Daily Inspiration: Meet Lorenna Corral

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorenna Corral.

Hi Lorenna, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today? 
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. I played classical violin all throughout Middle and High School and played in competitions. I started learning about songwriting as a way to bond with my dad. He would play me The Beach Boys, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, etc., and explain to me what each song was about. I was also obsessed with Selena Quintanilla as all little Hispanic girls are. She was my idol, along with Britney Spears, of course! 

I remember when a music producer came to career day at my High School; he asked us to come up on stage to perform if we thought we had what it takes to be in the industry. I was too shy, and I ended crying in the car afterwards. How was I going to become a performer if I couldn’t get on stage? I shortly contacted him and asked to go to his studio with my parents to redeem myself. I played him Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Just Like a Star” on guitar. After that, he had me stand up and improvise over some piano chords he played. That was when I first started learning I could write songs. I never stopped after that. I used songwriting as a way to cope and compartmentalize my feelings to come back to later. 

Before I moved to Los Angeles, I had one producer I worked with and created an album with. I wasn’t happy with the music production, but I was happy that I had written and released my first album (under a different name). It gave me great experience about the process of recording entire bodies of work. I also had a placement on a Tyga music video called “Dope.” My cousin at the time was the video director, and his company paid me to put the song I produced in my bedroom in the intro of the video. No one know it’s me! But it was my first little taste of something exciting happening with my music! 

I move to Los Angeles to attend Los Angeles College of Music in Pasadena. This was the best decision of my life as this is where I gained skills, made lifelong best friends and colleagues, and was able to have so many opportunities come my way! 

Through this school I met other kids for the first time that were like me. They were quirky, and obsessive about music. I formed multiple bands and played out at hot spot venues such as The Hotel Cafe, The Mint, Genghis Cohen, and The Republic of Pie. I was able to meet Corinne Bailey Rae through the Grammy U program. I had my songs critiqued by songwriter and artist Mike Posner through the same program. 

I began to collaborate with producers and write tracks for companies such as Vanacore Music and dip my toe into the sync licensing world! 

Shortly after, a teacher recommended me to a boutique publishing group that writes and produces songs for Dua Lipa, Madison Beer, Sabrina Carpenter, Demi Lovato, etc. She had recommended me for a job as an assistant. I had been in LA long enough at this point that I had not only worked food service jobs but small indie-label internship positions as well. 

They offered me the job, and I panicked and refused the position stating that I wanted to work on my artist project and put all of my energy into that! 

The publishing company then set up a meeting with me and offered me to write for their company as a songwriter and producer. There were contracts involved and I think I was a bit overwhelmed and even turned down that offer as well. 

I would regret that for a while but refusing, that is what led me to writing and producing my own albums. I poured all of my energy and time into being an artist between work. 

Sugar Pills 1 is my first album I produced and released on my own, all about mental illness. My family has struggled with various types of mental illnesses, such as Bipolar and Schizo Affective disorder, and I was constantly around chaos before I left for school. Family members in and out of mental hospitals and suicide attempts don’t make for a very grounded environment to thrive in. 

I couldn’t bring myself to write any songs about love even though I wanted to because I didn’t have the capacity to write them. I had to utilize my way of coping, which was songwriting. I wrote an entire album, and that album helped me sort out all of my complicated feelings about mental illness and trauma, and it also got me a lot of opportunities, even though the music production wasn’t all the way great. I at least got my feelings out and people connected with the material. 

Years and years later, I released an album that was way more pop and upbeat than “Sugar Pills 1” called “Checklist Love.” I created this album during the pandemic with Detroit writers’ producers Qualms and Jon Zott. I also worked with Alina from the music production team Lyre, known for their K Pop writing abilities. If there is one thing I have learned about myself as an artist/songwriter, it is that I am great at seeking people out and collaborating! This album allowed me my first placement as an artist on a major TV network, Bravo TV. 

My song, “Blossom,” was on the most watched Season of Vanderpump Rules, season 10, therefore I gained a lot of Spotify listeners and interest in my song through that show! 

