Meet Giselle Lily | Singer/songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Giselle Lily and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Giselle, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
There are 100 reasons why I could say I pursued a career in music, but the short (and cheesy) answer is music is my life. Growing up I was exposed to a lot of music, specifically by my mom who was a concert pianist. I remember I would come downstairs to her playing these beautiful pieces and would get absolutely swept up by the music and dance around the room for hours while she played. It was clear I was especially interested in piano, so my mom put me into lessons when I was six… to say I was hooked is an understatement. Even at a young age I knew that music impacted me in ways that nothing else could, so I tried to immerse myself in it in every way possible. That meant theater, choir, flute lessons, a whole list of other lessons, and of course playing piano and singing every free second I got.

I guess now that I look back at it, piano is kind of what introduced me to songwriting. There was this one year that I just couldn’t think of a good birthday present for my mom, and while I was sitting at the piano I thought why not just write her a song for her birthday! Now dont get me wrong my songwriting skills at 10 years old were god awful, but that was the start to my songwriting journey. The more I wrote, the more ideas I had, and songwriting quickly turned into an outlet for me to express myself creatively and emotionally. Music has become my safe space, and by sharing my music with the world I have the ability to create other peoples safe spaces as well.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a 20 year old singer/songwriter based out of Brooklyn, NY. The genre of music I write is mainly R&B/neo-soul, but I dont limit myself to just that. This past year alone I think I’ve been exposed to more music than I have in my entire life, and its opened my eyes to so many different writing styles, genres, and so much more. When I first started releasing music I was pretty set in my ways about only wanting to release music in a certain genre, but I didn’t realize how much I was limiting myself creatively. One of the main lessons I’ve learnt is songwriting isn’t about trying to conform to a certain vibe. Its about having a spark of creativity or emotion and embodying that into a song in whatever way feels right. That lesson along with HUNDREDS of others have totally changed my way of thinking as an artist and as a person.

If there was one lesson I had to share, it would be that nothing comes easy. As an artist/musician, some may think its an easy career choice because you’re just doing what you love.. but oh are they mistaken. I do love it, I love every second of this beautiful journey that I’m on, but when I say every second I mean every second. Music is a 24/7 around the clock job. If you’re not playing a gig, you’re learning lyrics for the next one. If you’re not writing lyrics to a song, your editing a video for tik tok to keep up with the rest of the independent artists trying to get their name out, and the list goes on. Now again, I LOVE it, but to say its not absolutely exhausting sometimes would be a lie. Thats why this lesson is one of the most important ones for me. Although you may be super passionate about something, that doesn’t mean it’ll come easy, but on the flip side, just know that the hard work you put in is going to pay off, and OOHHHH does it feel good when it does.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, although I live in Brooklyn now, I only moved there two days ago.. so I have yet explore and find some good eats! An area I could give some insight on though is my hometown, Fair Lawn, NJ. One of my favorite spots to go after a long night out when you just need some good greasy goodness is Juicy Platters. Your stomach will hate you in the morning I gotta keep it real, but anybody will tell you its so worth it (make sure to get extra white sauce, you’ll understand once you try it). One spot I spent a lot of time at over the past few years is Overpeck park. Its this beautiful huge park that always has these cool events going on, but I spent most of my time there having picnics and just spending time with friends. That was always our go to spot on a nice day.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to the insanely talented producer and multi-instrumentalist, Itamar Gov-Ari. I was introduced to Itamar right at the beginning of my music career, and he instantly became my mentor, my big brother, and one of the most supportive people in my music career and in my life. Aside from always giving me the best advice and steering me in the right directions, he is ALWAYS there for me, wether its to give me feedback on a song, put me in touch with the right people, or give me a pep talk when I’m not feeling too hot. I cant thank him enough for the constant love and support he gives me, and I can’t wait to continue working with him and show everyone what we’ve been cooking up 🙂

Theres a whole list of other people I could give shoutouts to, but one other person who has played a huge role in all of this is my mom. Although she admittedly doesn’t know a thing about the music business, she has always been there to say “I have no idea what your talking about, but tell me how I can help”. She’s one of the only people that has never once failed to have my back and theres no words to describe how thankful I am to have her <3

Website: https://beacons.ai/gisellelilymusic

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gisellelilymusic/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gisellelilymusic/

Other: spotify- https://open.spotify.com/artist/3MjsYDxiYQf77u7zWaVZ9l?si=lfYDIlrDQTOYcZzEOr3SaQ apple music- https://music.apple.com/us/artist/giselle-lily/1568579682

Image Credits
Cody Williams