Kendra Erika: tone deaf to crafting top 10 hit records with courage and passion

In this episode of 'Almost Live Nashville,' host Tony Mantor interviews singer-songwriter Kendra Erica. The conversation delves into Kendra's journey from being born tone deaf to achieving five Billboard Top 10 Dance Hits.
Kendra shares her experiences of overcoming significant challenges through private coaching, perseverance, and mental discipline.
They discuss the impacts of comparison, emotional struggles, and the importance of hard work over natural talent.
Kendra also talks about her upcoming projects, including her 'License to Thrill' album and live showcase, as well as her passion for charitable endeavors focused on helping children and preventing human trafficking.
episode emphasizes the importance of staying the course, taking risks, and forging ahead despite obstacles.

Meet Kendra Erica: Overcoming Tone Deafness
Kendra's Journey and Challenges
Emotional and Mental Struggles
Achievements and Recognition
Future Plans and Projects
Charity Work and Giving Back
Final Thoughts and Reflections

INTRO/OUTRO Music: T. Wild
Mantor Music BMI

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:14

My career in the entertainment industry has enabled me to work with a diverse range of talent. Through my years of experience, I've recognized two essential aspects. Industry professionals, whether famous stars or behind-the-scenes staff have fascinating stories to tell. Secondly, audiences are eager to listen to these stories, which offer a glimpse into their lives and the evolution of their life stories. This podcast aims to share these narratives, providing information on how they evolved into their chosen career. We will delve into their journey to stardom, discuss their struggles and successes, and hear from people who help them achieve their goals. Get ready for intriguing behind-the-scenes stories and insights into the fascinating world of entertainment. Hi, I'm Tony Mantor. Welcome to Almost Live Nashville. Joining us today is Kendra Erika. She's a singer, songwriter who turns challenges into triumphs and music into magic. Kendra loved to sing as a young child, but she was born tone-deaf. By age eight, she defied the odds, trained in classical music, and began a journey that would lead to five Billboard top ten dance hits, including a number one remake of Laura Branagan's Self-Control. Her fearless creativity spans pop, dance, jazz fusion, and cinematic storytelling, culminating in her bold new single, Golineye, and her upcoming album, License to Thrill. We will dive into her remarkable journey and the courage that turns life's obstacles into unforgettable music. We will talk about that and more, so before we dive into our episode, we'll be back with an uninterrupted show right after a word from our sponsors. Thanks for joining us today.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

Hello. Hi.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

How are you doing today?

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Good, how are you?

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Oh, I'm doing great, thanks.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

My hair matches your background, which is good. We're already off to a great start.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Yeah, I love it. Great start for sure. It's a pleasure to have you here. I've done a little research on you. You're very open about being born tone-deaf. When did you first realize this? And then how did it shape your thoughts on how you could move forward with what you wanted to do?

SPEAKER_01 2:38

Well, I was really young, and my parents didn't tell me that I was tone-deaf. They just took me to the local theater because I wanted to get more involved in community theater. But in order to do so, I had to get, you know, straightened out skill-wise. So they introduced me to the musical director there, and I started private coaching with him. And he was a professional opera singer in Berlin. And he was very regimented, very strict, but he laid such a great foundation for me to build upon. And from then I was able to get more involved in those community theater productions and then keep on building from there and doing more, you know, talent competitions, which I won one of them and one of few others. But the first one I ever did, I won Singing Time to Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli. So coming from having no skill set to performing one of the most highly advanced songs out there, it just signified that this path is meant to forge onward with.

SPEAKER_00 3:39

Yeah, absolutely. Now I had the opportunity to record a singer one time that was tone-deaf. I know what I had to do to get the singer to sing on key and in pitch.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Right.

SPEAKER_00 3:52

How did you overcome that? And what was your journey to get to where you are?

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Well, fortunately, I was enrolled in private coaching at eight years old. So my mind was like a sponge. So I was able to absorb all of that training and information so amenably. And from that, because it was like I was so like vulnerable and and impressionable with that training, it just planted a lot of it just naturally planted a lot of those seeds. And so it it's basically like you're better off learning a language when you're super young than when you're, you know, in your middle years or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

Yeah. Yeah, that makes total sense. Now, so many people, when they get hit with the information that you did, it discourages them. They're told they don't have that natural ability.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

They have all kinds of opinions that's against them.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

Right.

