The main thing is to be able to learn and understand
About a month ago, singer Paula Dundere’s debut album “CGI” was released. By itself, this event would not be worth highlighting – a small thing for debut albums! – but Paula’s case is notable for the fact that this singer knows how to present herself on stage very talentedly from the point of view of communication with the audience, and is also able to calmly listen to opinions, drawing the right conclusions from them. “I like to hear what other people have told me, like that the album sounds good overall, but it needs more of me. I mean, it’s good, classic pop throughout this album, but I have to admit that I personally like “r&b” and rock influences more, and I’ll work on that more in my next album – I want to bring other styles into my music. It should be noted that this is my very first album – I still have room to grow!” Paula herself evaluates her debut masterpiece.
She has been collecting songs for years, but she has been working more intensively on the album for the past nine months. The name of the album “CGI” or “computer generated imagery” is translated as “computer generated images”. “I think this metaphor fits the main idea of the album perfectly,” muses Paula. “I made this album as a look back at my life, which has happened in the last three years. A lot has changed, but the idea and dream for this album has always followed. Its main message is that each of us, including me, must learn to understand and distinguish between real emotions and real people from fake ones. Nowadays, these boundaries are very difficult to see. The main thing I have learned during these three years is to love myself, understand myself and become a better person every day.”
On stage since childhood
When Paula Dunder presented her debut album in the “Hangar” of the Tallinn street block, I was surprised by how alive and organic she felt on the stage – even despite the anxiety (at least she herself claimed that she was), Paula confidently and fearlessly demonstrated on the stage ” the talents of a stand up comedian, event leader, audience mover, and of course also a singer and even a dancer. “Corporate event organizing agencies should rush to sign a contract with this girl, because she can become absolute No. 1 in this field – there is nothing that Paula does not ask for!” In addition, as a bonus, this girl from Valmieri also looks good and speaks a good language from the point of view of expression,” this is from the reviewer’s own assessment of the girl’s performance. It turns out that there is a basis for this.
“Actually, I really am [bijusi pasākumu vadītāja]!” laughs Paula. “I have to thank my mother (Iluta Dundere, head of Valmiera’s children and youth vocal studio ‘Smaidiņi'” – author), who involved me in this whole matter since I was a child. I have conducted various concerts since I was eight years old – the last one I conducted was my mother’s vocal competition “Dziesmu virpulis in Valmiera 2023”, a rather large-scale event. Therefore, I already have this kind of experience, besides, I am also quite close to the theater – I graduated from the theater class at Viestura High School in Valmiera, while last year I went to Anna Eižvertiņa’s stage courses, which prepare before entering the “theatres”, says Paula. Hasn’t there been a desire to further your education in acting? “No!” comes the immediate and convincing answer. “I know many people who are currently studying [aktieros], and I know how tight their schedule is, filled from eight in the morning to ten in the evening – then I wouldn’t have time for music, work, absolutely nothing else! But music comes first for me.”
One of the first YouTubers in Latvia
There is no doubt that music (and education) is in the first place for Paula – because of it, she even gave up the career of a YouTuber, which is so modern and profitable these days. In particular, Paula has been actively creating content on the YouTube platform since 2013 and was one of the first (together with Cindy Lo and Evelina Parker) to be called a “YouTuber” in Latvia, filming videos about her daily insights and lifestyle.
“I’ve always been an active kid participating in different clubs, so I didn’t have much free time to go out with my friends. I spent it on the Internet – I watched a lot of videos, I tried to edit them for school myself. I liked the process of cutting out the clips and putting them together. At that time, I watched a lot of foreign “YouTubers” who made content about lifestyle, and I thought, why couldn’t I film something similar?! I had never seen anything like that in Latvia, only later I noticed the local girls as well,” Paula remembers those times. She started creating internet content at the age of 13, and initially it was just for fun. “I liked the connection with other content creators, but then there was cooperation with foreign cheap clothing companies that offered to send their clothes. And suddenly many people’s eyes opened – oh, we can use this girl to promote this or that! It was complete madness! That’s how I started earning my first money at the age of 15.”
