Today, we’d like to introduce you to Milan Parodie.
Hi Milan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My dad bought me my first new guitar after I played a cute little ugly one that belonged to my sister, Sidney, for months. My mom drove me to guitar lessons. While I was taking guitar lessons, the same program was offering open vocal lessons. I went to a few, but whenever we weren’t just singing, you could say I was uninterested. I would laugh from trying to control my breathing with a pile of books sitting on my diaphragm.
That was a one-and-done experience for me at the time. My sister and I had too much fun with the freedom of creating content for different rising socials like Vine, YouTube, and Twitter. Sidney inspired me more than anybody to pursue singing. We wrote songs together, created art for the backgrounds of my videos, and put together fun costumes. She directed and filmed every video we made for YouTube.
I hope to recover some of those videos as soon as we reboot her old computer. I taught myself to sing through the songs she would ask me to learn, and I found my own voice by taking different techniques from my favorite artists. After shaking Ed Sheeran’s British accent from my own singing, I was confident in my ability to perform from my heart.
In Florida, I performed covers in malls, restaurants, and even at the beach. I was teased quite a bit for the YouTube videos and live performances, so I joined SoundCloud and really appreciated the faceless sense of it all. I loved to sing, but I grew up in a small town where every critique seemed more important than it was. I wish I could lie and say I didn’t care what people thought. I just wanted people to take me seriously as a singer.
I gained a lot more traction on Soundcloud by consistently posting covers and eventually posting my first original song called “Heartbreak Girl” which represents how I felt about myself handling relationships growing up, and it resonated with a lot of my girlfriends. I fell headfirst into writing ballads about heartbreak, but that became emotionally difficult after a very long time of writing this way. I wanted to shine more light on myself and lean into the way I communicate naturally.
I then turned to creating rap and R&B music, and my first songs of this genre are on my Soundcloud. I found an incredibly freeing sense within lo-fi hip-hop beats. I know lo-fi is usually something you listen to by itself, but you never know what can be great until it’s done. It took a long time for me to be comfortable with what I was creating. “Optimistic” is the first song I created in this genre, and it came so naturally to me. I found myself writing about my reality and facing hardships.
I think writing R&B songs helped me become comfortable once again with my vulnerabilities because the music allowed me to embrace that it is normal to have struggles- it’s not shameful. I went on to create “Milan’s Mix” which is my first self-made EP that includes a mix of R&B, ballad, and pop music. Getting to perform live in New York at Sour Mouse, thanks to V-Henny and Joethepoet, was a blessing because it taught me that my struggles can be turned into something very special.
Listening to lo-fi beats inspired me to create my own sound, and I performed some of these original songs at Chelsea Table+Stage thanks to Tyler Dean K. who believed in my music as soon as I landed in New York City. Trying new things and following my heart have led me to some beautiful places.
The nature of R&B brought me out of my shell. I wrote about my feelings for other people when writing ballads, back when I thought there were rules to writing. I have now written countless ballads about myself as well, and some of those songs are included on the album I’m working on now that reflects the process of trusting yourself and loving your failures.
You have to create room for yourself even when it is out of your comfort zone. I struggled with being a perfectionist while not even having the means to perfect anything, and that often resulted in nothing at all. All of my past fears that led me to do less are the same ones that inspired me to write my vulnerabilities out. I just want to keep transcending and surprising myself.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I feel like it’s rare that the road is smooth when it comes to following your dreams. After removing my circumstances from my mindset as a limiting factor, my struggles on this road have been internal. I have been my own worst enemy at times, and I’m still learning to be a friend to myself.
People will tell you to shut out the noise and ignore the haters, and after a while, it becomes easy to do that. Being happy with yourself should be the easy part. It’s been a road to that constant feeling of content rather than the back and forth with myself, but also learning to accept that maybe that isn’t possible right now, and that’s okay.
I want to draw attention to the great fear within the music industry. Especially in today’s digital/TikTok age, there is a pressure to constantly perform, especially within your own platform. You don’t even have to be an artist or musician, but those who do have that true passion for creating can easily be overshadowed by someone more chronically online.
I don’t think anybody could imagine how heavily intertwined social media and real life would become. Props to those who can live life without an audience, but it’s become basically impossible to survive and exist without a phone and its pressures. It’s just remembering you are worthwhile navigating this void and doing your best to help others with the platform you earn (if an online platform matters to you).
For those in music, it has sadly become a more competitive industry because of streaming and unfair distribution, so I just try to bring connection and encouragement as I meet new artists and collaborators. At the end of the day, social media isn’t real, so I’ve always used it as an extra chance to support my friend’s accomplishments. I’m really just practicing giving that same support to myself.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a singer-songwriter/producer currently studying communications and the music industry at Marymount Manhattan College. I’ve studied digital arts and audio recording for a couple of years now, and making music electronically has really allowed me to bring the music in my head to life.
Although I now make beats and lean into R&B and pop, I’m probably most known for my acoustic originals and ballads on Soundcloud under the username “milan sings.” I posted covers for years before my originals, and I’ve always been proud of the support I gained during that time period. “She’s a singer!” My favorite words. I really specialize in lyricism, because I tend to write songs with just the melodies in my head.
I add guitar or piano afterward if I don’t get to my laptop first. I’ve most recently learned the ukulele. I am always looking for a new sound to experiment with. I’m most proud of my first EP, “Milan’s Mix,” as it was created during an emotional yet reflective time in my life that eventually led me to some of my first opportunities in New York City.
Sometimes you just have to give your art to the world, and I would like to inspire others to be so fearless. I think what sets me apart is my resilience and ability to transcend with zero skin in the game. I’m not afraid to acknowledge my flaws and vulnerabilities and I think that’s a huge part of being a songwriter.
I’ve always made music for myself because of something Ed Sheeran said a long time ago… it was something about always writing about what you want rather than catering to audiences, that way your music will always be yours. I’m at a place where my sound is my own and I can’t wait to further embrace that.
My most recent collaboration, “Down Before” with Mark Edmond, is just a glimpse into my hopeful narrative. Working with artists like Mark is one of the best parts of creating. My first album will be titled For The Love Of Failure, and in creating it so far, I’ve gotten to work with some amazing producers and artists. I am really excited to unveil this part of my music path and hope you will tune in!
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My entire childhood is my favorite memory, to be honest. I’m so grateful for my 4 built-in best friends, and we are lucky to have always been very close. I have a twin brother named Roman, two older brothers who are also twins named Ocean and Rio, and an older sister named Sidney. We did everything together growing up, and everything was so funny. There was always someone to understand your joke in a room full of people who didn’t.
My family used to love going to Sweet Tomatoes before it eventually closed down. Going to dinner was (and still is) a huge event. A very special memory is whenever my dad would make ackee and saltfish with fried dumplings for breakfast. He grew fresh ackee in our backyard. He is definitely the greatest cook I know. Every experience was just so much more special thanks to my family. Their personalities are so unique and truly one of a kind even though we all have the same face.
Being the baby of the family, I’ve always felt safe and protected knowing my brothers and sister would drop anything for me. During hurricanes, it was so much fun to spend time with them and play board games, or watch movies on CD, or just talk about nothing. We had a few bad storms growing up, and looking back, we were really lucky to have each other during times like that. But we have definitely always known it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milanparodie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MilanPSings/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/milan-parodie-330b3728a
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/milanparodie
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@milanparodie
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/milan-sings
- Other: https://linktr.ee/milanparodie
Image Credits
Esme Jimenez, Joel Perez, and Cristian Bonilla
