Artist Spotlight

Exclusive Interview With Lunaa Maria, a Singer Songwriter and Entrepreneur Raised in Brooklyn

The question in everyone’s mind is that who is Lunaa Maria? If you aren’t familiar with Lunaa Maria, you are definitely in the right place. We had a chance to interview Lunaa Maria from Brooklyn, NY.

Lunaa Maria is a singer and songwriter, entrepreneur, and event curator born in the Dominican and raised in Brooklyn. She graduated from Bilingual College with a Psychology degree and currently works for the Assembly Member of the 54th district in Brooklyn, NY. Her passion for music started at a very young age.

Lunaa Maria

This is what she has to say in the interview.

1. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Lunaa Maria – When I was in elementary school, my school was very big on putting together shows for the parents. It was December 2005 and I was in the 6th grade and my class was assigned the 12 days of Christmas. When it came time to rehearse my teacher assigned me the 5th day; I always loved music and since I was a small child my mother and I would always sing and dance at home, it was our favorite pastime. However, trying to be “cool” I was pretending to dread having to rehearse with my class, On the day of the Holiday show, I decided that I was going to actually sing my “5 Golden Rings” part. It was my class’s turn to perform and numbers 1-4 had already sang their part and now it was my turn, in my natural voice projection I sang “FIIIVE GOLDEN RIIIINGS” and the crowd of parents went wild! each and every time that I sang my part and I just knew I wanted to sing for life.

2. Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

Lunaa Maria – The most interesting thing that has happened to me since I started this career was getting invited to sing for the inauguration of the first Dominican Woman Civil Court Judge of Brooklyn Patria Frias Colon. As a Dominican woman myself, it was a great honor to welcome her in singing our country’s National Anthem, it made me so proud to be a part of history.

3. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Lunaa Maria – I was in high school and was asked to sing R.Kelly’s The World’s Greatest at a ceremony for the graduating class. I was asked 3 days before the ceremony and I agreed, trying to get any exposure that I could find, knowing I barely knew the words. On the day of the ceremony, I somewhat knew the words but honestly not enough but I still went on stage to sing. When the song started I had forgotten the rest of the phrase after “I am a” so I proceeded to hum it, it was such a cringe moment for me! However, that taught me not only to make sure that I am prepared for my performances but also not to accept a gig if I know I cannot deliver. Quality over Quantity!

4. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

Lunaa Maria – Well, I recently switched the genre of music that I do. I now do reggaeton which feels more like home to me and the entire journey so far has been exciting and interesting. I’m currently putting the finishing touches on my upcoming EP ‘Veneno’ and I just shot the music video for my main single which is also named ‘Veneno’ I had the opportunity to shoot with a snake named Lilith and that was really fun, she was so great and made my shoot even better.

5. Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?

Lunaa Maria – I think everyone I’ve interacted with so far has been very interesting, everyone is so talented, and to know their stories is very inspiring. I’m so grateful for the people with who I have crossed paths, especially those who are helping me in this wonderful journey.

6. Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Lunaa Maria – Definitely to stay authentic. When you’re true to your sense of self things are much more fun and enjoyable because it’s something you love, something that aligns with your core values. What I recommend to avoid burnout are rest and self-care, I understand some of us feel that time is ticking and that we’re trying to accomplish as much as possible but we need to remember that rest is just as important. The same way that when you have a car you take the time out for a wash, an oil change, and etc. It’s the same with our minds and bodies, we cannot run on an empty tank.

7. You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

Lunaa Maria – Well, failure is part of the journey, we fail time and time again until we succeed. It is inevitable in life, life is linear and in order to appreciate success, we must know what it is to fail. You must love every part of the journey and process.

8. Can you share with our readers any self-care routines, practices, or treatments that you do to help your body, mind, or heart to thrive? Kindly share a story or an example for each.

Lunaa Maria – I’m a Libra so I love self-care and pampering my body. My favorite self-care method is to spend time with nature, especially the beach! Although living in NYC, isn’t so easy to do, I fall in love with the idea of a vacation. Time away from the phone is always big for me, it sometimes alters my mood and I try to give myself at least 30 mins after I wake up and before bed to be more at ease with my thoughts. I also love being a woman so getting my hair and nails done is big self-care for me. I love to pray, it helps me cope with things I feel weigh heavy on me and helps my moods. I also love to play songs I loved from my childhood, it helps me connect with my inner child.

9. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

Lunaa Maria – 5 things I wish someone told me before I started.. 1. Not to overthink things, things will fall into place as I start creating. It took me so long to start on my independent journey as an artist because I was always so caught up on the smaller details for example my stage name, persona, not having a team, etc. 2. Sacrifice is Key, growing up I wanted to live my life like all my friends, I wanted to be a young adult and also be a singer and it’s a lot of sacrifices that come with perfecting your craft. 3. There’s an audience for every type of artist. I started out making music I thought others wanted to hear instead of what I truly wanted and that kills the spark, authenticity is key! 4. You don’t need a manager until you cannot handle everything on your own. I was always thinking I needed a manager not knowing that I could’ve just started doing everything for myself. 5. Research is key and that goes for everything in life, if it’s something you want to get into or that you love, you should 100% be doing research on it! Knowledge is so important.

10. Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Lunaa Maria – The Golden Rule “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” Matthew (7:12) I treat everyone no matter their status or title in life the absolute same, with respect because that is how I expect to also be treated. Another rule I live by which I’m not sure if it’s a quote but it’s to not take anything personally, usually, people do what’s beneficial for them; as we all should and react due to where they are mentally sometimes even reacting from their subconscious without being aware of it. If we live life knowing this nothing that happens would be taken to heart.

11. None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Lunaa Maria – Oh Yes! my Mother! She is my number 1 supporter. She is my team! There was a time in life from 2016 to 2020 where I was an event curator, I put together art galleries and fashion shows in Bushwick, Brooklyn as a way to help my fellow creatives network and make some money off their art and business. My mother would leave work and help me set everything up, she’d make sure everyone had a spot on the wall or vendor table and she’d make sure everyone was having a good time as well as handling whatever money was made from the event. She helps me in everything I want to achieve in life, when I was in middle school she’d pay for acting classes for me, set me up with studios, helped me get gigs, accompanied me to studios, conference meetings, performances, and invested in my dreams. That lady has done it all!

12. You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Lunaa Maria – It would be to continue with my events hopefully worldwide, where artists would submit their work and It’ll give artists from around the world an opportunity to network, showcase their art, and also make some money for themselves as well. I’d allow vendors to sell their products and performers a chance to show us their performing art.

13. We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might see this. 🙂

Lunaa Maria – Ha! definitely Rihanna! I love everything that bad gal stands for; she embodies confidence, style, and badass grace. She’s so business savvy and I know I can learn so much from her, she’s utterly amazing to me and seems so kind but at the same time demands her respect. She’s so inspiring!

14 How can our readers follow you online?

Lunaa Maria – I’m consistently on Instagram, all the time so that’s easier @lunaa.maria but I am also on Twitter @_laaLunitaa tiktok @lunaam.dollaz and my music can be found on any major platform just type in Lunaa Maria

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