Conversations with Marionna

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marionna.

Hi Marionna, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
The first time I remember singing for anyone was when I was 4 years old and I started singing Alicia Keys’ “No One” to my grandma and my aunt. Even from that young of an age my family saw potential in me that I never really realized I had until recently. Starting in middle school, I did musical theatre and was so close to pursing it in college. I had already been through about 19 of my 22 audition when it hit me that I didn’t want to purse theatre anymore. I then decided to apply to a few schools for songwriting because I had just gotten into that during the pandemic and was lucky enough to be accepted into both Belmont and Berklee College of Music. For my first few years of college I was deadset on being just a songwrited but then at a pitch meeting I attended I was told that I should keep the songs I submitted for myself and the rest is history. I haven’t been pursing this path of being an artist for long (3 years), but deep down this has always been in my, my head is just finally catching up to my heart.

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 would say that early on it was a smooth road for me.I was getting great feedback,a lot of offers, and was making a lot of connections. Along with this I am heavily supported by my entire family extended included which I feel like can be rare. I’d say more recently, I have had a lot of opportunities and made a lot of connections in the music industry, but I have been noticing a lot more struggles as a black artist in comparison to my white counterparts. I think especially becuase my race and my identity is heavily tied into the music I create, I’ve noticied that it has been significantly harder for me than a lot of people who are in the same genre as me. I think regardless of talent, it takes a black artist 5x the amount of effort to have sucess in spaces that have been deemed as “white” especially with social media, and while I am grateful for every single accomplishment I’ve had in my life so far, I can’t help but wonder how much more success I could have if the tables were turned.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am in a more specific definition, a pop artist, multigenre songwriter and actress. I feel like I am most known for my songwriting and lyricism on my own music as well as for my stage presence. I would say I am most proud of my adaptabiltiy. While I am strictly an artist in the pop realm with a lot of elements of rnb, I love to write in many other genres. I would also say I have been growing in my performance as weel. Being a theatre kid for a majority of my life, I feel like everytime I step on stage there’s a new character for me to play and a new role to step into. I would say that in this town there aren’t too many people like me. Not only do I think that black pop artists are few and far between in Nashville and in the music industry as a whole, I also believe that there aren’t many black popstars in Nashville working on bringing back that early 2000s sound. I feel like for a long time I was ashamed to incorporate my culture and my experiences into my music, especially having only gone to pwis, but I realized that rather than being embarassing , those differences only make me stronger.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I am a big tv and film girl. I love to analyze relationships and dynamics in shows and see where I can pull from there. When I’m really looking for inspiration, rather than any apps, I will draw right from the sources themselves: my lovely friends. I have written many songs about there experiences or loosley about their experiences because I’ve seen it first hand. I am also a very open book and am never ashamed to air out my own dirty laundry.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marionnamusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@marionnahannah
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@marionnamusic?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc