Dominique has the most contagious energy, even though I talked to her on the phone, she just radiates positivity. She laughs between almost every sentence. She just released her song “Convince Me” and the song could have been taken directly from her diary.
Dominique was drawn to music early. “I probably annoyed my family to no end when I was younger. I'm surprised they still love me because I just sing their ears off all the time,” she jokes.
After college she worked on the other side of the music industry. She says, “I was always obsessed with music, but at the time, it was more of kind of a hobby. And then after college I interned for some labels. In music, like I said, I have such a weird relationship with the industry because I've really done many different facets of it.”
When she was getting industry experience she was still writing songs for herself and decided to go for it and pursue her own singing career. Her experience in the industry paid off. She had a network and mentors and people she could learn from.
She explains, “The hardest part is kind of getting in front of those people or meeting them in a casual way or in a way that doesn't feel forced. And I also kind of have learned how brands and companies and labels work with artists and songwriters and those type of relationships. And so being on the each side of the desk, it's helpful. The industry is so complicated and amazing at the same time. So to kind of have an insight into different aspects of it is definitely beneficial and valuable to me.”
Being in the industry definitely helped, but what really stands out is the honesty in her music.The songstress gained a ton of buzz off her collab with James Maslow on “All Day” which paved the way for her solo success. She genuinely loves what she puts out and you can tell it comes from the heart. Her new song “Convince You” is vulnerable and sweet.
She explains, “It’s definitely about a boy. We were friends and there was all of this tension and flirting and-- so I wasn't making a move. He wasn't making a move. It was just apparent that we kind of wanted to take it to the next step or something. And so that song is about-- in that moment I walked in the session. I was so frustrated. I was like, ‘I don't know what to do with this kid. I want him to make the first move. But my cowriter's a really good friend of mine, Justin, and he was like, ‘We need to write about that.’ And so we wrote that song just kind of the back and forth. And it's like, ‘Okay. Well if you're going to make me come to you, I'm going to convince you that we should be or something.’ I don't know. I mean, it's yeah, it's super cute.”
Her songs speak for themselves but one of her biggest challenges, and one that we can all relate to, is overthinking. She has her moments of doubt where she thinks she isn’t good enough.
“I really try hard to kind of just be myself and believe in myself and not look for validation from other people. Because I think we live in a world where we're constantly seeking validation from social media or people in the industry,” Dominique says. And sometimes you just got to be like, ‘You know I love this song and I think other people will love it.’ And just go with it. And I think that confidence just in yourself really speaks louder than anything.”
When I ask her what her dream would be she said the sweetest thing.
“My dream is just to be happy. Honestly, I know that's so lame, but happy in what I'm doing. I'm really happy now.”
Listen to her new song and follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify.
