Amanda Holley Is Invested In The Art Of Music & Tells Her Story
Intro:
Amanda Holley, a Newark native and soulful 5-octave vocalist, has music deeply embedded in her lineage with a cellist mother and a songwriter father. A self-taught violinist and pianist from a young age, she began performing live at 7 and published poetry as a teen. As a Recording Academy Grammy Voting Member, her recent work, including "RIDE OR DIE," received Grammy consideration. Amanda has graced prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall and opened for Wale, and her music has been featured at major events and on channels worldwide. Before reading our full conversation below, you should follow Amanda Holley on Instagram today @listentoamanda.
Meet: Amanda Holley
Me: What first got you into creating music early on?
Amanda: Like so many, I overcame unsurmountable odds from birth until now - yet music has been my life since day one . . . I only met my father a few times and he was never in my life, but I found out that he actually wrote music for the legend Sarah Vaughan and played instruments and sang. And Mom was a concert cellist who went to the Manhattan School of Music (Mom says she ear-trained me with her cello while I was in the womb). Even when they were homeless with me as a baby, my parents would play and sing together and I definitely feel that made an impact on my soul.
By elementary school, I met my aunt (father's sister) and found out that she went to Juilliard and discovered, wrote for, and co-managed Stephanie Mills and our family on my father's side has a long history as African Americans in music. As a little girl back in Newark, I wrote my first song when I was 3. I described the music I heard in my head to my mom as hearing "angel voices". Picked up my first violin at 2.5 because I wanted to be able to play in orchestra pits like my mother. Then started learning my way around the keyboard so that I could lay my ideas down. Ultimately, theater directors and music teachers at school and church took notice of me and I started performing for hundreds and sometimes thousands from age 7.
The stage quickly became my home and I never looked back. Through trying circumstances, music was my constant - I survived on it (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) - would not have made it through my childhood and life without it - and that holds true for me today. Which is why it is my mission to be there for others through the song. My voice has always been the one thing I could always rely on through everything and to be there for even one person in this world as a vessel for music and love is the ultimate privilege.
Wow, that’s an incredible & touching story! How does that tie into you using your birth name in your music career?
My father wasn't there when I was born nor was he in my life after those homeless months as a baby, but his last name was Holley. I was in so much pain over my dad that I almost didn't use his name at all. It was when I met my aunt Pat Holley (Singer / Songwriter / Coach / Juilliard Alum) and she showed me our family history as a freed slave African American and Native American Cherokee trail of tears family who later became professors, doctors, touring artists that I took his name as my stage name!
I'm so proud to be a Holley and thankful that my aunt and uncles found me and that my auntie helped me cultivate my gifts - thankful to carry the torch of my ancestors - so many of them who did extraordinary things in music but were not compensated or given the props they deserved. I feel the weight of the Holley name every day as I navigate this journey.
Wonderful! How would you describe your style musically? Has your sound changed & evolved since you started?
I'm a soul / R&B / pop singer and songwriter at heart and I've survived on music since birth. Great artists and songs saved my life and because of this, I'm deeply committed to creating and sharing love and soul through music for now and forever. I love blending genres as I come from a background that is filled with soul, pop, R&B, gospel, classical, jazz. I love painting in every shade of soul.
Like my fellow artists, I'm constantly evolving with every session, every collaborator, every song . . . I'm so thankful to be ever-growing and letting the music take me to places I didn't know I could reach!
Who are some of your favorite artists, engineers & producers to work with?
I've had the privilege of working with so many incredible producers, engineers, co-writers, and musicians on my journey so far - everyone from chart-topping, multi-Grammy, and Oscar / Tony / Emmy winners - to mega-talented up-and-comers who are just beginning to chart now! I'm so thankful for each and every collaboration, session, and song that I don't think I could choose any favorites! I love my musical family.
Are there any other musicians you would like to work with from your area?
I can't wait to work with so many incredible writers, producers, and artists!! If I tried to list them all, this interview would be 100 pages long. So I'll just say - I am so excited for collaborations coming my way and to be able to share it all with each of you!
What does a perfect studio or recording session look like in your imagination?
Music has brought so many together through song - has helped change the course of history, brought people together, helped them rise up, helped them believe, connected us and helped us transcend boundaries, made us fall in love . . . could not imagine a world without it at all.
Music is all that I am. Can't imagine a world without music and wouldn't want to!
What are some other talents & hobbies outside of music that some may not know about you?
I love writing poetry and prose - was published by Columbia Press as a teen. Love reading, hiking, and crystals and spending time with the people I care about!
That sounds neat! Now tell me, do you remember the first song you've ever made?
The first song I ever recorded for this project is one that I can't wait to share with the world. Even though I was a little girl, it means just as much to me now! So many of my first records (unreleased) are ones that I plan to share - they are definitely more stripped down and rooted in traditional soul / r&b energy and are songs that helped me make it through so many dark moments. Each song has a life of its own so it's hard for me to compare.
Exciting! I’m sure all the fans are eagerly waiting for what you’ll drop next. What's your favorite song that you've made so far?
Passionate
What's been the most difficult part of your journey in music?
Coming from a difficult background without a typical support system, I'm fortunate to be blessed with so many angels in my life both inside and outside of the industry. I know there is no way I would have made it this far without my musical family and my friends and team who have become my family who have been here for me in ways that I never dreamed to be possible.
In our industry that is so saturated with people who seek to hurt us as females and artists - especially when we are coming from poverty and traumatic backgrounds, there is nothing that means more to me than having such incredible, beautiful, powerful people by my side through this journey and I look forward to making them proud and paying it forward as everything progresses.
Is there any advice you would give to someone else who is thinking about getting involved with the music industry?
I would say to anyone who wants to be in the industry - to hold true to the music that the creator wants to express through you for others! Walk in faith over fear even when it seems bleak. Your power is in your music and your voice.
Any future plans for your career? Additionally, who is an artist/producer you dream of collaborating with?
Am so excited to continue creating and sharing music, touring, and collaborating with so many talented beautiful souls whom I look up to and am thankful to have on this journey with me. So many new releases on the way and new shows coming soon in addition to TV and Film projects! It's my plan to be there for others through music and be a force for good in this world for women and children through my platform. As for hopeful collaborations, too many to list - I want to collaborate with so many game changers we would be here all day!
