ALUMNI: Mina Alali

By Tarin McMorrow,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

A 2015 Davis High graduate and current vocal principal at Berklee College of Music, Mina Alali is on a fast-track to stardom with a bright future in the world of music. This past October Alali signed to Kick-a-Beat Records, and has since been learning to navigate the industry.

“To take my music to a whole new professional level, and have a team of people that take me, my music, and my vision seriously was really incredible and humbling. I thought I knew what I was doing in terms of promoting myself and getting my name out there, but it wasn’t until I signed with this label that I realized how much there is to do,” Alali said.

Alali had been used to doing everything herself and is still able to use her piano skills to accompany herself which she says has been extremely beneficial when it comes to songwriting. It appears to be paying off with Alali posting music videos on YouTube and receiving thousands of views and nothing but positive feedback in return.

Just recently, “Something About Her,” the title track for Alali’s album, ranked number seven on Billboard’s Top Singles Chart. “I still can’t believe that happened. I feel like everything has been happening so fast but I always say I prefer to be slightly outside of my comfort zone, always on my toes and never to get too comfortable, because I feel that I’m more productive and happier!” Alali said.

Alali uses her passion for positive change as her biggest inspiration in music. “There’s just something about the combination of words with a melody, the right instrumentation and rhythm that creates a feeling in a person that spoken words could never do. I’ve always found music to be its own unique entity in that sense,” Alali said.

Although Alali has always been in love with music, she never thought of it in a career sense until she found herself in Boston touring the Berklee campus. Alali spent her junior year of high school studying abroad in France and returned to find that her classmates all had ideas of what they wanted in the future except for her.

It was her mom’s idea to tour Berklee and Alali agreed feeling lost about what she wanted. But when she saw Berklee, she saw students doing what she had done for years, creating music, and she was lost no longer. From then on, music became much more than a fun hobby; it was a passion she could dedicate her life to.

Alali took a gamble as Berklee was the only college she applied to, but that gamble paid off and she couldn’t be happier with her decision.

“I plan on making lots more music this summer and seeing what my label has in store next! I’m going to Berklee in the fall, so after summer I’ll go back to juggling school and music . . . I always remind myself to stay super grateful and happy, even when thinks get stressful, to be able to do what I love,” Alali said.

Alali has performances all along the west coast throughout this upcoming summer, including two benefit shows back-to-back in Northern California on June 3rd and 4th.

On June 3rd, Alali will be in Vallejo performing for CASA, a non-profit organization that advocates and works for children in foster care. On June 4th, Alali will be back home in Davis to perform at the Odd Fellows Hall from one to four pm for a silent auction to help raise reward money to find Enrique and Elijah, two boys from the Woodland area that are missing.

“Using music to the benefit of others is what my ultimate goal is,” Alali said. “I hope to see anyone who’s reading this at one of my concerts! Especially the one June 4th in Davis if you guys can make it, since it’s for such an important cause,” she added.

You can learn more at minaalali.com