Britany Correa, a theater arts major, aspiring entertainer and folk and indie songwriter, has encountered many roadblocks in her life,
ranging from the shallow point of views of others and being raised by a single mother.
The 20 year old is an only child and grew up in Huntington Park and attended high school there. She claims to have been a bad student, but this is where the seeds of her music passion were planted.
Correa gave her first performance when she was 14 years old in tenth grade when she took a choir class and performed “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” in front of the entire school.
“I sang and (the audience) clapped for me. It was a pretty big applause. From there, I just fell in love. The feeling was awesome.”
She described her appearance in high school as a rocker type rocking blue, short hair, cut-up shirts and fish nets. She fully expected the audience to laugh at her for what she was doing, but what was instilled inside of her was something different.
“I always wanted attention, so I would drink and smoke and be crazy. That was the first time I had gotten the right form of attention. The fact of seeing people happy about me, it was very bizarre.”
Psychology major and friend Ariel Salazar recalls the day he met Correa in her high school days.
“When I first met her, she was kind of rocker at the time. I was kind of scared, though. I’m really awkward and shy and not that rocker type. We’ve gotten to know each other for the past two years and she’s really amazing.”
Correa’s rocker personality all stems from the fact that her parents were both the same way in their youth. Her mom had her when she was 17 years old, and they both had to deal with the missing presence of Correa’s father.
“He just left my mom by herself,” she said. “She’s been both my mom and my dad for my whole life. I haven’t heard from (my dad) and I don’t plan to. I’m not like, ‘Oh, I’m going to show him.’ No, he’s a stranger. I don’t have a dad. It’s better that way. I don’t want to know about him.”
Correa continued to perform in the choirs and developed a fondness for her performances.
“I sang a lot of solos in high school, but the one I was most famous for was ‘Fever’ by Peggy Lee. I adapted it in certain ways and I auditioned it for the ‘X-Factor.’”
The reality television music competition was quite the experience for Correa, as she said it was nothing like the way it was portrayed on television, and that the program seeks one thing: ratings.
“You meet a lot of characters there, but it’s also sad in the sense of that there’s a lot of people there who think this is what their dream is, and then they don’t sing a certain way, or they don’t look the part. It’s demoralizing.
“All (the show) wants is ratings. (It looks) for the sad story, or the one who looks a particular way. It’s all favorites. It’s not about the music or how marketable and relatable they (contestants) are.”
What she seeks to focus on is her music and her voice.
Correa’s music scene lies with folk and indie music, as she is currently developing a music album entitled “Kerosine” with her friend David Ramirez, in which it focuses on said genres, in addition to electronica.
“I do the singing and the songwrting. (Ramirez) told me to be his backup vocalist.
“It’s a baby right now. Everything we’re writing is being dubbed beat 13 and stuff like that. By January, we’ll have a snippet or two and share it through the Internet and social media.”
She desires to work for Disney, but professes that the days of tattoos and being that crazy person she once was is still a part of her. She’s grown out of it, but at the same time she hasn’t.
Being an entertainer is a core part of her aspirations; things such as improv and hosting events are integral to her wants.
In order to achieve her dreams, Correa said that she must focus on the positives of life and the people who have continuously supported her while leaving behind all the negativity.
“I should focus on the people that are there for me, like my mom. If she supports me, it’s for a reason, and I’m going to make her proud.”
