Rising Stars: Meet Nicole Taibi of Pueblo, CO

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Taibi

Nicole, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
It all started for me when my mom took me to my first concert when I was seven years old, which was Sugarland at our local state fair. I always loved music growing up, singing along to the hymns in church with my grandma every Sunday, but that concert really made me fall in love with country music. My dad owned a bar while I was growing up, and he brought home one of his karaoke machines. Every day after school, I would come home and sing along to Sugarland and Carrie Underwoods albums. I would sing every song, trying to sound just like them. I continued this up until 5th grade, when I decided that I was going to sing in the talent show. Growing up, I was very quiet and shy, so when I brought it to my parent’s attention that I was going to do this, they were shocked. I remember I didn’t tell them what my act was going to be, so it was a surprise to everyone when I sang “Temporary Home” by Carrie Underwood. Soon after that, I started taking vocal lessons with my church pastor, Rhonda York and did that all through middle school. While growing up, I was involved in 4H and I owned horses and showed them in competitions. Through that organization, I gained a lot of confidence and had opportunities to sing the National Anthem at events around town. Through that, I met some great friends, Carl Nance and John Waite, the rodeo announcers and sound engineer, who saw my talent. They encouraged me to sign up for a competition to sing the National Anthem at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO. Little me at 12 years old decided to enter the competition. I was the youngest competitor, and most of the competition were grown adults who were all very talented. Somehow, with a lot of voting from my family, friends, and even strangers, I won the competition and had the honor of singing in front of 8,000 people at the PBR (Professional Bull Riding) event. Through that experience, I realized I wanted to do music for the rest of my life.
When I was 13 years old, my parents bought me my first guitar as a birthday present. After teaching myself how to play, I realized “I like to sing, why wouldn’t I write my own songs?” Through my teenage years, I wrote songs about all of my experiences. I never saw myself as a writer at all, but I found that I had a love for lyrics, especially in country music. I love the storytelling that’s included in a country song. In high school, I was involved in several choir groups all throughout my 4 years there. This really helped me develop as a musician, as I learned music theory and how to read music. After I graduated high school, I always knew that music was something that I would love and have in my heart forever, but I didn’t think about pursuing a career in it. It just didn’t seem possible, even though deep down I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life ever since I was a little girl. I decided to keep music as a hobby and go to school for nursing at my local college. I quickly realized it was not for me. After toggling with the thought of if I should continue with school or pursue music, I decided to take a leap of faith and pursue my music career. I have met some amazing people along the way and have had some amazing opportunities so far. I now play shows locally in Colorado, and I am very excited to see what’s in the near future for my career.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. Although it has been a very fun and fulfilling time so far, there are moments where I wonder if I should even be trying to do this. I have people ask me all the time what I do for a living, and when I tell them that I am a musician, they look at me like I am crazy. I’ve had a lot of people doubt me along the way, but I honestly think that just makes my love for my career stronger, and it pushes me to work harder. Another struggle is seeing a lot of my acquaintances and people that I have gone to school with graduate from college, and they all have great, fulfilling careers. Sometimes I feel like I should be going to college instead, and doing what they are doing, but I have to remind myself that not everyone has the opportunity to pursue a music career, and that I am on my own journey at my own pace. God gave me a gift, and there is reason for that, and I am going to give it my all and use it to the best of my ability.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a country music singer and songwriter. There’s a lot more to it than just going out and performing songs at several venues for different crowds every weekend. Most of the time, you can find me rehearsing my setlist, practicing my songs on my guitar, or writing songs. In order for me to get into “songwriting” mode, I love to journal about how I am feeling. You can ask my family, I have so many journals laying around the house. I journal every day, and I draw inspiration for my songs from that. Sometimes, a song idea will just pop into my head, and I have to stop everything that I am doing to go and write it. I’ve had several people tell me that they love my songwriting because of how real my songs are. My goal was to always write songs that come from a personal experience, whether that’s my own experience or an experience that a friend has had. I try to make my songs relatable to the listener.

I would say that I am most proud of my determination and my ability to never give up. I was born prematurely, along with my twin brother, Tony. We were born at 29 weeks and spent three months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We both dealt a lot of hardships during that time. Tony was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and I had a lot of issues with my lungs. I was intubated several times, and that I would always pull the tube out. The doctors told my parents that I would have permanent damage to my vocal cords, and that I would most likely sound like a robot when I grew up due to all of the damage that was caused by the intubation tube. Growing up as someone who loved to sing, I always kept that thought in the back of my mind, and I always wondered if that would actually affect my singing voice. Soon, I realized that it didn’t matter what others thought of my voice, as long as I was having fun doing what I loved. I’m most proud of my strength and how much I have grown as an artist, because I have been thrown a lot of hardships throughout my life and always find a way to never give up and see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
As of right now, I don’t have any music officially released onto any streaming platforms like Apple Music or Spotify, etc. but it is in the works. You can find most of my music on my social media websites, like Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and YouTube accounts. I have a lot of events and shows booked for 2025 which I am very excited about, and you can also find that information on most of my social media sites.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/nicoletaibi
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicoletaibi/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NTaibiMusic?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRoxywTFnzjEhaUegiyC21w?app=desktop&sub_confirmation=1