Singers showcase their talents over Instagram
By Reagan Liu and Pavana Upadhyaya Feb. 3, 2021
Photo Credits (from left to right): Audrey Lui, Diana Yousef-Nejad, Jonathan Morris Photo, Courtesy of Audrey Chiang
Students at the school are using Instagram, not only as a way to post pictures, but as a way to showcase their musical talents. Students like Seniors Sarah Brew, Audrey Chiang, William Choi and Megan Lee have created Instagram accounts to post covers of songs, as well as original pieces. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, students gravitated towards singing on social media as a way to interact with friends while still following safety precautions.
In order to share his music with friends during quarantine, Choi created an Instagram account (@williamchoi_music)where he posts videos of himself singing and playing the guitar. Likewise, Chiang made an account (@audreyy.zoe) for singing last year to share her hobby with her followers.
Additionally, Brew (@brewstunes) and Lee (@do.re.megan) created their Instagram accounts after COVID-19 canceled their performance at the school’s annual talent show. Especially since Brew and Lee are close friends, they often work together on various songs.
Due to all her school work and college applications, Chiang explains that she was not very motivated to post on her account for a while. In contrast, for Brew, Choi and Lee, the sudden increase in free time due to quarantine served as a motivation to sing and play instruments more often. As a result, they have been uploading and creating music more often than before.
“I sing all the time for fun, but I only started considering it a hobby during my junior year. I created my Instagram music account over quarantine, mainly for my own entertainment and joy. I started singing much more recently, and I want to get something out of the pandemic rather than just being unproductive,” Choi said.
Not only do the students post covers, but they also write their own songs. For instance, Chiang has been writing her own music since her freshman year. Additionally, for a collaboration with Senior Ryan Kang, Choi helped edit the song Kang wrote and published it on Spotify. Lee also enjoys writing original music, but she has not posted any of them onto social media yet.
Even though the four seniors enjoy singing, they have never received professional lessons before, and they all taught themselves independently.
“I have not had any formal singing lessons. For the past few years, I have learned how to sing by mimicking the way professionals perform, trying to improve my breath control and enhancing other skills,” Chiang said.
As of now, all of the students do not want to pursue a career in music and are only singing as a hobby. Instead of focusing on increasing their follower count or obtaining a music career, they view singing as a way to have fun, alleviate stress and showcase their talents with their friends, followers and family.
In addition to utilizing Instagram, the singers have used other social media platforms. For example, Chiang currently has 20 covers posted on YouTube. Similarly, Lee sings on TikTok and is working on songs to post on YouTube and Spotify. Although Brew has only used Instagram for singing, she is open to branching out to other online platforms in the future.
“I initially only disclosed my singing account to my close friends because I was worried about having a public singing account. However, as I become more comfortable with revealing my videos, I plan on utilizing other platforms like TikTok, Spotify and YouTube,” Brew said.
The seniors utilize social media as a medium to exhibit their talents and pursue their hobbies. Especially since the students have a passion for music, they will continue uploading singing videos onto their accounts and will write more original songs in the future.
About the Contributors
Pavana Upadhyaya
Staff Writer
Pavana Upadhyaya is a sophomore at Leland High School and is a staff writer. She likes to read nonfiction in her free time.
Reagan Liu
Staff Writer
Reagan Liu is a sophomore at Leland High school and a staff writer at the Leland Charger Account. He loves music and listens to many different genres of music in his free time. He never skips a meal and consumes all the nutrients needed to stay healthy.
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