Through a moving cover of Kolohe Kai‘s Round and Around, Samantha Glean reminds us that we are not alone.
Recently, Billy Agustin (Content Writer) sat down in a meeting with Samantha Glean, a young artist with a distinct passion for music and SWAYE’s TAG winner.
View Samantha’s TAG piece here.
Can you tell me a bit about your background?
Glean: Sure! I was born and raised in Daly City and I’m a junior at Immaculate Conception Academy Cristo Rey in San Francisco. I have a twin brother, a dog, and a mom and they’re all great! In my free time, I like to read books online.
What about your background in music?
I was first exposed to musical theatre when I was five or six. My cousins were part of the hula classes at Westlake School for the Performing Arts. I did hula first, and then I did musical theatre because I thought it was really interesting. I started taking classes and…I am where I am now.
Do you think you could tell us a bit more about your experience in theatre?
Yeah! Gosh, there’s so many. My teacher and director is Katie Kerwin-Gielniak, and I just grew up in a theatre, basically. I love doing musical theatre. It’s my favorite thing, and right now I’m teaching musical theatre classes and I aid musical theatre classes and I’m in musical theatre classes. It’s all I do, and it’s fun. It’s great. I love it and it’s my life. My song wasn’t a musical theatre song but I really like theatre.
Speaking of your piece, what was your main goal in this cover?
Well, the song is about hard times and how to get through it. I guess I just wanted to share my voice. I wasn’t really expecting to win; I didn’t care about winning either. I kind of just wanted to do it.
Would you say that your experiences have affected your art?
Definitely! It has definitely affecte what songs I pick to sing and what I listen to. I went through a lot as a child, and the songs I listen to now are like, musical theatre and Kolohe Kai, the person who sang the song originally. Those songs sort of helped me through everything I went through growing up.
Do you have a favorite musician or song?
Right now, it has to be Bruno Mars because I really like his art and his passion for music. I feel like he’s just so cool! And he’s Filipino like me, so I just enjoy that.
Can you tell me about any future plans?
I want to release more covers of songs right now! Nothing too big. I just want to graduate high school and go to college. Right now, I’m thinking of majoring in education because I already teach classes, so that would be kind of fun to be a teacher like my mom.
Who do you look up to?
I really look up to my mom and my grandma. They’re both immigrants from the Philippines and they’re so resilient. They’re great, and they went through hardships in the Philippines. It’s a hard place to live in.
What is your favorite project that you’ve worked on?
I worked with the Bay Area Theatre Company and we worked on this project called Chatroom. I was working with actors my age and we just got along so well. Our team chemistry was just so great; it was amazing. I really enjoyed working on that production. It was about suicide and online bullying and I really miss my cast. That was probably one of the most fun projects I’ve worked on in a long time.
What does art mean to you?
Well, it’s a way of expressing your feelings. It’s my outlet for all the emotions I go through. If I feel sad, I’ll listen to this song or if I’m feeling happy, I’ll listen to this song. It’s definitely my go-to place.
Did you have any significant challenges in your artistic journey?
I struggled to find my voice. Sometimes I still have that problem, and it’s just hard because the music industry and the musical theatre industry are very hard to be successful in. You really have to believe in yourself and make the right connections.
Is there anything that you’d like to share with other young artists like yourself?
I would just tell them to not be scared because I was definitely scared when I posted my covers. It was like, “What if people don’t like it? What if people start hating on me because it’s so bad?” But there has to be progress made if you want to get better. You have to trust the process.
View more of Samantha’s work:
Samantha’s Socials