By: Kat Harlton
People might remember Ria (AKA Victoria Azevedo) as a contestant from the first season of CTV’s “The Launch”, which Ria says was a great opportunity, “It was a really good experience, I found out about the show through my acting agent at the time, and this one happened to be a singing gig. She called me and said she had this really cool upcoming show, so I auditioned for it online. There was a lot of back and forth and emailing. I went there, and had so much fun, it was insane working with Boy George and just meeting him in general, he’s an icon.”
As a young girl Ria grew up listening to Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato, but credits her dad for her love of rock, “My musical influences have changed so drastically. When I was a kid I was obsessed with Camp Rock and Hanna Montana. When I was really young, I was into rock bands because my dad was so into rock. My favorite first band ever was U2, I know every single album because we used to always jam in the car. Now I’d say it’s Daniel Caesar, Sabrina Claudio, SZA stuff like that.”
In 2014 she was a member of the “Mini Pop Kids 12” and a year later “Mini Pop Kids 13.” This led her to touring and casting opportunities in TV commercials. As she continued to grow as both an artist and a teenager, Ria found that she struggled with making friends, inspiring her single I’m Good. “This song is about friendships, I’ve always had trouble making friends as a child and this song really hit me at a personal level. Me and my producer a.n.g.e.l (of AMG) always have conversations about each song we’re going to work on and he’s always asking me about what’s going on in my life, and in this case it was really bad things with friends so that’s how the conversation came about.”
As she embarks on her professional musical career as an artist recently signed to MDC Music in association with Arrival Music Group, she plans to continue to push herself and stay true to her personal style, “Just be yourself and get out there and if you want something, get it. Don’t think about anyone else, just think about what you want.”
For more on Ria, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaAzMusic