Meet Madame Starlet

We were lucky to catch up with Madame Starlet recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Madame, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Tons and tons of trial error and experimenting. Ever since I was a little girl, I loved to stay in my own lane & do my own thing. I’ve always been the type to gravitate towards going outside the box and experiment with things that I feel are interesting. With doing that, it created a bit of fearlessness within me. It made me so secure in myself! I really believe in not following the crowds and just doing your own thing because it truly creates this space of security within yourself. It’s lovely.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a Chicago based singer, songwriter, and a producer. I’ve been doing these things for a while now, almost 5 or 6 years. I’ve definitely been through many eras as i’ve evolved as an artist. My genre-bending music travels through the realms of alternative, trip-hop, and electronica.

What makes my sound so special about my music is I love to mix sounds from before my time with modern sounds. I do the same with my visuals. I’ve taken in so many influences growing up in a family with people who have such diverse tastes in music and film. With that, I’ve learned to constantly take in new things and research and scour different music platforms for music I haven’t heard. Always evolving! My biggest influences would definitely be Madonna, FKA Twigs, Massive Attack, Janet Jackson, and The Prodigy. Definitely have a love for the 90s.

I make a majority of my music within the walls of my bedroom, on my laptop, with a little midi keyboard, an audio interface and a microphone. A lot of my music has been DIY. I love being as raw and authentic as I can with my sound and what better way to do that than making the best with what I have.

I’ve taken on live performance as Madamestarlet within the past three years. So much has grown in that time. Recently, after performing my last couple of shows I’ve been described as “Prince and PinkPanthress combined” and “Next Lady Gaga incoming.” It’s so flattering hearing things like that because one, I have such a huge respect for these artists and two, they’re all such characters and secure in who they are as artists, and that is everything I wanna be. I feel so at home up on stage, especially when accompanied by my band. I love them dearly, shout out to Laney, Bobby, and KJ! They help me create this entire new world for my sound. It’s truly electrifying.

My newest single “Weakness of Life” dropped early July this year along with the music video. It’s my proudest body of work yet, as I wrote, sang, and produced the entire thing myself. I put so much heart into it, you have no idea! You can watch the beautiful music video directed by me and co-directed, filmed, & edited by Suimo here:
https://youtu.be/IJWL6tB0cME?si=Cn-CvmkkVTM6a51M

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful were definitely:

1. My extensive knowledge (and love for) of music from all eras. I’m taking in so much music all the time. There isn’t a day that goes by when I’m not feeding myself a new track I haven’t heard. I’m always studying always taking note of what I love within the sounds. There’s quite literally always music playing in my head no matter what! It’s really funny, I even have this list specifically made for songs that play in my head as soon as i wake up in my notes app.
2. The drive I have for my craft. I literally can do and will do everything for myself if I have to. I can produce, film, direct, edit all of my work because I love all mediums. I’m really a creative through and through! This ties into my next one which is…
3. My artistic vision. I know exactly how I want things to look and sound, I have my own little bubble in my head of all the ideas and references I wanna reference, and I apply them in my own Madamestarlet way. That’s really important for an artist to have I feel. You must know who you are and how you want to be portrayed you know! It’s so integral to figure this out as time goes on. I’m still learning of course since I’m pretty early in my career, but I’ve always had my own artistic vision.

My advice for people early in their journey is to always stay true to yourself, like what you
like, don’t follow the crowds but if you do put your own little spin on it (because why copy and paste?!?!), pat yourself on the back, and do not stop pushing. Keep the momentum going no matter what. Some doors will slam shut in your face but that is OKAY because everything happens for a reason and everything in its right time. I tell myself that all the time. Oh and also, keep
a good support system in your circle, people who truly care about you. That’s really important too.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I am 1000% looking for people to
collaborate with. I have a newfound love for collaboration with those who are A. good people and B. truly in it for the love of the arts. Producers, Videographers, Photographers, Singers, Managers, Stylists, Writers, Venues, everyone! I’m always open to having a chat about collaborations, I have so many ideas that are a bit difficult to meet all on my own so please do reach out!

You can reach me through my email: [email protected]

or through my Instagram:
@madamestarlet

Feel free to contact me 💋🐆

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Marco Ortega
Israel Melendez
Kyley Sneed

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Highlighter Series
What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?

Coffee? Workouts? Hitting the snooze button 14 times? Everyone has their morning ritual and we

Highlighter Series
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?

Our deepest wounds often shape us as much as our greatest joys. The pain we

Highlighter Series
Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?

Culture, economic circumstances, family traditions, local customs and more can often influence us more than