“The Music business is never still. It is always changing and evolving with the times and trends. Keeping up with it may seem daunting, but I feel like if you keep up to date with social media, music business news, and which ever direction the industry inevitably goes, it can be a really enjoyable experience.” – @cherelle_joy

Listen to the Interview
Episode #313 : A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax : http://www.blogtalkradio.com/avaliveradio/2016/04/07/episode-313-ava-live-radio-behind-the-music-with-jacqueline-jax

GETTING TO KNOW CHERELLE JOY
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio

Music business…
is never still. It is always changing and evolving with the times and trends. Keeping up with it may seem daunting, but I feel like if you keep up to date with social media, music business news, and which ever direction the industry inevitably goes, it can be a really enjoyable experience.

Pros and cons…
With a high concentration of indie bands using online sources to get recognition and to be heard, it can become very easy to disappear within the crowd. The pro to this however is that it is easier when you are able to create an individual/unique brand and a strong image for yourself that you can promote and that is highly recognizable by your audience.

Hurdles and pitfalls…
During the release of my first EP, which wasn’t too long ago, I didn’t really have a clear image and I was still trying to find myself musically. It is only recently that I have started to feel more confident in the direction I want to go in with my music career and I am seeing the results as more and more people are tuning in to my music. I am currently working on my next release and I hope to let people hear it soon.

Social media…
is great because it opens the doors allowing you to share your music to the world. You have a huge amount of options when it comes to choosing your social media platform and this gives you multiple routes to promote yourself.

A challenge I have had to overcome is…
my lack of social skills. As bad as it sounds, I am very happy to stay indoors writing songs and producing music by myself. But in order to do well in the music industry I have to become a social butterfly. Since I know this is my weak spot I focus and work even harder to keep in touch with people and to interact with different people.

Singles vs an album…
At the moment I enjoy releasing singles over releasing an album. Only because I am still establishing a following and I want people to know me and my music better before I decide to release a whole album.

I would love to have 5 minutes alone with…
Michael Jackson, if he were still alive. Michael Jackson is one of my biggest inspirations. I love how even though he was such a shy and introverted person, he was able to wow millions, even billions of people every time he hit the stage. I also loved how he expanded his artistry into his fashion. His charisma on stage and the way he became completely lost in his music was inspiring to me and I want to become some who has the same amount of presents on stage the way he did.

In the pop music industry…
it is without a doubt important to stay on top of the trends. The same can be applied less to the indie-world, but even still, I don’t think it takes away from the artistry of the musicians and I find if you are sincere and true to yourself within your music at the end of the day, the trends may even start to follow you.

I am most afraid of… Losing my ability to create music.

My personal definition of success is..
defined differently depending on who you ask. For me it is being able to successfully reach any goals I have set for myself whether they are long-term or short-term.

My successes so far would include…
I wrote a song in Korean and was able to perform it live in Korea.
The day I released my first EP. This was a great milestone for me, as it felt like I had finally taken a step forward into my music career.
I had my first ever radio interview at my local radio station, RootsFM.

My over all goal for my life & career is…
I hope to become a successful pioneer within the music industry and I want to make my mark in history. I have also always dreamed of owning my own artist Management company someday. I am taking baby steps.

3 Ways that I challenge myself…

1) I try to write a song every week if not everyday to keep my creativity rolling and to make sure I continue to add to my song collection.

2) I like to always make sure I am constantly improving vocally by performing vocal exercises everyday. I believe my voice has grown tremendously since 2011.

3) I challenge myself to become the social butterfly I need to be online and offline in order to survive in this industry.

Both my parents are musicians…
so it was almost impossible for me to avoid music. My Dad is a self-employed bassist and my Mum is a vocalist. At the age of 5, my Dad realized I had a bit of a talent when he was able to get me to sing the harmonies to ‘Mama’ by the spice girls; who were my favorite band at the time. My Dad told my Mum about his discovery and they both continued to support me and gently encourage me in my newly discovered talent and the rest is history as they say.

Gravity…
is a song I wrote one evening in my room as I sat at my keyboard. I had the lights out which helped set the mood for the writing of this song. It eventually became a very ambient song with the metaphorical idea of ‘Gravity’ representing that moment someone suddenly stops loving you, or when you finally come to the realization that the person you love no longer feels the same about you anymore.

A lot of my songs are written almost as if I am watching or scripting a movie. Since I have never really been in a relationship, I tend to try to imagine what it would be like to experience a specific kind of situation and in turn I try to recreate that specific emotion through my lyrics. Almost like acting, but from my heart and imagination.

Purchase the music: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/cherelle-joy/id876855144

You can expect to always hear…
something new and original from my music. I am an individual who does not like to be kept in a box, as I like to experiment and be creative with my music. All my songs will always be inspired from my heart and therefore will not come across as manufactured.
My first EP brought a feeling of summer, warmth and love. It also has an expression of innocent love.

I live in the North West of London…
and there is quite a large and diverse music scene here. Open mic nights are very popular at most pubs and it’s very easy to find a live music venue. I often try to get into the open mic nights and sing a few songs. My favorite venue is called the ‘Paradise’; although I haven’t been in a while, the venue is absolutely beautiful and the sound is always great.

As well as English…
I also like to sing in Korean (a language I learnt myself) and I used to sing a lot at some of the Korean cultural center events. One of the events I performed at was a contest called ‘The Kpop contest with YG entertainment’ and I sang the song ‘I’ll back of so you can live’ by Korean singer G.na. This was also my first EVER live performance and I won first place. Through this contest, I was then sent to Korea to perform the same song at a huge festival called the ‘2011 Kpop world festival’. I was called back to Korea again in 2012 where I performed a song I had written myself in Korean at the ‘2012 MBC College Musician festival’.

Purchase Music:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cherellejoy2/Gravity
https://cherellejoy.bandcamp.com/track/gravity
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/cherelle-joy/id876855144
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KAM0M1A

– Reverbnation page

https://www.reverbnation.com/cherellejoythompson/song/23299530-gravity

Social media:
http://www.cherellejoy.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CherelleJoy/
https://twitter.com/cherelle_joy
http://www.youtube.com/c/CherelleJoyOfficialTube
https://soundcloud.com/cherellejoy
http://cherellejoymusic.tumblr.com/