Conversations with Bianca Rivera

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bianca Rivera.

Bianca, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Bianca Annelise. I’m a 21-year-old Filipina American singer, songwriter, and performer. I’ve been singing for most of my life. It’s always just been a part of my identity.
Some of my earliest memories are of being a toddler outside, pretending I was in a music video, making up little songs and melodies without even realizing I was songwriting. Self-expression, for me, began with singing.
Growing up Filipino, music was everywhere. I basically came out of the womb singing with a karaoke mic in hand. I’d go to the nail salon with my Lola and put on mini concerts for the nail techs — they’d pay me in snacks from the back, which in my culture is basically a love language. Music, to me, has always meant connection, joy, and celebration.
I joined a music school when I was young and trained vocally for over nine years. My brothers played piano and guitar, and we formed our own little family band — performing at pizza shops, talent shows, weddings, fundraisers, family parties, and the OC Fair. Performing connected us as a family, but it’s also connected me to myself. Being on stage has always been where I feel the most alive and most aligned.
Writing poetry and music has always helped me understand what I’m feeling. I’m a deeply emotional and sensitive person, and songwriting has been my outlet — a way to process emotions I didn’t fully know how to express.
As I’ve entered my twenties, everything feels like a shift. I’m meeting a completely new version of myself — navigating independence, identity, responsibility, and ambition. I’m facing tension between who I was, who I am, and who I’m becoming. Learning to hold all those versions of myself — without rejecting any of them — has been part of the growth. I’m learning that nothing is permanent and that nothing can ever be perfectly polished — which, as a Virgo woman, has not been the easiest realization to sit with. I’m slowly making peace with the fact that perfection isn’t required to move forward.
As my siblings and I took our own paths, I stepped fully into my solo career. In November 2025, I released my first single, Lost in My Body — a song about not fully knowing who you are yet. About feeling disconnected from yourself while simultaneously growing into someone new. It’s about the anxiety that lives in that in-between space — the gap between who you are and who you want to be — and learning to come back to authenticity, trusting divine timing, finding peace in the present, and allowing myself to keep evolving.
Right now, I’m focused on becoming the artist and woman I want to be. I’m collaborating with more creatives, strengthening my vocals, refining my stage presence, building confidence in how I move and take up space, and doing the inner work so I can show up as my most authentic self.
My music is just me — how I deal with the human experience. Exploring relationships, self-discovery, power dynamics, love in all its forms, and the complexity of being human. Just sharing my thoughts and emotions as I move through them.
There’s something beautiful about creating art that can outlive you — something that can sit beside someone in their life and make them feel seen.
At my core, I believe we are the creators of our own worlds. Self-expression and creativity make the world go round.
And honestly — I just want to perform my little songs and express myself freely forever.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Most of my obstacles have been internal. Self-doubt. Comparison. Overthinking. Wondering if I’m marketable enough. Wondering if I fit neatly into a specific niche. We live in a culture that loves categories — everything feels like it needs to be perfectly packaged, aesthetically cohesive, and easily digestible to be accepted. The “cool girl” ideal is polished and perfectly branded. I’ve had to unlearn the belief that I need to be flawless and perfectly planned out to be worthy of being seen. There’s so much pressure to fit into one lane — one look, one sound, one identity. But I’m eclectic. I love a lot of things. I’m passionate about different forms of art, different aesthetics, different energies. I’m ever-changing. And I’ve realized that’s actually one of my favorite things about myself. Allowing myself to be multidimensional — to explore, to experiment, to connect with many things and many different people deeply — is what makes me fulfilled. That is art to me, and the art I’d like to create.
The unknown is also very uncomfortable. Being seen trying is uncomfortable. Having the audacity to believe in yourself — especially publicly — can feel radical. Other people’s opinions and expectations can get loud. But I’m learning how to quiet the noise. Discomfort is part of growth. Pushing against the grain isn’t easy, but it’s necessary if you want to create something meaningful and higher than your current self. Surrounding myself with people who dream big, who are ambitious and passionate, who actually care — that matters. I don’t want to be around people who shrink their dreams. Trying is cool. Being passionate is cool. Caring deeply about something is powerful.
And then there’s the practical fear — that music isn’t stable, that it’s risky, that it’s unrealistic. But YOLO. This is the way I want to live my life. Success means something different to everyone, and mine is simple: to express myself, create and share art — all kinds of art — to have deep, loving, fulfilling connections, to feel every emotion fully, to experience all the new things life has to offer, and maybe, just maybe, buy some heels along the way. I just want to fuel my passion and do what makes me happy! And I know I’ll be just fine.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Right now I work as a character performer, playing princesses like Moana or magical creatures like mermaids and fairies. It’s pretty much all my favorite things—makeup, hair, singing, dancing, performing—and I even get to have tea parties and play by the beach. It’s healed my inner child and brought out my feminine side. It’s also a woman-owned and -run business, which is super cool and badass. I’ve always loved working with kids—it’s so rewarding and truly feels magical. Honestly, it’s pretty much a dream job for me. When I’m not doing that, I’m working on my music, performing gigs and shows, and excited to this year come out with an EP —so make sure to follow me on everything to catch my next performance!

How do you think about happiness?
For me, happiness is rooted in love. As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that love has many definitions, but the most important thing I’ve learned is that love is an action — a choice, a skill that requires intention and growth.
I love being the creator of my own world. This is my life, and I get to make it beautiful. I’m building my own narrative, my own experiences, my own art. We can choose how we respond, how we love, and how we find meaning in the mundane.
Right now, happiness looks like finding peace in change — trusting that I’m exactly where I’m meant to be, choosing love, connection, and self-expression, and building my life intentionally, again and again.
One of the most important things in life is being unapologetically yourself — expressing yourself honestly and leading with empathy. Authenticity is power. Taking care of yourself the way you would someone you love is something I truly prioritize.
I hope to keep getting better at loving — and at loving myself in the way I uniquely need. The more you pour into yourself, the more deeply and authentically you can show up for others, loving them for who they are, not who you want them to be. Happiness isn’t constant, but it shows up in the things you create, the connections you nurture, the art you make, the music you sing, the moments you experience, and even in the small, everyday joys.
Love — for yourself and for the world around you — is the most joyous, powerful thing.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biancannelise_27/
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@biancannelise
• Other: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/biancaannelise/lost-in-my-body

Image Credits
https://www.instagram.com/kissing.videotape/#
https://www.instagram.com/vibesbytony/#
https://www.instagram.com/michelleggonzalez/#