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Meet Trailblazer Alaina Whitney

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Alaina Whitney.

Alaina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started taking private voice lessons when I was ten because I basically wanted to be Britney Spears. The following year I joined my school’s choir and instantly fell in love with the performing arts. During my school career, I auditioned for every opportunity that was presented to me; competitions, select choirs, plays, musicals, etc. I was accepted into prestigious choral programs throughout the state of Michigan including MSVMA State Honors Choir and the University of Michigan’s MPULSE summer program.

I went to Western Michigan University to study Vocal Performance, but after only one semester I decided I didn’t want to pursue classical music anymore, and subsequently changed my major. I ended up graduating with a BA in Film, Video, and Media Studies, and minors in music and theatre.

After college, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a film actor. I was so focused on acting during those first few years that I completely stepped away from music. After a while, I found myself missing it, so I started auditioning for singing projects again. That’s when I found my niche: vintage entertainment. Since then, I have had the opportunity to perform at Disneyland and the LA County Fair, and other historic venues around Los Angeles.

In 2017, I started my company, Ballad Box Music, as a way to create my own opportunities in between gigs. I wanted a creative outlet where I could combine my love for music, acting, and film. With a bit of luck, hard work, and the help of my friends, I was able to turn that idea into a reality!

Great, 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?
Being a performer can be a difficult career. Since you have to audition for every project, most of the time, you’re waiting for someone else to give you an opportunity. And that can be very frustrating, especially if you don’t book anything for a while. That’s why it’s great to have your own projects to work on so you can keep doing what you love.

After starting Ballad Box, I realized just how much work goes into owning a business, especially when you’re just starting out. I had to invest a lot of time and energy into building the Ballad Box brand in addition to my own personal brand. I was doing everything myself – picking music, coordinating rehearsals, planning video shoots, purchasing and renting equipment, gathering marketing materials, editing music videos, and posting… Oh, the posting on YouTube/Instagram/Twitter/Facebook. I was burning the candle at both ends and it took a lot out of me mentally. After a while, I realized I had to take a step back from social media because it was consuming my life. Unfortunately, social media marketing is a huge factor for performers and having a strong online presence is a necessary evil.

What I would say to women just starting out as business owners is to go at your own pace. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing, or feeling the pressure to get content out all the time because you will stress yourself out. You want to enjoy the work you’re doing, not resent it.

As for singers just beginning their musical journey, I’d say audition for everything you can, and practice, practice, practice! Take voice lessons, join choir, do a musical, or simply make videos of yourself singing. Just put yourself out there because you never know what opportunities await that will change your life.

What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
As a singer, I specialize in part-singing, which means I blend really well with other singers. I love it when I’m singing in a trio or quartet and the chord just locks. It’s such a great feeling and you can tell the audience loves it! I found my niche singing music from the 40s and 50s because not only does my voice lend itself to that era of music, but I get to dress in vintage style costumes that I love! As a soloist, I like to sing jazz, pop ballads, and indie rock and am hoping to join or start a band.

What makes Ballad Box Music unique is that we cover love songs, but done in our own way. We’ll take a song and change the style or tempo, add harmonies or mash two songs together (a.k.a. mashups). We even arranged an original ‘Moulin Rouge!’ medley highlighting the best songs from the film. Sometimes we’ll bring in other singer friends of ours and do something a cappella to switch it up.

I think the biggest success we had as a group was when we booked a huge corporate holiday party last year at a swanky hotel in downtown LA. I am so proud of the work we’ve done over the last few years and am excited to release our album in the coming months. It’ll be something tangible to show for all of our hard work.

So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well-positioned for?
I think that women bring a level of organization to things that men don’t, and because we have to multitask a lot in life, we are great leaders by nature. We are able to sense more of what’s going on beneath the surface and can adjust accordingly. I think women are great business-owners and organizers, but I don’t want to say that we are better suited for one type of work than another. I feel that it is too limiting.

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 Image Credit:
Sunset Singers

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