SPEAKER_00 4:45

What did you do and what kept you going so that you could still go after what you wanted to do with music?

SPEAKER_01 4:52

Well, luckily I knew that this is what I wanted to do, so my spirit and my perseverance is what got me through. Although it was challenging and, you know, I did encounter some hard times, mostly mentally and emotionally. I still kept on. I still hiked up the mountain. I didn't let it deter me at at all. I think just the I think in a spiritual sense, when you have all these forces working against you, you're on the right path.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

Yeah, yeah, I like that thought process. What were some of the challenges? I mean, look, you overcame them all. What were some of the challenges that you found the most challenging?

SPEAKER_01 5:33

Uh, the most challenging was the comparison of me comparing myself to a lot of people that were, you know, naturally gifted. And even till this day, I still have to catch myself because when you've been doing that for so long, it becomes a habitual mental thing that you do. So I I have to I have to catch myself from time to time, even now comparing myself to people.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

Does that comparison usually motivate you to level up? Or does it ever pull you out of your own lane? And what brings you to think that way?

SPEAKER_01 6:09

I think it's only because, well, one of the challenges that I went through, and also because I have parents that are very, I wouldn't say competitive, but they always instill for me to do my best. And so um, you know, they're not musicians, they're they're business people. I mean, my my dad's an attorney and my mom's a very strong businesswoman in the commercial real estate world. So both are competitive fields. And with that, there always seemed to be like, oh, you know, you should, you know, look at what this person's doing and maybe do it this way. And I found that to be kind of the the thief of joy in my development because I never felt like I was good enough. I never felt like I had um what this person had or what that person had. But over time, and of course, with maturity and how things play out, and I was having a conversation with someone about this the other day, it goes back to a quote that I saw recently and it said, if you feel behind, don't feel behind. It's only because it wasn't handed to you.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

Yeah, I like that. Great quote.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

And I realize that because some of the people that I grew up with, even here locally in Boca, some of them have were brought into either family money or they were brought into family money, plus they had natural gifts. And now I feel that because I worked so hard for what I had to achieve and what I had to attain, then it created more of a character for me. And it and it created more of that tenacity or more of that skin and more of those lessons. And I feel like because I didn't have this developed, that I had I really had to develop this and this and and and all that. And I feel that on the contrary, if I were to have been given this, then I don't know, I I would be in the position of some of those people I grew up with who now have either, you know, health issues both physically, emotionally, and mentally, or they're just not making the right decisions, both brand or business decisions. So I really just I attribute and contribute all of that to not having it handed to me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Sure, sure. Now, a lot of people think of relationships between people.

SPEAKER_01 8:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:21

Some relationships are with the music. Do you feel by going through this the way that you had to go through it, it gave you a different relationship with the music that you create than some of the other people you might know?

SPEAKER_01 8:37

I'd like to say I think so. I believe so. I think that for most people they didn't really have to really think about it. But for me, I because I wasn't, you know, naturally brought into it, I feel like my my brain just had to, I think, because I I overthought everything and I just think in different dimensions, can I just see things differently than others? But I think it only amplified my stimuli, I'd say. And to answer your question, I believe so. I believe it has created a different relationship for me and the music.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

Yeah, that's great. Now that you have your relationship that you have with your music, yeah. How did you find that affecting you emotionally? And what kind of discipline did you come out of it with?

SPEAKER_01 9:22

It affected me emotionally in the sense that I feel it was I'm more sensitive to it.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:31

And to overcome that, I I I don't know. It's like I had I always maybe have created my own mental challenges, like the comparisons or just not feeling good enough, or you know, creating things that aren't really there only because I've lived in this sort of in this world of question. Um, like, is this really my calling? Is this not my calling? But I think throughout all of that, throughout all of this, my heart still wanted me to keep going and persevere. So although all of this was happening, it's as if the driver never stopped driving the bus.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

Yeah, that's great. Did it change the discipline in the way that you approached it?

