Several years ago, Priscilla Renea made her grand debut on YouTube – posting home-made videos from the comfort of her home in Vero Beach, Florida. And through the use of several innovative marketing techniques, Renea amassed a sizable online following and landed a recording deal with Capitol Records. Her debut album, Jukebox, was released on December 1, 2009.
Like the album’s title suggests, Priscilla Renea is an eclectic artist. On Jukebox, she masterfully fuses elements of rock, pop, and R&B, with select tracks evoking the spirit of contemporary artists like Katy Perry (“Dollhouse”), Rihanna (“Lovesick”), and Keyshia Cole (“Pretty Girl”).
In the midst of a promotional tour for Jukebox, Priscilla Renea managed to squeeze some time out of her busy schedule and settle down for an interview with Clayton Perry — reflecting on her YouTube experience, the inspiration behind “Rockabye Baby,” and the video shoot for “Dollhouse.”
You are the product of a musical household. Your mother was a lead singer in a band, and your father was a singer and a trumpeter as well. During the early stage of your life, how did their love and passion for music influence your own?
Well, my mom was always listening to old school records. I was always having to listen to Frank Mendenhall — I don't even know if anybody even knows who that is! [laughing] And Johnnie Taylor! [laughing continues] But she never really encouraged me to be a singer. It's just something that I did.
My dad always wanted me to play an instrument, so he started me out on piano lessons. I wasn't complaining, but it was kind of hard, because we were Navy. We were moving around at least every six to eight months, and it was very hard to be consistent with the lessons. So I kind of fell off on that. I think my mom knew that I wanted to sing — and she didn't want to discourage me — but she definitely wasn’t pushing me to do it. I guess she saw the bad side of it and she didn't want me to get taken advantage of, or get my hopes up. She's definitely happy for me now.
As you were growing into the business, did your mother ever give you any advice that stemmed from her musical experiences? You mentioned that she was slightly apprehensive.
She's very quiet about her musical past. She still never even really told me what happened, actually. The only thing that she did tell me is that this guy wanted to sign a band, and the band went ahead and signed with him. She had no idea that they had signed, and he figured that since they signed with him, he had control over my mom. So he came in one day, and he was trying to tell them what to do, and she said, "I don't have to be in this band. I'm just doing this for fun, and this isn't fun any more, so I quit." And so, she quit, and that's all she's ever told me about it.
Article comments
1 - Priscilla Rene
oh my gosh..... i didnt even know that Priscilla Renea ever existed until my friend told me.. thats pretty cool that we have the same name, but Renea spelt different. & I always wanted to be a singer, but i'm still young, so i post videos on youtube. Check me out:)