Daily Dose: Taylor Castro – Muse With a Dagger

There was no specific moment that 21-year-old singer-songwriter Taylor Castro remembers wanting to be a performer. It was just always there. At three, Taylor could be found in the living room singing, dancing or acting something out. It was a part of who she was and she can’t really recall a time when it wasn’t. “When I was little, my parents recorded me singing a song I made up as I was going along. I’d always do that. It didn’t come from hearing something on the radio; for me, the fun was creating something of my own.”

That’s just what Taylor did on her second release, GIRL, AFRAID, which came out pre-pandemic in early 2020. American Songwriter said the album was “a more filtered reflection of the 20-year who has now taken the helm of her art, digging deeper into the new work, and writing all the songs,” Teen Music Insider said this was “her most upbeat and danceable record to date,” and VENTS Magazine called her “first and foremost a storyteller.” Taylor is currently readying a new single and video, “Muse with a Dagger,” out on February 26th, 2020 was a major year for the universe, but for Taylor, it was certainly life-changing for many reasons” First single “Girl Afraid” won Best Female Vocalist at the Hollywood Music & Media Awards, 2021 and was a nominee for Best Pop vocal for the 2nd single, “Abyss.” “Abyss” reached #3 – UK Commercial Pop Club Chart, #31 – USA Billboard Top 40 Indicator Chart and #28 – USA Billboard Mediabase Top 40 Activator Chart while “Girl, Afraid” climbed to #8 – UK Commercial Pop Club Chart, #34 – USA Billboard Top 40 Indicator Chart and #34 – USA Billboard Mediabase Top 40 Activator Chart. Taylor was invited by Live Nation to do a virtual world tour of Australia, New Zealand, South America, United Kingdom and Asia. Ticketmaster UK chose her to participate in their Homecoming series. If that wasn’t enough, she can now tout 17.9 M views on YouTube and 2M streams on Spotify & Apple Music.

A Florida native, Taylor participated in school musicals, theatre camp, took vocal lessons, learned basic guitar and keyboards, and, most importantly, kept a journal. Her mother had some regional success in a girl group, and Taylor credits her for supporting her interest. For Taylor, the difference was that the words came before the music. “I think first and foremost, I am a writer. I love any type of writing: short stories, poems, plays, novels. I’ve always written. It’s the basis of everything I do.”

Continuing to explore opportunities, she booked her first film role as ‘Daria’ in the movie “Assumed Killer” in 2013. At 12 she wrote her first real song, “Paradise,” which led to Taylor posting videos online. Like most people her age, Taylor took a deep dive into YouTube and while watching other people do what she knew she could, she told her mother, “I want to make an album.”

With much enthusiasm, Taylor tapped in to the contacts her mother still had from her time as a performer and met with producer Willy Perez-Feria [Gloria Estefan, Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias]. Through her work with Willy, Taylor connected with composer/producer Rudy Pérez [Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez] as well as producer Kyng David [Baha Men], who kept the ideas flowing. The result was her debut album, PURE, which came out in 2018.

As much as Taylor loved both the experience of making PURE, she decided that for her next release she was going to take the lead. “With GIRL, AFRAID, I wrote song after song after song. I was really open to new ideas and dug much deeper, not just out of growth, but out of curiosity.” The title track, written by Taylor and produced by Chris Price, is one of the most meaningful songs on the album. Tackling the topic of OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), which Taylor was diagnosed with at age 10, wasn’t easy for her, and something she wasn’t ready to do on her debut. “I had tried to stuff my OCD back down inside me and didn’t want to write about it. I felt like I wasn’t being true and it was time to address my issues on this record. OCD presents a constant fear and paranoia, so I wanted “Girl, Afraid” to be a comfort for people who suffer from it as I do.”

Not surprising given her acting background, all of Taylor’s songs are accompanied by terrific music videos. Having starred in five films, and been recognized by both the Los Angeles Film Awards and Actors Awards as Best Young Actress for the movies “Dream Killer” and “Marriage Killer,” and the New York City International Film Fest as “Best Supporting Actress” for her role in “Marriage Killer,” Taylor is a natural on screen. She recently starred in the film “Dream Killer” starring Christy Carlson Romano [“Even Stevens,” “Kim Possible”] and Carson Rowland [“I Am Frankie,” “American Housewife,” Netflix hit series “Sweet Magnolias”], who also ended up collaborating on music with her. Taylor is now in film school since creating an outstanding visual is almost as important to her as the song itself. “I love film. Music videos are a great chance to tell a story. I love acting too, so the videos are everything I do encompassed into a four-minute feature. It’s so much fun for me.” She has filmed five videos for tracks off of GIRL, AFRAID: “Girl, Afraid,” “Abyss,” “Coffee Eyes,” “be ok” and “This Ain’t Love,” a duet with Carson. All of the videos have 1M plus views.

With a wealth of opportunities available to her, where will Taylor Castro go next? Right now, she’s focused on her music. “I really wanted to bring out a new side of me for this album. A lot of doors are opening up for me with music, so I am going to walk through them and go where life is taking me.”

SOURCE: Official Bio

LINKS:
http://www.taylorcastro.com
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