SPEAKER_01 10:14

It changed being that I I had to work for it. It naturally instilled more of a disciplinary way of going about it because I, you know, I I wouldn't just wake up and, you know, sing seamlessly. So, but now I can because I've I've put in the time. But I think just the course of time and maturity and just overall development has put me in a position now to where I feel I feel like I can conquer it and even more.

SPEAKER_00 10:49

Yeah, now you compared yourself to other singers, which so many people do at times.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

Right.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

I'm interested when you're working on a song and you're working on your style, you're working on a song to get it finished. You know that there's something that just needs to be tweaked just a little bit. Right. To give it that little tangible difference. Yet you're still comparing yourself. How do you get past that comparison so you become the original singer that you are?

SPEAKER_01 11:21

I think once I started writing and recording my own music, that is kind of the catalyst that unplugged me from all of that. So when I started creating more of my own compositions and writing songs and writing pieces that were my own, I was establishing a signature and an individual stamp, an individual mark. So by doing so, I wasn't comparing myself that much anymore. But in the studios that I was working with, these producers that I started off working with, they were instantly really complimentary of my own sound. And I still get those compliments today and those words of positivity and encouragement today on my original sound. And like I said, I still check myself here and there, not as much anymore. But that only came with building confidence and seeing the payoffs happen, like winning a talent competition or parting hits on the Billboard Dance Chart and one of them going to number one, even though I didn't write that, but I added my own signature on it, and that was uh self-control. And also just being able to do these collaborations with these very talented people and working with very talented people. I mean, I wouldn't be working with these seasoned people if I didn't have anything to bring to the table, and also winning awards like the Hollywood Independent Music Award for both witchcraft, and then two years later winning it for my own song, Body Language. So, and just seeing those incremental payoffs was the testament to me overcoming that, overcoming that comparison.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

Yeah, yeah, that's good. I've seen people that have what people think is overnight success, which there really is none. Did you see your life change at all? Did you see yourself getting pulled and tugged in different directions? Because when you have top ten records like you have, you start getting awards like you have. That can change the whole dynamic that surrounds you.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

For me, I never really saw it really do a a whole change. It wasn't like, you know, hot tub time machine where I go into this into this hot tub and then I'm transported into like this new world. Yeah, for me, it was more like the like I said, these incremental changes that happen, but it really didn't change who I was or my world. Um I see each year, each month and each year, I just see more of an elevation with what I'm doing. Like it's more elevated, it's like here one year, then it's here, then it's here, then it's here. So it's going step by step. So I'm not just jumping from releasing a video in my garage and then overnight then being, you know, blasted all over and then being told to go to, you know, some big broadcast television event in China, you know what I mean? So everything was done in stages for me. And because it was done in stages, I was able to welcome each guest and each opportunity into my house so they didn't all just flood in all at once.

SPEAKER_00 14:29

Yeah, that's great. What's on the horizon for this year?

SPEAKER_01 14:33

Well, in February, February 13th is uh the licensed to thrill album, which is the James Bond tribute album, and it's produced by Myra McKinley, who produced my cover of Witchcraft by Frank Sinatra and Ralph Johnson, and he co-produced that, and that's the one that won the Hollywood Independent Music Award. But Myron and I created this album, and I knew that he was gonna be the guy for it because he did such a wonderful job with witchcraft and stripping it down, and he just has this way of creating a different signature on songs and giving them their own style. So I knew that he would be the one for this, but that's releasing in February 13th, and it's a cinematic and also musical journey throughout the decades of Bond. So you have your your Sean's, you know, your Roger decades, you have your Pierce Brosnan, so then you have your Daniel Craig's, and it just takes you through a journey which I really love. And then in tandem with that, on February 15th in Vegas at the space is the debut showcase for this album. So I'll be performing all the songs on the album in a full-length show. And that show has the legs to become a major show in Vegas, and not just in Vegas, but nationally and internationally as well.

SPEAKER_00 15:50

Oh, that's nice. We all hope to have something that is that special and creates a signature for you.

SPEAKER_01 15:57

Yes. Yes, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

Okay, so that takes you into February, and then of course you'll be expanding from that. Can we expect to see you on tour at some point?

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Not as of yet. Just stay tuned, and I'll have more shows coming up in the new year and also beyond. And I also have other music releasing that is really on that bond brand, but still stays true to that upbeat nature that I've been and journey that I've been on for the past 10 years.

