Today we’d like to introduce you to Giselle Torres.
Giselle, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am a Mexican-American actress, singer/ songwriter, composer and dancer. I was born in NY and raised in Miami, FL where I started pursuing this career at age two in my mom’s theater company and ever since then, I knew this was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Growing up, I was in over 30 musical theater productions including community and regional theater. My whole life has always been performing and entertaining. I like to joke around and say that I was born on a stage because ever since I could walk, I was performing. At age ten was when everything changed for me. My mom noticed an ad for the X-Factor which said that they were looking for people to audition and she signed me up along with two other friends. We didn’t really think much of it, just thought it would be a cool experience, but cut to a few months later and we ended up being one of the “Top 6” finalists. This was where it all started. I started discovering the world of YouTube, my mom bought a small camcorder and got my two friends and I and we shot a music video on the beach. I started discovering this passion for pop music and this whole idea of being able to share it with the world in the click of a button which completely fascinated me.
Fast forward to today, that first video we ever uploaded now has over 300 million views and my channel has grown to over 1 billion views and 2 million subscribers. Over the years as I’ve been able to grow a fanbase and audience there have been many milestones I have obtained. For example in 2013, I was chosen to sing an original song to Pope Francis in Juarez, Mexico in front of 250,000 people and in 2017, I had seven sold-out concerts in Mexico City. Though things were going great in the music side, I still felt like I was missing something. Since I grew up doing theatre, acting was a big part of my life and I wanted to continue doing that, so after a lot of back and forth, in 2018 I decided to pursue my other dream of acting and moved out to Los Angeles.
Since then, I’ve been able to work on several different projects. I starred on Comcast’s exclusive TV sitcom “Five @ 305” as a series regular for two seasons, Amazon’s “Princess Cut 2 & 3”, guest starred on a couple shows such as ABC’s “Speechless” and Netflix’s “The Big Show Show” along with several shorts and feature films. Apart from TV and Film, after being in LA for a year, in 2019 I saw a casting notice for the musical “West Side Story.” I had actually auditioned for this musical four times prior, always landing callbacks and being so close to it but never booking it. I had already settled the idea in my head that perhaps it was too good of a dream to be true, and that maybe the universe was giving me a sign that perhaps this role wasn’t meant for me. So I showed up to the audition, a little less prepared than the previous ones just because this time, I was going more so to get it over with but after I left the room, they told me I had a callback for the next day. Around a week later, they offered me the role of “Maria” in 5 Star Theatricals regional production of “West Side Story” at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. It was a very fulfilling experience being able to go back to my roots because even though I am pursuing music and film & tv here, it was nice to be able to do what I grew up doing and what made me fall in love with this in the first place. Fun fact: “George Chakiris” the original Bernardo in the West Side Story film came to watch it and he congratulated me on opening night which was a surreal experience for me.
Today, I am working on new music. The world is on pause right now due to the pandemic, so I’ve been doing a whole lot of songwriting. A few months before everything closed down, I was working on a few songs at the studio for the first time with legendary music producer “Cory Rooney”. It’s my first time being able to collaborate with big name producers and writers since it’s usually just myself writing the songs on my own in my bedroom at 3 am, so it definitely has been an incredible experience. I am currently preparing the release of my new song “18” which will premiere everywhere in July, which I’m very excited for.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It certainly has not been a smooth road, but I don’t think it ever is when you’re starting out. The biggest struggles for me have been failing hundreds of times and getting back up. Also, just coming to a brand new city and trying to make a name for myself. I’m only 18 years old so it’s sometimes hard for people to know everything that I am capable of doing, which means I always have to try an extra 110% in order to be taken seriously. I moved to LA two years ago without knowing anyone to fulfill this passion I have. But before that, it has been years and years of consistent hard work in order to build this platform that I have today with an audience that I can rely on to listen to new music and content. Not only struggles, but there have been many sacrifices that I have had to make. Since I started pursuing this at a very young age, this meant I had to have my priorities set and I always knew that in order to pursue this, it would be a lot of work. Due to this, I lost a lot of friends growing up because I was so focused on my music and building this platform for myself.
When I finally decided to move to LA, it was a big step for me because I knew I’d be leaving behind my home and it would be a big sacrifice for my family to be separated, but it was a risk that we were willing to take because we knew that LA had so much more to offer to me than Florida. Fast forward to today, I’m living here, and it has been a crazy whirlwind experience. Yes, it is a magical city but also a very intense one. Everyone here is hungry to grow, and everyone here is going after something. Doesn’t matter what, but each person has different goals. And yes, in this business that I am going after there is a lot of rejection but it just gets to a point where you have to acknowledge it because each rejection is going to lead you someplace else. So acknowledge it, then let it go and move on. Something I’ve learned is that you never stop growing and each day is a new opportunity to learn and build something for yourself. It’s all a part of being in this place they call “La La Land”.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
My YouTube channel is where I release my own original music but since I am a songwriter as well, I also have written for films and tv shows before. About six months since I moved to LA, I landed an Indie film that I was going to be acting in but then, they later asked me if I could possibly play guitar and sing something short in one of the scenes, I wrote a song in a few hours and played it for the director and producers and next thing I know, they’re asking me to write three songs for the movie soundtrack. I also have written over a dozen songs for a Comcast exclusive sitcom tv show and other feature films as well.
But although I specialize in a lot of things, my channel and platform is where I’m able to share all of that with the world. What I think sets me apart is that I am completely myself in front of the camera but also in my music. When I write my songs, I like to talk about things and topics that aren’t so common, because I’ve always said that if one person can connect to my music, then my job here is done. I want people to feel something when they listen to my songs. Whether that makes them remember, reminisce, or maybe just relax. I always make sure to be a positive force for others and shine the light on topics that need to be heard. Being active on social media has allowed me the chance to give back and inspire others to make a difference. I also am Mexican-American so every time I release a song, I do it in English and Spanish which has really helped me build a following here in the U.S but also in Latin America as well. I think it’s important to stay true to yourself and I like being able to share a bit of my culture and where I come from with the world. People get to see me grow as an artist musically but also be a normal human being at the same time which I think is nice. At the end of the day, everyone is pursuing something, we just have different paths that’ll take us to these destinations, so why not take the world with me along the way?
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I like to always say to live your life with no regrets because everything up until this day has happened for a reason. All the obstacles and struggles have shown that they can be blessings in disguise sometimes. And how you can meet special people in the most coincidental places. This career is a tricky business which comes with lots of highs and lows, and I would just say to take advantage of those ‘high” moments in your career to the fullest because those are the ones that will give you the most opportunities to grow. But like I said, you gotta live life without regrets, each day is a new lesson learned and I can’t wait to continue this journey and see where it takes me.
Image Credit:
Brat, and Ed Krieger.
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