Julissa Veloz started off her senior year of college in Poland.
She was not studying abroad or on a family vacation, but rather she was performing her hit single, “Take Control,” at the 2010 ESKA Radio Bydgoszcz Festival in Poland, a two night national festival where Polish and international musicians perform.
Veloz, now 22, has been singing since she was five years old. She was classically trained since the age of ten and has always dreamed of becoming a professional singer, but unlike most, her dream came true.
Veloz auditioned in Jacksonville, Florida for season eight of American Idol and received one of the famed “golden tickets” to Hollywood.
“I saw it as an open door, and good exposure,” Veloz said about auditioning for the show. “It was strange though. While my season was airing, I was back here at school. People would tell me, ‘Hey, I saw you on T.V. last night, good job! But wait, you’re here?’ I just couldn’t talk about what happened on the show.”
Veloz grew up loving R&B, even though her own style of music fits into the dance or pop genre.
“I listened to a lot of Mariah, Deborah Cox, Nat King Cole and Marc Anthony. And I love Whitney,” she said. Naturally, she sang a Whitney Houston hit for her Idol audition even though with the judges, Whitney is usually off-limits. She performed “I Have Nothing,” while wearing a pageant crown and banner across her chest.
Veloz is now a senior marketing major here at UT, but she is not sure exactly what she wants to do with her degree.
“It all depends on how the music goes,” she said.
So far, her music has been going well. Her single “Take Control” was released in February of this year and plays on more than 40 U.S. radio stations, including Tampa’s own 933FLZ.
It topped the Billboard Dance Charts, climbing all the way to number eight, above Rihanna’s “Rude Boy,” but the U.S. is not the only country that has picked up her first hit single.
“Take Control” is popular in over ten European countries, including Belgium, Italy, Germany, France, Greece and of course, Poland, who liked Veloz’s music so much that they chose her as one of the fifteen singers to represent the songs of the year in the ESKA Radio show.
Next month, her new single “Predator” comes out in both Spanish and English.
“This song is a little more … poppy,” she said. “I actually wrote it before ‘Take Control.’ It’s still along the same lines though. The words really empower women.”
Veloz always writes her own music and performs as a solo artist without a live band.
Her only musical collaboration is with her producer and sound engineer.
With seven to eight songs already for her album in the works, she plans on writing twenty to thirty more before the record is even packaged or released.
“I want a lot to choose from, so I can pick the best,” she said.
For now, her single is available for purchase on iTunes and other online music sites.
“In a nutshell, it’s going to follow the same concept as ‘Take Control,’” said Veloz of her first album.
“It’s about a strong woman who knows what she wants, who doesn’t have time for games.
And as far as the music itself, there will be a mix of edgy pop, rock and electronic.
Pretty much a cluster (you-know-what) of everything I love.”
With her ambition for both her music and her education, Veloz will undoubtedly rock, pop and dance her way to the top.
Keep your eyes open, or rather, your ears open for this up-and-coming Spartan star.
Sophie Erber can be reached at serber@spartans.ut.edu.