Young artiste gives crazy year title to debut EP

Up-and-coming act Mariana Velletto recently released an EP titled 2020, which she is hoping will give her a break in the music industry.

The artiste, who has Italian and Jamaican background, said the inspiration for the title of the project was due to the unprecedented events occurring worldwide since the beginning of the year.

"The EP 2020 really speaks for itself to me. 2020 has been such a crazy year with everything going on in the world. It's brought a lot of setbacks in life because of COVID-19, and in a way, put a lot of things on hold," she said.

"Most importantly for me, 2020 is the year that I completely found myself and found who I wanted to be as an artiste, and (it) has blessed me with new creative ideas to help with my career, helped me get better at writing and gave me the confidence that every artiste should have," she added.

The four-track EP features songs such as Hold Him Down and Dangerous, and is available on all streaming platforms. Velletto said that her music is not for a targeted audience as she wants to touch the hearts of everyone, regardless of their age.

Her style of music

The 21-year-old, who was signed to Diamond Empire Production Label earlier this year, said that although her style of music is soulful R&B, she has intentions of pursuing dancehall as well.

"It's something I've always wanted to do. I love dancehall music and favour a lot of artistes. I'm currently working on creating dancehall songs so it's definitely something to be on the lookout for," Vellotto said.

In the meantime, the New Yorker said that she plans to expand her musical brand. "The feedback from the public has been positive. I tend to hear that I have some similarities to other talented artistes, but a lot of people have always told me that I give them a different vibe and that's what I'm trying to create," she said.