Anisa Jibrell – News Writer
Although excelling in academics remains her top priority, one thing is clear about Taylor Balado. Music will always remain an extension of who she is.
“Music has always been a part of my life,” said Balado. “I spent my days with my grandmother as a kid and she’d always be cleaning and there would always be music playing in the house.”
Her cool and shy exterior does not prepare us for the sexy yet soothingly reassuring ballads on her most recent song, “Can’t Get Enough,” that explores love and sexual intimacy. Balado ripped the beat from the song, “Diced Pineapples,” by Rick Ross and Wale, and calls her song a less raunchy, more feminine version.
“It’s from a woman’s point of view, but less inappropriate,” said Balado.
She has collaborated with former student Antonio Ifill, also known by his stage name Tone Eyeful. Her feature on Ifill’s song titled, “Broken Love Story,” was slightly inspired by her ex, said Balado.
“We pulled that track together in one night, it was dope,” said Balado.
Balado admits that the nature of the music industry has caused her to keep her walls up and she said she isn’t open to letting people managing her music.
“The industry is so unpredictable, you can get in and have your 15 minutes of fame and be done and you’re out,” said Balado. “So I kind of want something I can fall back on.”
Balado is currently majoring in marketing in order to get a better understanding of how the media business operates, but more importantly to prepare herself for future opportunities.
She admits that she is still a work in progress and hopes to build her voice and stage presence. However, she no longer takes voice lessons at the moment because she doesn’t have the time.
“I need to build my stage presence, I’m so shy. I don’t like big stuff, I’d rather do intimate things,” said Balado. “I need to learn how to control the crowd or at least know how to interact with them.”
“If I’m performing something that I don’t feel connected to, it feels uncomfortable,” said Balado. “I’m always nervous to start but once I’m in my zone and comfortable then it feels right.”
One of the challenges she said she faces when doing covers is losing her unique voice by trying too hard to sound exactly like the artist.
“My problem is, I always want to sound like exactly how the song is, and my teacher always tried to tell me ‘you are you, you’re going to sound how you sound,’” said Balado. “So I’m always intimidated by that.”
But Balado’s love for music isn’t the only thing that runs deep. Before Balado went into marketing, she said she flirted with the idea of becoming a teacher because she loves working with kids. She wrote off that plan due to how limiting school curriculums can be.
“Children learn in different ways so you shouldn’t have to limit the way you interact with them,” said Balado. “And I’m not the type of person where I want to be limited. I’m a creative person.”
Balado currently works at Apple and hopes to go corporate in the long run and work for Apple Music.
Photo Credit: Anisa Jibrell
