Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Campagna.
Hi Vanessa, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! – I’m Vanessa! I currently live in Nashville, TN, but I was born in a small town about 40 miles north of Pittsburgh PA, called Beaver Falls. I started singing when I was 5 years old. (For real) – At the time, I was the youngest person to ever sing the National Anthem for The Pittsburgh Pirates. That was my first real performance, and after that, I sang the national anthem for the Cleveland Cav’s, Los Angeles Lakers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennesee Titans and many more.
My dad was a go-getter and after realizing I could sing, he started booking me to open sold out concerts of 75k plus people, for Country artists when they would come into town to headline. Some of the artists, to name a few were, Wynonna Judd, Clint Black, Vince Gill, and Little Big Town. At that time, I was 8 years old and barely tall enough to see over the stage monitors.
Not long after that, world-renowned, multi-award winning, director/composer, the late, Marvin Hamlisch ended up taking me under his wing, and I would tour with him and Symphony orchestra’s across the country, performing for Princes and Princesses, The Presidents wife, for The Streisand Series and multiple shows at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. All around the same time, I got asked to compete on Star Search in 2004.
Through performing non stop as a kid I met so many people that helped shape me into the artist and performer I am today as well as helped get me to where I am in my career now. Much like Nashville, when you meet someone, they can end up calling you to do some really awesome things. – Because of that, I ended up being a part of an Oscar Winning team who wrote, composed and sang the music and lyrics for a documentary short called “Inocente.”
In 2011, I walked at my high school graduation, and literally jumped in the car and drove straight to Nashville with my dad, where I performed on the Billy Block show. There was a publishing company in the audience that night that came to see another artist play. That artist never showed up, so I took that time slot and the publishing company ended up signing me. – That’s where my Nashville journey begins.
I was immediately thrown into writing rooms with number one hit writers. I just kept telling myself, “if you weren’t good enough, you wouldn’t be here.” The truth was, I wasn’t good enough yet, but someone believed in me enough to put me there so I had to make it happen. I was learning. And I learned so much! Every single writer I wrote with was so kind and so helpful, showing me the ropes and teaching me all the tricks. I remember them telling me “this is a 10 year town girl, you need to write everyone else’s story before you can write your own.” I didn’t understand that at the time, but I sure do now, and boy were they right.
I was in that publishing deal for a few years before I set out on my own. That’s when I met mega-hit maker, Desmond Child who wrote, “Living On A Prayer” for Bon Jovi, and most of the Aerosmith and KISS songs plus hundreds of others. Desmond became not just a mentor, but a close friend, and further helped develop my songwriting. Desmond also asked me to sing at the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards in Miami FL, where I performed alongside Gloria Estefan and Rita Moreno, honoring the Latin Music Greats.
Somewhere around 2017, I sang some background vocals on an album for multi platinum Christian/Pop recording artist, Michael W. Smith. Michael and I became fast friends and I continued doing BGV’s for him as well as writing with him. Later on that year he asked me to go out on tour with him. I toured with Michael for 5 years. During that time Michael asked me to feature on a song called “Waymaker.” Our radio version of that song went to number one on the Billboard Charts & was later RIAA certified a Gold record and won the 2021 KLOVE fan award for worship song of the year. The last year I was on tour with Michael, he gave me time during his set to sing my own songs while he played piano up there on stage with me. I will forever be grateful for his friendship, his mentorship and for that experience. – For any artists just starting out, my advice would be to just say “YES.” You never know what will come out of it.
In the middle of all of that, I released my own songs, released and wrote songs with and for massive DJ’s like Armin van Burren (Vulnerable) and wrote songs for other artists that made it to dance charts in the Uk and here in the states. – All while touring and writing my own music, I was and still am writing continuously for film and tv (sync.) My songs can be heard in hundreds of shows across all networks and streaming platforms.
Currently, I am out on tour as a featured artist with Three-time Grammy Nominee, three-time KLOVE Male Vocalist of the Year, & Dove Award winner Danny Gokey. I am also in the studio writing and recording my new album “Heart Like Mine” which I’ll release singles off of over the course of this year and next. My first single will release this summer.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think at the beginning it felt smooth. But the deeper I got into the industry, the more obstacles i’ve had to face. My story may sound like it was easy but every dream has a struggle, if it doesn’t you’re not doing it right. – I started out singing everyone else’s songs, so when it came time for me to find my sound as an artist, I had no idea what it actually was. I had to realize the difference between being a vocalist and being an artist. A vocalist can sing anyones songs and sell them, but an artist has something to say to the world. An artist has a message.
It took me years of writing everyone else’s story, a lot of ups, downs, rejections, people leaving when they said they’d help, mental breakdowns, and countless hours of deep self searching to finally be able to write and tell “my story.”
Being a human, and being a creative emotional human at that, I’ll never stop working on myself and I’ll always be striving to get better. Where I am now is still tough, but I’m grateful for the journey, whatever it may bring. And I know it’s only getting started.
This album I’m working on, is my heart on paper and in a melody. You don’t get those types of stories without going through some hard stuff. Some serious life. You can’t have the good without the bad or the light without the dark. And that’s what I’m talking about in my songs.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a songwriter and recording artist. I’m known for writing down my feelings in a way that others can relate to and they take them and make them their own. I love helping artists tell their story. Sometimes its hard for people to say what they’re feeling, but it’s one of my favorite things in the world, to take all the thoughts, feelings, and emotions and help artists make sense of them and write them down in a way that will connect with their audience.
I’m most proud of a song that I wrote called “Who I Am.” – I co-wrote it with Josh Bronleewe and an artist named “Wyn Starks.” Wyn was on Americas Got talent in 2022 and sang our song. – The reason I’m so proud of this song is because, the day we wrote it, Wyn was going through a really hard time. I asked him to spill his feelings and tell me what was up. While he was talking, I started writing, and the song that came out of that was “WHO I AM.” Its become a self love anthem for millions around the world. Seeing grade school children, all the way up to people in their 80’s belt out the song in videos is so beautiful and a feeling I’ll never be able to put into words. And then, to top it off, in 2024, Celine Dion sang “WHO I AM” in her Amazon documentary, “I am Celine Dion.” She said that “Who I Am” was the song that gave her hope and helped her make it through the hardest time in her life.”
Celine is my all time favorite artist. I have so many videos of me as a kid, belting out her songs. She’s the reason I’m an artist and performer. – So, when I think about me as a little girl, idolizing her, singing every word to every one of her songs…and then watching and hearing her sing and connect with a song I wrote. Man….life complete! – To know that a song I wrote inspired her, the same way she inspires me, is such a beautiful gift and the ultimate confirmation on days when I wonder if I should keep going.
How do you think about happiness?
What makes me happy? – The things I find the most joy in are the things that give me purpose. My husband, my family and my music. My family’s my rock, they’re my people. My husband is my best friend, my songwriting partner, my music producer and my therapist. I’ve learned so much from him and he always encourages me to fight through every hard moment and keep moving. Having him makes all the hard parts of life, and every dream I have worth fighting for. The other thing that makes me undeniably happy is writing songs that have the ability to change lives. I write lyrics about what I’m going through because I know that if I’ve felt it, someone else has too. My goal is to help others find the words when they can’t, to let them know that no matter what they’re going through, they’re not alone. That feeling, paired with performing the songs live onstage and seeing how the music touches people in real time is one of the most fulfilling and beautiful things that I get to experience in this life. And for that, its all worth it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessacampagna_official
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vanessacampagnaofficial
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Vanessacampagna
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4a4KcYuu2DZrL8sTGyu5sM
