Giselle Bellas (often referred to mononymously by her stage name ''Giselle''), is a

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or ...

singer-songwriter. Born in Miami, Florida, and based out of New York City, she is most known for her work on season 5 of

Louis C.K. Louis Alfred Székely (; born September 12, 1967), known professionally as Louis C.K. (), is an American stand-up comedian, screenwriter, actor, and filmmaker. C.K. won three Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and a ...

's FX series '' Louie''.

Background

Originally from Miami, Florida, Giselle moved to New York City to pursue a singing career. Though classically trained in opera, Giselle's vocal style evolved as she began charting new territories as a songwriter. Inspired by her family's taste in predominantly

Latin music Latin music ( Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Spain and Portugal) and the Latino United States inspired by Latin Amer ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, and

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as ...

, in addition to her own love of classical music and pop culture, Giselle began to build a successful music career of her own. Her sound has been called a combination of the "dark ethereal nature of Fiona Apple and the vibrant passion of Florence & The Machine set in a smoky jazz club."

Career

Giselle's classical training in opera was a path that led her to meet her now producer and guitarist, Adam Tilzer, and record songs for Emmy Award winning FX comedy series '' Louie'' in 2015. Among these songs was the "Diarreah Song" which would quickly become a viral hit, garnering nearly half a million YouTube views and receiving national praise. Following the song's success, Giselle continued working with Tilzer, and in 2016, released her debut EP, ''Change Me.'' In 2017, Giselle collaborated with Kenyan rapper Xtatic in covering late R&B artist Aaliyah's "

Are You That Somebody? "Are You That Somebody?" is a song recorded by American singer Aaliyah for the ''Dr. Dolittle'' soundtrack (1998). It was co-written and composed by Static Major–who also sang backing vocals–and Timbaland, who, in addition to writin ...

" to commemorate the singer's birthday. Later that year, Giselle released her first full-length album, titled ''Not Ready To Grow Up'' (stylized as ''not ready to grow up),'' marking Giselle's artistic evolution and featuring her most honest, vulnerable music to date. Shortly before the album's release, Giselle launched a women directors campaign, aiming to consecutively release a video for every song on the album, each directed by a different female director. ''not ready to grow up'' was voted winner of Sinister Girlz' 2017 Fan Favorite Contest. In January 2018, Giselle placed 2nd in social live streaming platform Live.Me's NYC Street Beats Contest, giving her the opportunity to perform at a pre- Grammy pop-up concert at Grand Central Terminal among four other contestants and special guest,

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

. Giselle continues to stream regularly on the app, through which she has gained a significant social media following. On February 17, 2020, Giselle released am a cappella cover of "Unchained Melody", in preparation for her new cover EP "Bring the Curtain Down". On April 2, 2020 Giselle released an official promotional 1950's inspired trailer for the EP, before releasing it on April 14, 2020. The EP features six covers of famous oldies songs, with a lilting spin on each. On June 24th, 2020, Giselle released a cover of " La Vida Es Un Carnaval" by Celia Cruz, in quarantine during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Giselle Bellas often posts covers that she's coined "Guerilla Covers"; covers released on YouTube 24 - 48 hours after the original artist's release. Bellas has covered artists such as

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...

, and

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, romance, and ...

Advocacy

As a tribute to her grandmother who died from Alzheimer's disease in 2016, Giselle wrote the track, "Hazy Eyes" and has since become an advocate, working closely with Alzheimer's organizations such as Alzheimer's New Jersey and Act Now.

Discography

Albums

* "Change Me" (2016) * "Not Ready To Grow Up" (2017) *"Bring the Curtain Down" (2020)

Singles

*"Hazy Eyes" (2016) *"I'll Be Home for Christmas" (2016) *"Devil in the Details" (2019) *"Dancing in the Moonlight" (2019) *"La Vida Es Un Carnaval (Live Quarantine Edition)" (2020)

Filmography

*'' Louie'' (2015) *''E.ro.sion, noun'' (2017)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellas, Giselle Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Singers from Florida American musicians of Cuban descent American indie pop musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers Hispanic and Latino American women singers Musicians from Miami