In the Internet environment, she started with her name (the most popular was the brand #TeEsPaula) and made videos about cosmetics, beauty care, also about her everyday life, about her favorites, clothes, etc. – as Paula herself says, “very girly everyday things”. “But over time, the spark for making these videos somehow disappeared for me – everything I had made until now no longer seemed relevant to me. I tried to realize it in a different cut and in a different shape, but… Somehow I didn’t like it, I didn’t find it interesting anymore. I decided to focus more on music and education. I moved to Riga, and a completely different life began – studies, singing, etc. I realized that for me music, even if it has always been the main thing in my life, is my heart and I want to invest more time in it.”
She has also participated in “princess” beauty contests
Traces of Paula can be found on the Internet even from the girl’s very, very young years. “My name is Paula. I am from Valmiera. I have been singing since I was three years old. At the age of five, I entered the vocal studio “Pekšni”. I have participated in various contests, starting with “Cāli” and continuing with “April drops”, “Jaunas styren”, “Gaujas atbals”, “Pearls and diamonds”. Also in the international contest “Little Miss World”. Of course, there are many other competitions in which I have participated,” the following business card can also be found.
Reminiscing about the small beauty queen competition, Paula recalls with a laugh: “I once participated not only in singing competitions, but at one time also in the extremely popular “princess” competitions. Through “Avene” magazine, I got into a final and was invited to go to Turkey, the big contest “Little Miss World”. It was the post-crisis period, so my parents had to tighten their belts, but they always supported me and let me go to this competition. I am traveling alone – only with a companion. It was an absolutely crazy adventure! Significantly, I won the title “Best singer” – a good start for the future!”
Currently, Paula studies by herself (“I practice singing all the time and go to vocal lessons, because the voice needs to be constantly trained”) and also teaches others – on Agnes Rakovska’s or Rozniece’s music and education platform “Zvaigznājs”, as well as in a kindergarten as a music teacher, and also teaches private lessons. In parallel, she works as an influencer, creating content on the platforms “TikTok” and “Instagram”.
A good result was achieved with a large team
Returning to Paula’s debut album “CGI”, it should be noted that the singer has a good voice and an interesting timbre, and the songs are also not at fault. Stylistically – danceable pop with “r&b” and sometimes also hip-hop elements.
The song “Delulu” sent to the radio stations will probably live up to the expectations placed on it, the dancey “Atspulgi” will move the audience at the concerts with an almost autobiographical text, and the audience will probably also like the title song – if only because Edavārdi also participates in it. The closing lyrical song “Vienatā” (co-authors – Emilija Jermola, Monta Liba, Aivo Oskis) is also great. However, the reviewer as the best crowned song “Chemical addiction” (co-authors Agnese, “another boy” Dagnis Roziņš and rapper Zeļgis), it is only a pity that it was Zeļgis who sang in this song – one can only imagine how incomparably better it would sound in tandem, for example with Vultura . A whole team of different authors worked on each of the songs together with Paula, which also has disadvantages – each song has some nuances, but still sounds in a much different style. But the average listener probably won’t feel it at all.
If there is no plan B, then… Plan A must be implemented!
In her mind, the singer is already working on her next masterpiece. “I don’t have a set date for the next album, but the songwriting has already started. New ideas and their sketches arise, besides, they are always inspired, because I work with children every day – in “Zvaigznāja” I help them write songs, develop their ideas and, as an assistant, put all their crazy thoughts into a single folder. It really motivates me to write something myself,” admits Paula.
“By the way, I was recently asked about a plan B in case I don’t succeed in music,” Paula suddenly thinks. “There was a period when the songs were released, but they did not receive positive reviews, and I have had several such moments that made me think, maybe others are right, maybe I really can’t sing well at all?! But I realized that I don’t really have a plan B for this at all! So I’ll just jump in head first. I will focus on the sustainability of my career. Maybe I will change a lot and often, then we will see. But you have to find that particular ‘my self’, and I’m still looking for that.”
2023-11-25 03:15:01
#discovery #year #constellation #young #talents #singer #Paula #Dunder
