Ilana Armida is an LA-based dancer, songwriter, and pop singer. According to her mother, Ilana was always born to be a star.
“She could dance as soon as she could walk and could sing as soon as she could talk,” says Ilana’s mother.
Ilana Armida first fell in love with music while listening to Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin and then went on to discover other great artists such as Michael Jackson, Janet, NSYNC, TLC, who all inspired her because of their ability to sing and dance at the same time, which made her want to do the same. With hard work and determination, Ilana was able to perfect her singing and dancing talents, and then went on to experiment with songwriting during her college days.
Now years later, Ilana has released two EPs, with the most recent being Iridescent Flower Child. Her latest release is the single, “Addicted to You,” which she co-wrote. You can listen to it below.
CelebMix spoke with Ilana Armida to get the details behind “Addicted to You”. Check out our interview with her below.
Hi Ilana, thanks for speaking with CelebMix! Can you tell us about your new single, “Addicted to You”?
Yeah! Thanks for having me. “Addicted To You” is a wicked special song to me. It was the first song I wrote after moving to LA. I wrote the song almost 2 years ago with J Bach. I came to him with the love addiction concept and he started singing these dope, pop melodies over this marimba sound and then this song kind of fell together fairly quickly. The production took a while to get right but I am so happy it is finally here!
The lyrics tell a dark story, but at the same time, its beat makes you want to dance along. What made you decide to make it a more upbeat song?
I love writing pop music but I also write poetry and really like when lyrics have deep meaning. I definitely set out to write something dark to music that makes you feel good. I want to be a positive force in entertainment and I want people to dance and feel good when they hear my songs but I also want to talk about some real sh*t you know?
Can you tell us how it was filming the lyric visual for the song? Where did you film it?
My dear friend and photographer Lauren (@amillionlightyears on Instagram) took me to this amazing dried up lakebed about 2 hours outside of LA. It is such a beautiful place with an incredible sunset, it feels like you are on Mars or something. The photoshoot I did with Lauren was my favorite shoot I had ever done! The pictures turned out beautiful and I felt like a desert princess. I used one of the shots for the single art of this song. I teamed up with Diego Rosende and his team and went back to shoot the lyric visual there. I had the concept and Diego and his team worked their magic.
How was it preparing for the release of “Addicted to You”? Since it’s been a year since you released new music, did you feel nervous or any pressure debuting the song?
I was so anxious to release this song! Not only had it been a while since I released anything but I wrote this song so long ago I was dying for it to be out. This song really feels like the beginning and I am so excited to release more in 2019.
After releasing Iridescent Flower Child, how did you go about making music this time around?
IFC was really like the embodiment of who I was and what I was going through at the time and also what I was capable of alone in my room/studio in Bradenton, Florida. There weren’t many musical minds to collaborate with and I was really new to writing and producing music. My sound has matured so much since then. LA has really changed the game. Now I get to collaborate with some really talented and creative people. I took the time over the past couple of years to develop my sound and hone in on who I am as an artist.
We heard that you started singing and dancing as early as three years old. Can you tell us more about that? Did you always know that you wanted to be a performer?
Yeah! My parents have always been super supportive. They got me into dance and music as soon as they noticed how much I loved performing. I have always had this dream. I explored performing through musical theatre and hip-hop and now feel like being an artist is my calling. I can’t wait to get on some stages soon.
You discovered your love for songwriting in your college days. What sparked it?
I was always performing around campus and before I wrote music I wrote poems, plays, and short stories so, someone asked me after a show if I had any originals and I decided it was time to try it out. Now I write every day!
Where would you like your music to go moving forward?
I finally feel good about the music I am making. Honestly, I am just going to keep creating music that feels good to me. I write songs that I think are cool and hope that the music I create can make my fans happy.
What do you have planned for 2019?
Lots of new music!!
What else would you like to say to our CelebMix readers?
Stay Tuned! I have another single coming next month! Check out “Addicted To You” and the lyric visual! Also if you like to dance check out my Addicted Dance Challenge #A2YChallenge on Instagram.
For More Information on Ilana Armida:
Instagram | Website | Spotify | YouTube