Coming up, I have a second installment to my mental health album to wrap up that season of my life called, “Sugar Pills 2,” coming out April 26th, 2024. Then I have another album (release date TBD) that is already almost finished and a bit more upbeat called, “Cruel Intentions.” I love to write in albums because I like to create worlds that I can pour my feelings into. 

My plan this year is to be more engaged with the listeners of my music as I release albums, and to work more on sync licensing placements for TV and Film! 

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?
One struggle I have had along the way has been finding the right producers. It can be tricky, almost like dating, until you find someone you click with on an emotional and creative level. In Los Angeles, you have to be careful because there are a lot of people that want to take advantage of starry-eyed artists. My advice to up-and-coming writers and artists is to always be more safe than sorry. Bring someone to a first studio session. If the producer seems upset about that, it is a red flag. Your safety comes first. I have experienced sketchy Craigslist producers (never do that, please!) I have experienced producers who wanted me to date them or didn’t truly want to work on music. They just wanted to flirt and waste my time and gas money. 

But when I do find the right people and collaborators, it is like magic! 

I tend to work with the same people who I feel safe with and trust. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I think I am a word nerd. I truly love words, and I think what I bring to songwriting is a quirkiness with my lyrics. I like to write darker lyrics at times because I think the contrast of light and dark is fun to play with. I like when a song has a happy sounding chord structure, but it has sad or angry sounding lyrics, it’s like a salty sweet dessert – you can’t of don’t know what you’re tasting or feeling. 

I also read a lot of old pretentious books because they are so poetic and witty, and I get a lot of inspiration from them, such as “Cat’s Cradle” by Kurt Vonnegut or “Narcissus and Goldmund” by Hermann Hesse. Right now, I’m reading “Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde,” and it uses such an old language writing style it’s almost hard to read, but I feel like it’s keeping my mushy TikTok brain alive! 

I like finding a twist to a songwriting topic the listener wasn’t expecting. I notice country music songwriting is really great at changing up the meaning of a chorus based on how you set it up in the verse. “There Goes My Life,” by Kenny Chesney, is a great example of that. 

I think it’s becoming more popular since Lana Del Rey and Billie Eilish for Pop to be more poetic and strange. 

I love eccentric artists or alternative pop artists such as Tove Lo, Lennon Stella, Caroline Polacheck, etc., but I also love the grittiness of Wolf Alice, The Kills, NERD, etc. 

I think music today is about blending genres and creating albums that are full of multiple types of music production ideas. 

I specialize in sad girl indie pop, but over time, as I grow, I hope it turns a bit happier! 🙂 

I’m proud of myself as a songwriter. They say if you can take a song and play it on the guitar or piano and it still sounds good, you have yourself a “real” song. I don’t know if I fully believe that, but it does make me proud when I’m able to have an indie pop song translate onto just one instrument. Hopefully, that will be showcased more in my next couple of albums! 

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
It’s funny, because the other day I realized that if I won 1 million dollars somehow, my life wouldn’t change all that much and it made me realize I am really happy with my life. 

I would still be basically doing all of the same things I’m doing now. I’d be working on my songwriting craft, exercising every day, getting sunshine at the beach, working on my relationship with myself and my family. I’d be reading and learning about esoteric ways to heal the soul and body. I’d be learning how to work on trauma. 

Nothing would really change except I’d probably just have more time, and not have a day job etc. But I’m working on lessening my day job now and making more money through my craft, so I feel like I am on the right track to happiness. I feel pretty content, and that’s a strange thing to be as a human who always wants more! 

I’m a really sensitive person and so I think I’m in the right field for that trait. It doesn’t help me that much in food service I’ll admit, but it really helps me when it comes to my hobbies and career. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lorennacorral.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorennacorral/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamlorenna/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CorralLorenna
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LORENNACORRAL
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/iamlorenna

Image Credits
Ray Headlines
Irvin C89
Magdi Films
Marco R Elaine
Torres Maegan
Alys Chromalized