A Mix of Sarah Bareilles Meets Adele: Interview with Up-and-Coming Singer Samantha Aurelio

By Amanda Deltuvia —

Hailing from the East Coast, Grammy nominated singer Samantha Aurelio is petite but she can hit those notes with strength and prowess. With a Sarah Bareilles-infused piano style synced with a voice comparable to Adele’s amazing pipes, it’s clear that Aurelio is a tour de force.

Samantha Aurelio received a Grammy nomination for her work with the well-known jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco on his album “Never Can Say Goodbye” in 2011, and has been on the move ever since. The 5-foot-tall performer has been actively singing and performing for the last eight years. Recently, she released her first self-titled EP with producer Joe Buscema and is gaining fans from coast-to-coast. Here is Aurelio in her own words.

AD: You just released an EP. Which is your favorite track on it and why?

SA: My favorite track is “Fly Away,” because I didn’t trust that song when I first wrote it. So the creation of that song means a little more by seeing the transformation process. I’d like to call it “The Little Song that Could.”

AD: What’re your top three favorite songs of all time?

SA: I’d probably have to go with “Don’t Stop Me Now,” by Queen. That’s a really hard question, I like the craziest music. Let’s see, “Fire and Rain” by James Taylor. “Blackbird” by The Beatles. Those are definitely top three. Little eclectic, old school. Newer stuff would be “Let the Rain” by Sarah Bareilles.

AD: Are there any new artists that people may not know about that have tickled your fancy lately?

SA: I am on a huge Ellie Goulding kick lately. I’m going to see her when I go out to L.A. And Allen Stone.

AD: Speaking of L.A., when are you going?

SA: February 6th.

AD: Where will you be playing?

SA: I am playing Feb 11th, which is a Monday, at 8pm at Room 5 in West Hollywood. And I believe that there is a “Songwriter’s Night” after my set. It’s my set, then open mic after. If you go to my Facebook page, you can pull up the address.

AD: What are your favorite things about L.A. and Hollywood?

SA: Besides the weather? I love the life of it. The dream of it all. It’s like the “Goldenland.” It’s a little more packaged than New York is. New York is the promised struggle, and L.A. is all wrapped in gold, always sunny, a little bit happier.

AD: What are some of your favorite spots in the L.A. area?

SA: I’m pretty fond of the Starbucks in LAX. I go there every time I fly (laughs). I have to stop at the beach every time I go out to the West Coast, either Santa Monica Pier or Manhattan Beach. Frida Mexican Cuisine I believe is the restaurant I went out to before the Grammys. I also love Malibu Seafood and Health Nut.

AD: What is an interesting fact about you that not many people would know?

SA: Hmm… I really love Olympic lifting and gymnastics. I’ve been doing Crossfit for about four years and before that I was a runner and did karate. Basically, my mom wanted me to be really tough for my size!

AD: Do you have a favorite quote?

SA: “I’m bigger than my body gives me credit for.” I feel like John Mayer wrote that about me.

AD: Top three passions in life?

SA: Music, writing and cooking. I love cooking.

AD: You always have a slew of love songs and breakup songs, are these solely based off of your experiences or have you pulled interesting relationship stories from friends into your music?

SA: The stuff that I released is all personal. I have stuff that I have not released, that is in the making that is of other peoples’ relationships.

AD: Do you find it easier to write about your own relationship experiences or other peoples’?

SA: Me. 100%.

Well, it depends on where I start. Because sometimes I start at the piano and sometimes I start with the words. Lately, I’d say I end up in a coffee shop for a couple of hours and write a whole lot. Sometimes you’ll catch me singing quietly into my phone recording melodies and then, coming back later to my piano and work from there. Usually it involves a lot of writing before I do any musical accompaniment. Lots of time in the coffee shop. (laughs) They know me there, it’s cool.

AD: When you get stumped on music or lyrics, what do you do to get inspired?

SA: Spotify everything.

AD: Spotify?

SA: Because there’s so much music there! Usually where I hear the melody in my head, is usually the genre of music I start to listen to. Because if I try to write an upbeat song, I’m not gonna listen to a ton of really slow stuff. (laughs). In a perfect world I’d like to go see a show whenever I’m stuck. That’s really inspiring. Every time I leave a show, I’m like “I wanna write an album!”

AD: What’s the next step? Are you going to record an album?

SA: We are writing the album. That’s what’s happening. My producer and I are going to co-write and produce a full-length masterpiece. It’s very exciting. We’re in the writing process now, so it’s just a little baby. We have to nurture it and let it grow. Just like a seed.

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For more information on Samantha and to listen to her music, check out her website, or purchase her EP on iTunes