Who is Nyah?
Sixteen-year- old Nyah is a singer/songwriter from the Central Coast of Oregon. She demonstrated the strength of her voice right from birth, as the nurses moved her into her mom’s hospital room because her
powerful cries affected the other babies in the nursery. Nyah released her debut EP “Disconnected” in January 2020, all songs she wrote between the ages of 13 and 15. The EP was mixed, mastered and recorded by Grammy-nominated, Sony/ATV Music
Publishing producer Bruce “Automatic” Vanderveer. Automatic is the CEO/co-founder of L.A.-based InRage Entertainment, which is Nyah’s record label.
Why did you decide to create music?
I started watching Disney Princess movies when I was a toddler, and I wanted to be one. I had a friend in 1st grade who introduced me to musical theatre. I was in my first main stage musical at age seven doing community theatre, and I was in a show or two basically every year since. I started singing the National Anthem when I was 10 years old and have been singing the anthem regularly for the University of Oregon for different sporting events for the past five years. In fact, the last time I sang in front of a live audience was for a Duck’s men’s baseball game in March. I have sang the national anthem for the Portland Trailblazers twice in front of an audience of 20,000+ people. I sang for a Seattle Seahawks football game this year, but it was done virtually because of the virus. I joined InRage Entertainment when I was 13. In 2019, we released my first music video “Empty Spaces”, much of it filmed in my hometown. I am working to release my second EP sometime in 2021, many of the songs written during quarantine. Also look for a new music video in 2021, featuring one of the songs on the 2nd EP.
What can you tell us about the video?
I accompanied myself on the ukulele, which I used to write this song. For the music video, my dad and I went to HooDoo Ski Resort in Sisters, Oregon in February. My dad shot all of the footage with his iPhone, except for the part I was on the inner tube, which I filmed myself.
What does the song mean to you?
The song is about love. But it is also about loneliness, which a lot of people feel during the Holidays.
What are you drawing from for inspiration on the track?
I just started with some random chords on my ukulele to develop the melody, and from there I just came up with the words. It took me about a day to come up with the first draft of the song.
How has this differed from creating a non holiday song?
So this is my only Christmas song so far. The other songs I have written and recorded have a different feel because they are addressing different topics. For example, my latest single I released in September is called “Slowly Dying” and is about pollution. “Maybe It’s a Christmas Song” is a lot more upbeat, because, hey — it’s Christmas!
Nice! Thank you for sharing. www.nyahtheunicorn.com