Meet Vava Voom. Hailing from the city of Zurich in Switzerland, in the last week she has taken the musical world by storm with her single ‘Supersonic’ which features the vocal talents of Sean Kingston. We caught up with uber talented Vava to talk about song writing, star crushes, and shoes.
Young Adult Mag: How did you get your start in music?
Vava Voom: My family was always really musical. I played violin and was part of a children’s choir at the Opera house in Zürich. My highlight, at that time, was singing with Celine Dion in the Zürich stadium in front of thousands of people. I guess that’s where I fell in love with being an artist. In the following years I sang in different bands, played piano and guitar, was signed to Sony Music Switzerland for a while, and today I am here presenting my new single!
YA: Where do you get the inspiration for your songs? Can you talk a little bit about your writing process?
VV: My inspiration for writing songs usually comes from doing fun things like hanging out with friends, partying, meeting boys, and living life. The writing process can vary from getting tracks sent to me from music producers, to sitting down with a guitar or piano and putting melodies and lyrics to an idea I’ve had. The process can even take on the form of having a song presented to me, and then changing some of the lyrics or melodies to fit my personal feel or style. In the case of my current single, Supersonic, Esjay Jones and Pia Toscano (from American Idol season 10) wrote it in pretty much the exact words I would use, so no need for change there. It just fit like a glove!
YA: Talk us through a typical day in the life of Vava Voom.
VV: Well I still tour in Switzerland so I wake up, pray, work out, eat, rehearse, sometimes write songs or have studio sessions, sound check, do meet and greets and then do shows. Not everyday, but that’s pretty much a typical day. Typical rock star stuff! Ok, not really, but yeah!
YA: Have there been any formative moments that you’ve had? Any moments that have made you stop and think ‘I’m a pop star now’?!
VV: I try to stay as humble as I can and keep moving forward. I’ve had moments that have made me feel great, like having a video premiere on billboard.com and working with great artists like Sean Kingston, but I’m still working on the thing that will make the ‘I’m a pop star’ feeling happen. I think a #1 single on US pop radio will do it! 🙂
YA: Any idols that you’ve met so far that you’ve felt overwhelmed by?
VV: I’ve met a couple of famous people already but I don’t think I was overwhelmed, but more honored and thankful to be able to get to know or meet those people.
YA: How important has it been to you to have an American artist like Sean Kingston to collaborate with? How different is the Swiss musical landscape? My only real point of musical reference is from the Sound of Music and I’m pretty sure that it’s a little outdated.
VV: It’s really important for me that my music sounds authentic, and my music is very much inspired by American music. So Sean Kingston was important because he brought an element to the song that elevated it to where it needed to be. Kind of putting that American stamp of approval on it.
Music in Switzerland is really different, but great as well. I’m happy I had the chance to grow up over there with this kind of music. We don’t have as many artists doing so many different things as America does. But I love American culture, the way of life and what it stands for. Anything and everything is possible in the US and you encourage everyone to chase their dreams and never give up. I believe in that way of thinking and that inspires me.
YA: Are you getting to travel much? If so, what’s the best place you’ve visited?
VV: I do travel a lot, but most of the time it’s throughout Switzerland and to the US. My hometown of Zurich is great, but I’m obsessed with NY and LA! They are the best because those cities are the center of pop music, I would say, and that is what my heart beats for. And shoes of course 🙂
YA: What do you like to do when you’re not performing/being an international songstress?
VV: I listen to a lot of audio books because I’m on the road so much. I also love to hang out with my friends and have a good time doing fun things like swimming, snowboarding and so on, but music is my main thing! I do that all the time!
YA: Who do you count as musical influences? Apart from Sean Kingston, obviously!
VV: Yeah, obviously Sean Kingston, but I would say all the pop icons from the 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s, and now 2010’s. Michael Jackson, Madonna, Britney, Gwen Stefani, Pink, and so many others influence me.
YA: What’s your favorite part of this journey been so far?
VV: My favorite part is to actually see when you inspire people with music. Life can suck a lot, but if you can make people smile, dance, or have a good time, that’s a crazy cool thing. This is the reason I do music.
YA: If you could be any singer/songwriter throughout history, who would you like to be?
VV: Good question…most of those pop icons had really hard private lives, so I’m not really sure. Cindy Lauper would be amazing, I think, she’s fun! 🙂
They aren’t singer songwriters, but I always secretly wanted to be a Spice Girl too! Don’t tell anybody though, haha!
YA: What 5 songs are playing on your iPod right now?
VV: Coldplay- Midnight
Moxie Raia- Buffalo Bill
Shakira / Rihanna- Can’t Remember To Forget You
Jhene Aiko- The Worst
Pharell Williams- Happy