SPEAKER_00 16:27

Now that you've done these things, you know where you're going.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

Right.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

If you could tell your younger self something to help you out, what would you tell her?

SPEAKER_01 16:39

Um, I think it's like that one part in The Walking Dead where Sheriff Rick, you know, yells to Carl, her son, he says, Carl, stay in the house. I think like jokingly, I think, yeah, that's what I would tell myself, stay in the house. No, I would just say I would just tell myself that just stay, stay the course, don't be afraid to take risks, and hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

With everything that you've been through, your music is very positive. You're trying to help charities wherever you can. What are your hopes that people get from what you're doing with your music?

SPEAKER_01 17:16

I hope people can see that I'm not afraid to to change lanes in order for my drive to go smoother down the road.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

I think it's great that you're trying to use your music in a very positive way. What charity is the one that's most important to you?

SPEAKER_01 17:33

Well, currently I'm a part of the LA5, which is the Los Angeles Rotary Club. I'm a member of that. And over the holidays, just recently, I was a part of a project at a a place called home. And that's a place for children of, you know, impoverished families or undocumented families. It's a center for them to build their skill set, whether that be in business or even music or dance or art or even culinary aspirations or even athletics. And what's very cool is now they have they're developing a vocational and entrepreneurial school for people that want to take a less institutionalized path to success. So that is something that I'll be very much involved with. I feel very passionate about helping children out. Also the prevention of human trafficking. That's something I'm also very passionate about. And just education for the youth in all forms, whether it's, like I said, whether it's the institutionalized path or whether it's a trade kind of a trade school kind of a path. And really just focusing on the kids because just like me, I was very impressionable to the training that I was receiving. So I want to give back to children and also to help families who don't have so much of a direction or the means to show their kids their opportunities and show them a higher ceiling. That's really important for me.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

I think it's really awesome that you're putting yourself out there to try to help people that really need that help. When you have fans come up to you or you see people that are being emotionally pushed back, what do you hope that they can take away from things that you've gone through? And how do you use that to show them that they can do what you've done?

SPEAKER_01 19:28

I think it's just that visual that I painted earlier, which is although there's a lot of noise in the bus, you still be the driver in that bus because as soon as that bus gets to where it's going, then you'll have less noise in your mind. But if you stop, if you stop the bus and keep the noise going, it's not it's gonna over overtake you. So you just keep on having to drive and keep on having to persevere and not let things deter you. I mean, I can't tell you how many times right before a performance or an opportunity or even an interview where I've had to really compartmentalize things, especially if I'm going through something personally or emotionally or mentally. There's so much that I have to compartmentalize for myself in order to keep the bus moving and keep the wheels churning.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

Yeah, I like that. When I'm producing or developing a singer, I like to map out a plan and usually it's like a five-year plan. Sure. What is your five-year plan? What do you see in your future?

SPEAKER_01 20:31

I see more coming down the pike or pipe. Yeah. I want to say down the pike because the pipe can mean something else, if you know what I mean. Um but I more coming with the James Bond experience, putting out more original music, more shows. Like I said, just keep on doing a more elevated version of what I'm doing now and keep climbing those stairs. Because I can say, oh, I want to be here like this month and this day. But if that doesn't happen, that only means that that's not a failure, or that's I didn't miss that at all. That's only because God's divine plan has something better for me.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

Yeah, I totally believe that. If something doesn't happen, it's not the end of the world. Something better can definitely come along. Mm-hmm. I've had situations where I've lost a project, I wondered what happened. Six months later, I found out, and it was a good thing. I think we've all had situations like that for sure.

SPEAKER_01 21:34

Yes. Unfortunately, it's um I'm not immune to what happened to us during the pandemic. I will say that I was just about to go on like the self control tour nationwide, and I was in rehearsals with the choreographers and with dancers, and that happened right before the pandemic, and then that happened, and then the two gentlemen I was working with. Who were going to be the tour managers and the bookers, they ended up passing away.

SPEAKER_00 22:04

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 22:05

So it's almost like it's completely my condolences and very heartfelt condolences to them not being with us anymore. I think that's only because during this time, I really needed to take that time for myself to try certain things out, to try new things out, which then led me to wanting to go back to my roots, like at the end of COVID, and just decide to do more of jazz and do more classics and just to reintroduce myself and to rebrand myself. And I think by doing so, that put me in a more secure vehicle.

