by krystal fernandez
photo courtesy of janalynn castelino
Multilingual singer-songwriter and doctor, Janalynn Castelino is an artist who’s never been afraid to speak her mind. After amassing a massive 22 million viewership on one of her music videos released on YouTube with her emotional yet solid refreshing vocals, she’s been in the limelight for quite a long period. Her music style encompasses a blend of R&B, pop and Sufi genres. Janalynn’s increased level of skill and command on her vocals essentially turned her into a solo artist, but this wasn’t something she had dreamt of. She’s been writing songs and chord progressions throughout the quarantine period.
Janalynn’s has big plans for the year ahead, so we caught up with her to get her latest intel. Read on to hear all she has to say about the music scene during the pandemic, challenges faced by the industry, and her upcoming EP.
“I always wanted to express myself beyond my vocals. Songwriting and composing music offered me the opportunity to have this expression more pronounced," Janalynn said. She’s been harnessing creativity through songwriting throughout the lockdown. She started uploading songs to YouTube during her second year of medical college when she realized that “the response to one of my music videos was so overwhelming from people all over the world that I felt this shouldn’t be limited to merely a hobby any longer. I should essentially be doing more of this.” Soon after which she had a couple of more music releases, some of which featured on YouTube’s Global Trending Charts. With the rising popularity and enthusiasm from millions of listeners, Janalynn was all set to make her next big move with the release of her first ever EP. But the pandemic had its own plans with the lockdown setting in.
Janalynn had to reconstruct her production schedule since the shoot was obliterated by international travel restrictions. “It was an overall tense situation for me and my entire team that involved members belonging to different territories around the world. We had to abruptly pack up and reschedule the project activity, all of which had been pre-decided for the year. I believe it was a similar situation for artists who were touring across countries. Not just business commitments but also health associated obstacles came into play. The conditions were terrific!”
In terms of the scenario faced by the music industry, Janalynn admitted that there were alternatives that could be adopted to carry on with the production but she however refused to deliver a subordinate product and opted to stay creative behind the scene. “There were so many virtual alternatives which eventually got in — virtual songwriting, virtual photography, virtual direction, etc. but I somehow felt it wouldn’t serve to meet the requirement that my project demanded. I preferred waiting patiently at least for some time till the conditions around improved, most importantly for international traveling restrictions to be lifted. Honestly speaking the pandemic impacted all of us in several ways, not limiting its effects to the music industry alone.”
Along with being compared to others, Janalynn established an identity not just as a singer who gained popularity owing to her viral music videos, but she’s also struggled with completing her doctoral degree and has faced challenges more than any other medical student would have gone through. She believes being unique has been an advantage for her. The multilingual vocalist, who started singing at the age of five, claims that she wouldn’t be able to cope up with any of it, if it hadn’t been for the support from her parents, her enthusiastic friends and authentic followers. Singing was her first love but her excellence in sports like swimming and lawn tennis and achievements in academics compelled her to consider the latter as mainstream up to a point wherein she had to quit her career as a professional lawn tennis player to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.
Janalynn regards the quarantine period to be a constant process of preparation. She spent the lockdown writing, composing and aiming better at production. “Every track on the EP has a story associated with it. I think you will get to see a new shade of me with this EP,” she responded upon being asked what was within the bag. Having confirmed that the EP is set to release in October this year, she’ll be releasing a classic rendition prior to showcasing new music in order to bridge the gap for her followers. “October will be full of high notes,” she further asserted.