Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariel Reign.
Ariel, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started singing before I could talk. My mom said one day, she walked into my nursery and as young as 8 months I was singing a lullaby to myself.
I was born with hearing loss but we didn’t know until I was 5, and that’s when I got my first pair of hearing aids. I felt like I was a superhero because I could hear through the walls.
Singing was therapy for me. I wasn’t accepted by my peers — one because I was a big personality and two because I was different. I enjoyed old-school music, deep conversations, and talking about Jesus (LOL). Also, having hearing aids didn’t help, kids can be mean when they don’t understand things.
However, I didn’t mind as much, singing was my outlet. I’d spend all my time perfecting songs, performing for anyone who’d listen.
By the time I was in high school, I started singing professionally and I had this hugeeeeeeeee solo in front of my school when I was 15 and it changed my life. I knew then I’d perform for the rest of my life. The thing is you can love something and have a passion for it but unless you’re willing to work for it — how fruitful can it be?
By the time I got to college my best friend and I started a band called The Contradictions the second day we met. We won the battle of the bands and headlined a show at The Chicago House of Blues. After going solo, I began to record my own music and perform all around Chicago. I eventually found myself on American Idol, Season 3 making it all the way to Hollywood week — making the top 166 out of 20,000 people!
A few months later, I won the first-ever international singing competition Clubhouse Got Talent, and landed a distribution deal on KP Media Tv! I now have my own Tv Show called “Ariel Reign Almost There” on Kp Media Tv Network which airs on Amazon Fire Tv, Apple Tv, Roku, and Android Tv. (https://kpmedia.lightcast.com/content/sc_32188_6191)
Having the tv show which is about music and travel caused me to venture out and discover a bunch of beautiful places. I went from Cancun to Miami, to Cali, to Memphis.
I vacationed in Memphis in June 2021, and someone randomly invited me to sing with their band. We did so well that they told me to come back so we could start our own band and perform on Beale Street. That’s just what I did. I’m now a resident artist on Beale Street, discovering myself, and my talent and sharing my gift with people from all over the world.
I have many opportunities and many collaborations on the table, and I’m so grateful to be able to do all I can do.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I left home in December with $0 in my pocket and a dream. It’s been a bumpy road but I realize happiness is a choice and a positive perspective will keep you.
I went from Chicago. to Atlanta, to Memphis a span of 6 months, living in each place. I won the Ilounge February Soundcapsul Championship which got my song “So Close” by Ariel Reign on 60+ radio stations around the United States and it got two radio interviews too!
Bouncing around from place to place — and adding to the list (Austin, St. Louis, L.A., and D.C) it’s gonna be a wild ride. I’ve never wanted a set life. A life where I did the same thing every day. However, in all honesty with having such spontaneity, you feel you have a lack of control! But that’s okay, worry is like a rocking chair — it gets you nowhere.
Life is an event that happens to all of us my Pastor says. I try not to take it too seriously. When I get in front of the microphone, it all disappears anyway.
Being a singer with hearing loss is an oxymoron but defying the odds is my specialty. The best people have the most peculiar stories.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I bring the feeling to anything I sing but I promote joy and happiness even in darkness. My unreleased album (it’s exclusive on my tv show) is all all about self-love and fighting to be best friends with yourself. We don’t have to be sad and alone when we have ourselves.
My writing process is mostly freestyle. I’ll go to the mic and what comes out initially is usually the best. Music is spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional. It’s otherworldly and when I’m singing I operate in that. I have a full visual album on my tv show and it embodies all those different aspects of life.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Being in music, it’s an ever-changing environment. I believe that 10 years from now everything will be about NFTs and digital performances.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.arielreign.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/arielreignmusic
- Facebook: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjK_7OU_pv5AhWvnWoFHdxNAY4QFnoECAUQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2Fpeople%2FAriel-ReignAlmost-There%2F100068232157125%2F&usg=AOvVaw0CL8Ql-AmZv7L1N4jP_zpg
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3_ZC7HClWs2YCDQit3vvuA
