It takes a bold kind of woman to uproot her life and fight for a dream. And that’s exactly what 24-year-old Bria Lee has done. The vocal powerhouse originally from Rhode Island set her sights on writing and creating music and has been living out her dream ever since.
Because it isn’t everyday that artists without a clear track record behind them get picked up by one of the biggest record labels of our generation just goes to show that Bria is already defying the odds.
After the heartbreaking loss of her father, Lee has pushed onward with her new angel always by her side as she tackles expansive musical collaborations such as Fat Joe and Pitbull.
But now she’s ready for a new kind of milestone, releasing her EP “Little Room” featuring art done by her mother and comes with seven new songs written (and co-written) by the star.
PopHearts had the chance to chat with the rising newcomer as she opened up about all things songwriting, loss, and the new album that will be on every winter playlist you’ve got.
Bria: Hello?
Shelby: Bria, hi, how are you?
B: I’m really good, how are you?
S: I’m good thanks, where are you at currently, are you in LA, East Coast?
B: I’m in New York
S: At the age of 17 you landed your way to New York’s Manhattan School of Music, which is a young and vulnerable age, can you tell me a bit about what that was like, and your experience?
B: So, I went to the Manhattan School of Music 17 turning 18 for my freshman year of college. I had experienced pre-college before, for piano, through New England Conservatory in Boston, so I was used to the competitive environment. And it is very competitive. It’s a music conservatory so everybody there is a music major, there’s no other, we didn’t have math majors, or science, we were all there for the same thing, so it’s a very competitive environment, but I learned a lot there. It was a big part of me finding who I am as an artist, and what I don’t want to do as well.
S: And how did you deal with that competition and growing up at that age?
B: You know, for me, I’m not very competitive, I just like to do my own thing and be my own best, I never really had much of a concern for being better than anyone else, I just always had confidence, you know like I know I’m good, there’s no one like me, you know and I think for me, I just felt that um, a lot of other people there I think the competition drove them crazy, and it definitely was a lot pressure for me too, but I also was still kind of finding out who I was as an artist, I went there strictly for classical piano, which is what I grew up playing. I mean I always sang, but my main focus was playing the piano. You know I travelled, I went to Europe to perform, I was very very focused on that. So you know when I was at MSM I kind of was starting to realize that there was other forms of music that I wanted to explore. I didn’t want to specifically just be a classical pianist.
S: And growing up a really special person who influenced your music growing up. Do you know who I’m referring to and can you tell me a little bit about your relationship with him? (It’s your dad) – If you have more, by all means, I just thought it was really beautiful reading about your father, the time you spent with him.
B: Yeah, he was definitely a big part, he was the first person who really pushed me and believed in me. You know my mom too, but dad really taught me about sacrifice, and sometimes I wouldn’t get to do the things that other kids wanted to do because I wanted to be great, and I had to practice a lot, you know he was just always there for me, he drove me to my lessons, he listened to all my songs, he would sit there and listen to me play and sing for hours and hours, it was our thing together, you know? And he was a doctor, so his life was very like, you know, by the book, and very technical, and so to have a daughter, and a wife, my mom is a painter and a singer, I think he was very intrigued by us. We were like the peace in his life, because he could just turn off his career and just listen to us, you know, and just enjoy that. So that’s a really big part of me growing as an artist.
S: You signed to Republic records afterwards. What was it like getting signed to Republic records, and what was going through your mind at that moment?
B: Well, it was, it’s kind of a unique story, my cousin Jackie, her father won these auditions for the TJ Martell Foundation and with like the CEO of different record labels. And it’s like, you opt, you pay money for these auctions, and you win these auditions. So she had gone to you know one in LA, and one in Nashville. So she brought me to the last one, which was with Monte Lipman at Republic Records, and you know, I was just a waitress and a jazz singer, I didn’t you know I was waiting for my big break but didn’t really know how the heck it was going to happen, you know, I was just sort of hoping to get discovered in a club somewhere, you know? And she brought me to his office, and he has a piano in his office, and I sang for him, and you know, I don’t think he expected, or I expected to get signed or anything, but after I played for him and sang, he kept asking for more and more songs, and then he was like, ok I’m going to sign you to Republic Records.
B: And at this time, I hadn’t even recorded, I hadn’t, I had an Instagram that had maybe 200 followers, and like, pictures of my cat. It was, you know, I didn’t have any social media, no following, no nothing, so I was just like, you’re gonna what? Sign me? So definitely, the old-fashioned way that things are done. Because nowadays, people get signed when they sort of already had momentum, they have a song on the radio in their town, or they have hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram or Twitter or whatever, and I didn’t have any of that, I just was very lucky.
S: That’s so amazing, I just audibly gasped, because that just sounds like a once in a lifetime moment and I’m so happy you got to experience that! Now you talked about waiting for your big break, so what was that hustle like for you and how did you balance all of that?
B: Definitely difficult. At times I was working up to 80 hours a week at pizzerias and restaurants and stuff, and then at night I would go and sing jazz. I don’t think I slept ever. It was just like, how am I going to pay rent, how am I going to sing, where am I going to sing, how am I going to get a gig, who’s going to play with me, let’s get a band together. You know the jazz world can be very competitive as well as the classical world, so there was that, and finding a band that everybody gets along, you know? And you know, and just also the grind, and just trying to like, make money to survive, and to eat, and luckily I always, I always tried to work at restaurants so I didn’t have to buy food a lot, you know, I could eat at work, and I just figured out how to do it, you know? And it’s not easy living in New York. I mean I pay like $1000 to live in a room that’s the size of most people’s closet.
