she judges pretty hard,” she explains.
When asked to describe herself in three words, she responded, “in 5 words I would say I am outgoing, hard-working, strong, carefree, and ambitious. but if you gave me 10 i would add smart pretty specialicious hilarious and witty ;) bwahahaha”
If you want to check out more you can visit her youtube:
Danielle (middle) with her girl group Forever Heartbreak.
