Dreaming bigger, singing louder

Pursuing your dream career when you are young can be really tough, especially when you are told there is no use in working on your passion. However, sometimes luck meets constancy and dedication, and then the magic happens. And if not, tell Lucía Zimmerer about it! This 21-year-old student and bartender comes from a small Bavarian town but is dreaming quite big. Just like her, many young people who are interested in music may have felt they had no place in the music industry, but there is always room, and she is going to tell us why.

Let’s go back to the very beginning. When did your passion for music start?

I’m not really sure where it all started, maybe when my mother sang to old Black Eyed Peas’ songs while she was cleaning when I was very young, or maybe when my grandparents took me to Spanish church in Munich every other weekend and gave me their choir sheets (even though I couldn’t read yet). I know that it developed more and more when my father believed in me and made me take singing lessons. When I had to change schools, I started to sing in the fantastic school’s choir, which showed me how strong my passion really was. As I continued, one thing led to another and now I have worked on some songs with two school friends of mine that are dropping an album in December.

And how do you keep that passion alive after all these years?

I look at my family, at the love that they give me. I try to reflect about myself and my actions, or about the situations my friends have to go through. Also, that feeling when I’m happy because I’m looking forward to a new beginning is the best inspiration I could ask for.

From what you say it seems like you have always been supported. What has been the toughest obstacle to overcome by yourself when producing music?

Perfection. Not everything is going to be exactly the way you imagined it. But that’s where the magic happens.

Right, not everything goes our way. What if you receive negative criticism? 

I would try to see it as an opportunity to grow and learn from it. Wouldn’t be easy for me especially if I wrote the song myself because it gets very personal that way.

And what about stage fright? Have you ever had to cope with it?

I always have stage fright and I think everyone has it. Singing on stage is the most vulnerable and powerful situation in my life because I try to portray my emotions and the things that are most important to me. And that’s where everybody can judge you and when it can hurt you the most. When I have the opportunity to go on stage, I feel so honored that someone thought that so many people could like my voice. That’s the thought that I keep in mind.

Apart from that, what general advice would give to young people interested in music?

Don’t believe everything your parents tell you about the world, because it has changed a lot since they were young and it’s still changing.

Yes, the industry has developed a lot too, but do you think that music and the arts are a dead-end?

I think that’s what everybody tells you if you consider any kind of art as a professional job. That’s also the reason why I’m personally afraid to put so much effort into my music. Knowing that it has a lot to do with the vocal range that someone has and also with luck, you probably take a high risk when you decide you want to make a living as an artist. But on the other hand, I definitely think that if you try to improve every day and you love what you do anything is possible. I personally want to move people and connect with them through music.

You think music connects singers with listeners. Do you think this connection can exist as a song that defines your life? 

I think so. But I couldn’t really decide on a specific song, there are different songs for different situations in my life but not a single one for all of them. Maybe I’ll write that song myself one day.

Where words fail, music speaks

Hans Christian Anderson