INTRO BY KATARZYNA MONIKA SKŁADANOWSKA
INTERVIEW BY CAMI LIBERTY
PHOTO COURTESY OF LAURA PIERI
A future icon of this generation, Brazilian-born powerhouse Laura Pieri has always been following musical paths. Ever since she was a little girl, she dreamt about being an artist. There never was a specific moment when she realized she wanted to follow it; music has always been in her life. Her earliest memory was her mother singing to her and that’s how she started feeling the musical influence in her life.
She began her musical journey with singing at events, trying to reach out to someone who could make her dreams reality. Born and raised in Sao Paulo, she came to New York in 2014 to finish her studies. Her talent was fully discovered when the young artist was put in touch with Grammy award winning producer and writer Cory Rooney. Then they got into the studio and never left, working on couple songs, including her debut single "I Will Follow You.”
When she speaks about her first single, Laura believes that everyone can relate to it. The song is about falling in love with someone that there’s nothing you wouldn’t do for that person and the music video’s style is a little bit inspired by Bonnie and Clyde.
Laura Pieri opens up to us about her debut single "I Will Follow You," explaining why she has chosen this song to introduce herself to the music industry. This brand new face in entertainment also tells the story behind re-launching her music video for the song and what we can expect from her in the near future.
When was the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?
"Being a musician is something that has always kind of been a part of my life. My mother used to sing to me when I was younger and music has always just been there, so once I began growing up it just felt natural to follow that path."
You recently released your debut single “I Will Follow You.” Why did you choose for this song to be your first single?
"I love the energy in the song. It's a hype song! It felt like a good introduction of myself into the music industry, personally. It's an exciting and big song that deals with passion and love – all things that are very important to me."
The original music video for “I Will Follow You” featured gun violence. You recently took the video down and re-launched it without the gun violence. Why was it important for you to do this?
"Well, when it first came out, the usage of guns had a purpose in the plot of the video. However, after the events in Parkland, I realized that the video did not further the conversation of gun violence, it romanticized it. The couple got away with it and that did not sit right with me. I did not want to send a message that any action of violence is one to be looked up to. Thus I felt like it was necessary to take it down and re-edit the video. I want to be an agent of change and good, and if that meant re-launching my debut single, so be it."
Do you think the meaning of the video has changed at all now that the gun violence is no longer there?
"I don't! I love the video as it is. Don't get me wrong, I loved it how it used to be as well, but I feel like the plot still progresses as it should and the story still makes sense. The focus of the song is love and being in love, and we do not need guns to communicate that."
What do you hope people take from your music when they listen to it?
"I hope they relate to it and it makes them feel good. That's really why we do what we do. To know that someone heard my song and connected to it and said: 'I FEEL THAT'! That is the most important thing for me."
Is there anything else we can expect from you in the near future?
"I have an acoustic version and video of 'I Will Follow You' coming real soon. Then a brand new single that I can’t wait for the world to hear. Let’s just say I am going to continue to create and release quality content. Stay tuned!"