SPEAKER_00 22:45

Yeah, totally makes sense. You know, many people will think of rebranding as starting over, but it's really not. Sometimes it's a very subtle change, but it's still a rebrand. And that makes that subtle change very impactful.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

Right.

SPEAKER_00 23:01

When that happens, it can really grow from there.

SPEAKER_01 23:04

Yes. One example that I constantly use is uh Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat dolls. I mean, she went from going like to now being like, I'm on stage singing a Broadway song, I'm winning a Tony, you know, and she's she's has more of this um sophisticated image now. And I think her image now is a lot more impactful than when she was, you know, doing the little twerky booty booty stuff with the pussycat dolls.

SPEAKER_00 23:32

Yeah, absolutely. Now, how do people find you? How do they follow you?

SPEAKER_01 23:36

Uh, you can find me on Instagram at Kendra Erica, also on Facebook at Kendra Erica Music, you can find me on YouTube, on Spotify, you also find me on TikTok, and if you just Google me, you'll find what you're looking for.

SPEAKER_00 23:50

Yeah, that's great. Now, what would you like to leave the listeners with that you think is very important that they know about what you're doing for the future?

SPEAKER_01 23:59

They need to understand that what I'm doing now is not is not because I'm looking for a departure from anything. This is only to deepen the scope of who I am and my dimensions.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

When you look at yourself from where you started, then you look at yourself to where you are today. Number one, are you happy with your evolution? And secondly, what can you see for a change on how you've evolved?

SPEAKER_01 24:32

I'm very happy in the evolution and the place where I am and where I'm going. So, how I can change from that, I I don't know. That's not something that I've thought about. But I think that's only gonna come with time and with going forward into this new path. So it's almost like you're hiking, you either want to go see the waterfall or you wanna go see the canyon. So, an either path is certainly won't be a negative one, but it's like you could either go see the waterfall or go see the canyon.

SPEAKER_00 25:03

So Yeah, that's a great analogy. I always tell singers that I work with, do your best because you never know who's watching you.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

Oh, I know.

SPEAKER_00 25:13

Then you never know who's around that next corner who can help you. And that could mean just a very slight little tweak or change that could change everything.

SPEAKER_01 25:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

Do you see any tweaks that could happen, or do you see a pretty steady path for you for your future?

SPEAKER_01 25:30

Uh, right now, so far, I can only see it in a in a certain direction, but yet still I have other music coming out that's more representation of the upbeat side of me, you know, the the billboard dance girl. But those upbeat songs are more like housey, they're they're more chic, they're more like European and they're more global, and they converge with that bond brand. So I think the changes, it's just gonna be a um, I don't want to say like a a change, but it's going to adapt and it's going to evolve. And there there will be some, you know, mutations here and there, but I think not so much mutations, but more of an evolution.

SPEAKER_00 26:11

Yeah, evolution is great. Now this just popped in my mind. Over the years I've seen myself evolve. As a singer, I've tried different styles of music just because I wanted to. Have you ever thought about doing something completely different? Not because you have to, only because you want to. Do you have any desire to do something completely different that everybody would just sit back and go, Wow, I didn't expect that? And then you sit back and listen to it and go, Wow, I'm glad I did this.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

Um, I would like to try country. Yeah. Not not because someone's like, er, do it, you know. Um, that'd be pretty funny, though.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

If you do that and come to Nashville, you see me.

SPEAKER_01 26:54

Exactly. Exactly. That's why I said it. And it's not, and it's not like it's not a move, it's just a it's not a stunt. Yeah. It's not an angle. It's a genuine feeling that I that I have.

SPEAKER_00 27:09

Well, that's good. I love it. Well, this has been great. Great information, great conversation. I really appreciate you taking the time to join us today.

SPEAKER_01 27:18

Definitely, yeah. It's been a great, like I said, it's a wonderful conversation, and thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00 27:22

Oh, it's been my pleasure. Thanks for joining us today. We hope you enjoyed the show. This has been a Tony Mantor Production. For more information, contact media at plateau music.com.