Silva’s Silver Lining : Sarah Silva Exclusive for Rival Online
The Latin American pop star opens up about her music and life to Rival readers
INTERVIEW BY: ASHLEY DAWSON
PHOTOGRAPHY: HEATHER KOEPP
The moment that you load up a Sarah Silva song it hits you; this music is no ordinary work of art, but a versatile and emotional release of feeling. From her beginning as a child singer on the popular show La Academia Kids to releasing her full studio album this September, Silva’s unique brand of Latin Pop continues to reach millions of listeners across the globe. Especially during this time of uncertainty, young people are flocking to Silva’s music as a safe haven to relate and rejoice in lyrics that reach them on personal levels. We at Rival had the pleasure of sitting down with Sarah to learn more about her life and art as a musician in today’s world.
Born and raised in Southern California, Silva has never been a stranger to her Hispanic heritage and culture. Her parents introduced her to Latin America at a young age, and this had a huge impact on her music and career. “Having both US and Hispanic sides to me has really shaped the way I make music,” Silva says, “and I love mixing the two and playing around with different styles and genres.” Indeed, Silva comes from a long line of singers, and is the first in her family to pursue a career in the industry full time. “I would watch my family members sing in family reunions and that made me want to try it out for myself. After that I never stopped and kept working on my music,” Silva tells us. After beginning her journey to a career in music at the young age of ten, her friends and family rallied around Silva to help her achieve her goals.
That journey, of course, started with her experience on the competitive TV show “La Academia Kids.” Silva moved to Mexico City for a couple of months at a young age, without knowing much Spanish at the time. Despite these hurdles, however, she managed to earn second place in the renowned show and was offered numerous musical opportunities because of it. “This was a learning experience for me,” she told Rival editors, “because every day I had singing lessons, dancing lessons, and music drills with the best instructors in the industry.” Silva also used this time to get back to her Hispanic roots and work on her Spanish.
Of course, this incredible accomplishment in her childhood opened hundreds of doors for Silva to build a sturdy base for a successful career as a musician. Her new single, “Somebody Like Me,” is set to release this Friday, and she was excited to tell us more about the song:
“’Somebody Like Me is about knowing that you are exactly what a certain someone needs,” Silva explains. “Their past experiences didn’t work out, but now they don’t need to look anymore because you’re here for them. It’s also about feeling empowered and confident, and knowing you can do anything.”
Silva says she really loves the song because she believes it has enormous power to make listeners feel good about themselves, and it has a “nice, soothing groove” to it. She hopes that upon its release, people listen to the words and immediately feel good about themselves, and realize that they are “enough for anyone.”
Of course, Silva is known for her “unique brand of Latin pop” and the versatile fusion of culture in her music. With her full album coming out this September, we wanted to know more about her style and genre, and about the tracks to be expected on it. She says that she’s very excited to see it released after all the hard work that has been put into it, and that it’s comprised of a “mixture of various genres.” True to her nature, Sarah says that she “likes involving [her] cultural background in [her] music,” and that she can never pick between the English and Spanish sides of herself, so she simply combines the two. “I love this because it makes the musical options for me so much broader when it comes to creating,” Sarah states.
Recently Silva also performed as a part of Global Citizen’s “Together at Home” series – a series created to help bring music lovers together during the COVID-19 pandemic. She says that it was a bit nerve-wracking performing live on a stream for the first time, but that it was “definitely something to remember.” She says that she was happy to bring her fans together to “vibe” for a bit, even if it was digitally. In the same way, Sarah works endlessly to bring people together in her quest to stop bullying. She’s an active anti-bullying advocate, and uses her music to promote campaigns against it. “To me anti-bullying is about promoting love and acceptance of everyone, and communicating to others that it is okay to be yourself and not care what anyone thinks about you,” Silva says. She believes deeply in standing up for others when someone is doing something wrong to them, and takes advantage of her hugely influential social media platforms to spread this message.
“If by talking about these topics publicly it helps to clear the world of bullying, then I’ll continue to do it,” Silva says.
Her strength and resilience, and care for those around her, shines through in her art and music. Music is, of course, her deepest form of self-expression, and Silva says that she is always telling her fans to be exactly that: themselves. “It always makes me smile and it’s very gratifying when I see a comment or a DM where someone says that I inspired them to pursue their passions or that I gave them the motivation to be who they want to be,” Sarah says. She states that this is the main reason she continues to give that extra little push that people sometimes need to embrace themselves.
With her upcoming single and album release, Sarah stays busy and looking to the future. Amidst the chaos of the pandemic, and the unsteadiness of the times, she says that she hopes to see people “showing who the truly are, and not who society wants them to be.” She doesn’t want any of us to be afraid of what others think, and pushes us to be ourselves no matter the situation. “I want people to believe in themselves, to know they are capable of doing anything they put their minds to,” Sarah says, “because I strongly believe that when you believe in yourself you can achieve any goal.”
In today’s trying times this may just be the exact “extra” push that we all need.
Favorites
RIVAL : What is your current favorite song?
SILVA: Right now I’m listening to a lot of Santana’s music; I love his song “Oye Como Va”
RIVAL What is your favorite food?
SILVA: Anything Japanese is delicious - I love sushi and ramen!!
RIVAL What is your favorite musical?
SILVA Hamilton and Wicked; I’d love to play a part in these on Broadway someday.
RIVAL What is your favorite song off your new album?
SILVA Definitely “Honey Days,” it’s a song that describes my life and it means a lot to me.
RIVAL: What is your favorite topic to write songs about?
SILVA: Recently I wrote a song for my family and I really enjoyed the process of making it - the lyrics truly came from my heart and you can feel that when you listen to it. I had never written a song like it and it became one of my favorites.
RIVAL What is your favorite city to perform in?
SILVA I loved performing in Buenos Aires, Argentina! It’s a beautiful city with beautiful and supportive people. I would love to return for another show in the future!
WARDROBE STYLING: AMIA SERRANO
HAIR: ROLANDO AQUI
MUA: JUEL BERGHOLM