Amalia was the featured artist in the New Times, San Luis Obispo Entertainment Magazine, this week.. She was interviewed by Glenn Starkey who wrote a comprehensive article about her music career her upcoming shows, and albums. Here is a portion of the article - click the link at the bottom of the page for the full article.:
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It takes guts to be a songwriter and musician, to get up in front of people and bare your soul. Does she ever get nervous or doubt herself?
"I used to get nervous in the beginning about getting up in front of crowds, but now I've become so accustomed to playing in front of big or small audiences, it just feels natural," Amalia said in an email interview. "Sharing my music is what I love to do. If it were to make me anxious or if I doubted myself, I wouldn't keep putting myself out there."
She's certainly had some practice. She wrote her first song at age 9 and sang it a cappella at the Live Oak Music Festival's kid talent show. The following year she returned with a new guitar and more original songs, and she's been writing almost daily ever since.
She recently recorded her first demo, Vibrations, which you can hear on her website (amaliafleming.com). Last year, she won first place in the New Times Music Awards Youth Category for her song "The Simplicity of Things." A lot of her songs are about global and self-awareness. Where does her inspiration come from?
"My songs are usually inspired from a word I see or a feeling," she wrote. "Most of the time my experiences are what inspire me to write a song. However, once I have an idea that I begin to build off of it's almost my subconscious that is downloading the lines in my songs. The rhyming lyrics and words I've heard previously I may not even know the meaning of but come to me and tend to fit just right with what I'm trying to say."
She says one of her favorite musicians is Sabrina Carpenter, "because her style of music is similar to mine in that it has an alternative pop feel but also differs. Her lyrics also relate to my experiences in life and have similar themes to my songs."
She also likes James Blunt "because his lyrics are metaphorical and melodies are uplifting and upbeat," but she says Ellie Goulding, U2, and Duran Duran also inspire her.
Just 16 years old and she's already an award winner whose music will reach a national audience thanks to the forthcoming compilation. Does this success surprise her? What are her dreams for her music career?
"I'm amazed by all the things that are happening right now," she said. "I was so excited to find out that I made national news and I'm going to be playing in front of thousands of people. I would definitely say that I'm surprised by all of my upcoming events, but it's hard for me to wrap my head around it. I just keep saying yes to gigs and putting myself out there. I hope that I can make a career out of playing my music. I know how unlikely and difficult it is to make a living from being a live performer and musician but it's what I love to do and I can't see myself in any other profession. I plan to apply to several universities that have majors in songwriting and music. As long as I continue writing and pursuing what I want and what feels right, I'll see where this takes me."