B: So, you know, just to live close to Manhattan, I lived in Brooklyn, it’s just, it’s, that’s just kind of the way it is. But you know, we all go, a lot of artists go through that struggle, and I think it helped make me who I am today, you know? I definitely wrote a lot of good songs about it.
S: Yeah the restaurant move was a smart move on your part. What advice do you have for artists who are currently going through the same thing?
B: My advice is to make sure that you have a team that makes you feel confident, and it’s okay to go through different people and find the right people, you know? Just don’t let anyone, especially for the girls, don’t let anyone take away your right, you know, to make decisions, and have opinions on things. Always fight for that, and always, if the music doesn’t feel right for you, or if somebody’s pushing you in a direction that just doesn’t feel right, like in your gut, at the end of the day, you’re the artist, you’re the boss, you make the decisions, and if you have a good team, which you know, I’m fortunate to have, now, you know, if you have a good team, they’re going to respect you know, your vision and your decisions. And also, aside from that, just be humble too. Don’t let anything get to your head, because the minute that you start thinking you’re better than everyone else, or that you’re, you know like, we have a team because we’re a team. And yes I’m the artist, and I have, you know, the vision, but we’re all a team and staying humble is really important. I’ve seen a lot of people who you know, they start to get a little momentum and then they just lose themselves in it, you know? And I think that like all those years of working in restaurants and doing that and trying to make rent, and all that, kind of instilled sort of humility in me?
B: And I really hope it sticks. Cause that’s important to me, that’s really important to just stay humble.
S: Now speaking of momentum, you’re about to get a ton of momentum tomorrow, because your EP comes out, Little Room, do you want to tell me a little bit about that?
B: Yes, so Little Room, the name has many meanings. You know, a lot of the songs were written in a little room, in close quarters, I wrote a lot of the songs either by myself or with my executive producer. We kind of came up with the name together, I sort of, after I got signed, I had to, like I said, I had no music recorded, so I had to start recording all these songs and writing these songs and everything, and I just spent every day cooped up in a little room and it just reminded me of those days growing up when it was just me and my dad, and we were in a little room in my house with the piano and he would just lay on the couch, and just listen to me for hours and hours and that’s where it all began, and then, you know when I got signed, I kind of went back to that, so, you know it’s really just, from that starting small, and this is just the first step in my story, and it’s my first project that I’m releasing, that’s really it, the name just fit.
B: And the songs on it I guess the songs really are just about my life and how I look at things, and how how I’ve sort of come to terms with things, and I think there’s songs for people to like, listen to and relate to, you know? And maybe not feel as lonely when they listen to them, or as like, at the end of the day we just want to hear something and just be like, oh ok, so I’m not the only one who feels that way, you know? Like for me, listening to music, that always helps me. So I always try to just put my thoughts and my emotions into this music so that other people can feel that same way I guess, you know.
S: Which song would you say is like your favorite, coming from this Little Room?
B: My favorite…hmm…there’s my favorite to listen to and my favorite to perform
S: Okay, let’s hear both!
B: My favorite to listen to would be “Nowhere” with Chris Webby, just because that one I really feel like a lot of people in relationships that are going nowhere, maybe even toxic relationships, can relate to that. And it’s definitely is a good one to listen to. I even listen to it sometimes when I’m feeling a certain type of way. And my favorite one to perform would definitely the song called “Forget Me,” because it’s just so fun to sing, and it’s so fun to play on the piano, and it’s an angry passionate song but it’s also really a lot of fun, and it’s got a lot of high notes in it, so you know those would be my two favorites, but I love them all, like, it’s hard to pick a favorite. It’s like asking a parent which is their favorite kid.
S: Do you have a lyric on any of these songs that you’re like, I am just so proud of this one that you think back to?
B: That’s a hard one.
S: I know, I ask the hard-hitting questions here, it’s intense.
B: I like thinking about “Forget Me.” One of the cool lyrics, and I mean I don’t have a favorite, but I guess like, I got one line that says “Got myself a Judas, I need Holy wine” yeah, but I don’t know, I don’t know what my favorite one is, it’s hard.
S: No, it, it is a hard one, that’s why I asked. Now last question before we get into some fun rapid-fire ones, what do you think, what do you hope the overall message fans get from this EP that you hope they take away from?
B: You know it’s just about, I would say this EP really gears toward relationships and addictions, you know not just to substances but to situations, and to people, and um, you know it’s really just about going through those situations and trying to figure out what’s going on inside of ourselves, in our minds and stuff, and you know, it really just touches on that. And it’s just raw, you know, and it’s not like any super amazing message, it’s just, those songs, I was at that point of my life then, and the next EP will be how I got through all that, you know, it’s really just about growth, and this is just me baring my soul, and hopefully other people can hear it, and relate. Or if they don’t relate, maybe they just like the songs.
What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
Um, I wish it wasn’t this, but I look at my phone
What’s your favorite app on your phone?
Favorite app on my phone, snapchat
What’s something you don’t leave the house without?
My sunglasses
Someone you wish you could collaborate with?
Post Malone
Favorite Post Malone song?
It’s called “Stay”
Something people should be focusing more on right now?
Climate change
Who inspires you?
My mom
Favorite place in the whole world?
There’s a little tree in this graveyard across the street from me, and I like to go there and take naps under it
What’s your favorite restaurant on the East Coast?
My favorite restaurant ever um, is a restaurant called Babbo, in Manhattan
Favorite restaurant on the West Coast?
Nobu
You can stream “Little Room” on every streaming platform including: Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, and more!
