Dominique De Beau
Dominique De Beau is an English r&b singer/songwriter from Liverpool, UK.
De Beau released her debut EP “Unforgettable” in 2014 followed by the singles “All I Want” and “Another I” in 2017.
The r&b singer/songwriter has revealed her latest single “Ready For Me” (Featuring. Ayo Beatz) on August 13th. Written and produced by De Beau and Ayo Beatz, “Ready For Me” is an energetic and catchy afrobeat/r&b single.
“I had the theme and lyrics in mind when I arrived at the studio that day in June. When Ayo arrived I slipped on my headphones and sang what I had to him. Ayo then quickly came up with this great energetic Afrobeat and 4 hours later we had a tune! Short and sweet really.”
“Ready For Me” is now available.
Introduce yourself.
Hello everyone, my name is Dominique De Beau I am a British RnB Singer, Songwriter & Fashion Designer.
What’s your story?
I am a Liverpool lass at heart. A strong northern girl with grit and determination. Music is my life. I first discovered I liked to sing at school when I joined the school choir. Aged nine years, I joined my first girl group called Our Ladies. I continued to perform throughout my school years in theatrical productions and at 18 years of age decided to relocate to London where I joined a girl group that had music produced by Narada Michael Walden. Narada had worked with the legends Aretha, Mariah & Whitney so as you can imagine it felt like quite a big deal. I remember the audition process being so tough and when I was finally selected to become part of the group I got the last place of five members I was so excited. For a while all went really well with the group. We were recording and rehearsing ready to tour and release an album. Back then it all felt right as I had always imagined making it as part of a singing group much like one my fav’s Destiny’s Child. Sadly the group didn’t go the distance. Since then it’s been more of a struggle to continue my musical journey I have had to do many jobs to support myself whilst trying to succeed as a solo artist. I have been everything from a barmaid, shop assistant to estate agent. Just doing what’s needed to be done in order to pay the bills. That said I have never given up on my musical passions and throughout have always visited the studio and written songs about these more difficult periods in my life.
When did you start feeling connected to music?
I felt connected to music from a really young age. Growing up music would fill our house everything from Motown to The Beatles. I have memories of running around at home and getting excited to hear Hey Jude or Say A Little Prayer. Ya know I was like any other kid singing into my hairbrush.
Growing up, who were your favorite artists?
Sam Cooke, all of Motown. Faith Evans & Destiny’s Child.
What were your favorite records to sing to?
Sam Cooke - A Change is Gonna Come.
What or who introduced you to the musical path?
No one individual introduced me it was really family at home and school followed by any and every artist who ever recorded a piece of music that I have listened to and loved.
Tell us about your first experiences in the music industry. What lessons have you learnt since then?
My first experiences involved working with others in a band situation. I loved working as a group, writing songs for the band, to perform and rehearsing songs together. I love harmonies so layering sounds with other dope female vocals was amazing. The various vocals helped create the depth and sound of the song which I personally loved. I enjoyed this whole process. The negative was the fact that the band broke up too soon just when we were building an audience and getting some real momentum. I guess we had many contributing reasons for the break up but it’s just generally hard to keep everybody on the same page and believing that your break is just around the corner. You need to keep working hard all the time and some people just think you can do it without that hard work ethic. It was so disappointing to be let down by people you had worked so closely with. So I guess I have learnt to never to give up on your dreams, stay true to who you are and if you plan on being part of a group really be sure all the players are in it for the long haul.
How did your sound and artistry evolve?
Sound wise I guess that’s always been built around my songs. I always head to the studio with rough ideas. I may lay those down and then try and work on the music to marry the song lyrics or melody. I am also a wee bit of a producer I have picked up so much over time working around the studio. To date it’s always been a mix of me and the producer that lays down the music.
Whatever I am writing or recording it’s important that I really feel it. It tends mostly to be about my life experiences love and friendships. I have a real honest approach to my songs.
What can you tell us about your latest single “Ready For Me”? What’s the story behind it? Who wrote/produced it?
It’s an Afrofusion sounding RnB Girl power party anthem about relationships. It’s all about a guy who messes up and then wants to crawl back into his ladies life. Along with the help of her girlfriends she tells him very clearly she won’t take him back as he is simply not ready for her. I wrote and produced the track alongside Ayo Beatz.
Watch the “Ready For Me” video here.
As an artist, what are the biggest challenges? How do you overcome these challenges?
Hmm where to start. I feel like there are many challenges these days. It’s very tough to break through and become one of those key established artists. It’s not easy to get a live agent to take you on so you find gigs wherever you can. That along with the maze of the internet, social media & streaming makes everything quite involved and takes plenty of time to stay on top of it all. I wish streams paid a little more to the artist I think I am getting around 5,000 streams right now per song and to make any money or truly impact my career. I need more like 500,000. Don’t get me wrong I am so grateful to each and every person that listens to my music… I am just meaning building the numbers is a slow process and a monstrous hurdle to get over. Time is another key issue. As I said if you need to work to pay the rent you can’t make as much music as you may like unless you are lucky enough to get a label or publisher behind you early. You need real self determination and grit to keep pushing ahead. I like to always see some kind of daily progress. This past year it’s been so satisfying to have some UK radio stations playing some of my tracks. I just really want to build on that. So shout out and thanks to any Dj’s that have played my music. Make sure you reach out if you can give my song a spin!
From all the experiences you lived so far, do you have a favorite moment in your career?
Hanging out in the States was a great time for me. I loved waking up everyday to the sunshine and heading off on the freeway to the studio. Writing songs is always a high point for me as it’s my first love way ahead of performing as an artist.
What are the things you are the most proud?
Winning an award for songwriting for my RnB Single “It is what it is” was a real highlight and came around the time where I needed some reassurance in my music so that was a great moment. Outside of my music I am really proud of how my son is growing up. Being a mum has been both joyful and stressful but most of all it has been the most meaningful part of my life to date.
How did music change your life?
It just helped to show me that anything is possible if you just believe in yourself.
You are from Liverpool. How would you define this city?
Liverpool is a city where music is our lifeblood. We have an estimated population of around 500,000 I believe and I would say the large majority of scousers are proud of our musical history. Thanks to The Beatles the music scene in this city will always be known for taking British Music across the world.
How’s the music scene in Liverpool?
Liverpool has a real music culture still and with more and more festivals and venues popping up you will continue to hear about homegrown talent building it’s buzz in this city.
Any upcoming project?
Currently working on my new RnB material and writing more and more. I have a few collaborations that I would like to do so just reaching out to those artists and trying to work. I would like to have a few duets on my next EP.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
Small acts of kindness can go a long way in making the world a better place. I would also love to see major improvements in key issues affecting the world today. Everything from poverty, hunger and homelessness.
What’s your purpose?
To be the best version of me and do the best I can for my kids and close friends and family. If I become more established I would love to feel I could give back and try and make a difference to people in need.
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