Today we’d like to introduce you to Lina Reign.
Lina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I, Alina Ogando, was born on June 28th, 1996 in Miami, Florida. My mother is Puerto Rican and my father is Dominican. I have two older siblings, my sister is 29 and my brother is 25. My sister has her own business and my brother is currently serving in the Navy. I was brought up in a Christian church where I started singing at the age of 5-years-old. My whole family is musically talented, which is pretty cool. Once my parents divorced, I actually left the church at the age of 12-years-old. I continued to sing during middle school, in which I became a part of the school’s chorus. At my eighth grade talent show, I performed “Hurt” by Christina Aguilera and it was my very first time performing in front of a large audience. One of my biggest inspirations is Christina Aguilera. I grew up memorizing and learning every single song of hers; I fell in love with the way she carries a song – there’s so much soul and passion, it’s what I aspire to be like.
Whitney Houston is another artist I admire. She has paved the way for so many singers – truly the angel of singing. I also look up to other artists such as Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys. After my first talent show, I realized I was born to sing and that’s all I wanted. Soon after that, I went into voice classes for a few months, I attended American Senior High school, where I was a part of the chorus and softball team. In high school, I tried to sing at every event they held starting from Coffee House to talent shows to even performing the national anthem at my Junior Ring Ceremony and my homecoming football game. While doing that, I auditioned outside of school to every singing competition I could find and worked as a nanny for a family of three. I auditioned for ‘America’s Got Talent’ at the age of 11, ‘The Voice’ at the age of 16, ‘America’s Got Talent’ again at the age of 17 and 18, ‘American Idol’ at the age of 20 and 21, and ‘The Voice Latino’ at the age of 22.
I almost made it into ‘American Idol’ and ‘The Voice Latino’. I never give up. I’ve always had a love for songwriting since I was eight-years-old. The first song I ever wrote was a rap song, which is funny because I like to sing. After that, writing became a hobby and I soon went through journals like water. At the age of 17, I wrote my first full-fledged song due to the backlash of my first heartbreak. I began to write more and more. After graduating high school, I enrolled into Broward College and began my major into becoming an ultrasound tech, however my heart’s greatest desire was with music. So, I decided to make a commitment with my music seriously. I started training with a vocal coach as well. Once I was 18-years-old, I decided to take music to another level. However, I was not completely mentally prepared. At the age of 20, I decided to enroll in an acting program due to my passion for acting as well. One of my aspirations is to someday be able to perform on Broadway. It wasn’t until I was the age of 22 that I clenched down and started the music journey, alongside my longtime friend/producer, Justin Wiggins. The moments I didn’t believe in myself, Justin was always there to push me to do music. He would always call me and tell me “Hey, let’s go to the studio!” or “Hey, let’s go make music”. Until one day, I felt like I had an epiphany. It was time to change my life around and do music seriously and to the next level. Ever since that day, we became partners and formed the company named BluePrint Family Production, alongside Eil Hawkwins. I felt like Eli was one of the missing pieces we needed. He brought a marketing and creative directness feel to the team, including helping with some of the music aspects.
We’ve been in and out of the studio creating my first project, ”Hidden Portraits”, which will reflect on a toxic situation I went through. We currently have two released singles called “Walk Away” and “Risk”, Produced by Justin Wiggins. Also, an upcoming single will be releasing on October 28th called “Can I” Featuring Miami O’Nell, and Produced by Justin Wiggins and Eli Hawkins.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I went through a very toxic situation. I felt like I was beyond distracted and not focused on doing music under any circumstances. It was throwing me off tremendously to the point where I felt I wasn’t even happy with myself.
Please tell us about your company.
Blueprint Family is a company that is originally owned by my producer – Justin Wiggins. I became apart of this company by becoming Wiggins’ business partner, along with Eli Hawkins. Everyone plays a specific role in the company. I am the team’s artist, so I am a part of Blueprint Family’s marketing, songwriting and every music aspect involved. But what’s so great about my team is that we don’t succumb to a specific role/field. I also have creative control when it comes to my own outlook, photography, artwork, visuals and etc. I am always playing a role; no matter what the field is. We are our boss. I am my own boss. Typically, one will not see that in this generation of some artists. Especially as a female in a male dominated industry, I take pride in being my own boss. We are marching to the beat of our drum. Everyone listens to each other, whether there’s an agreement or disagreement. And that’s what makes us such a great team. They give me the reign to say and do what I desire.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nothing, all of my greatest hardships and tough times continued to make me stronger and make me the person I am today.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Linareign
- Twitter: Linareign
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