BEL Interview

On the night of April 5th, I was able to get an interview with singer and songwriter, Isabel Whelan. This singer, title-named “BEL”, is known for her dreamy and soft music. Her top three most popular songs on Spotify include “Carry Me to Bed”, “Amor”, and “Fresh Start." Her most recent one out of the list is “Amor”, a tranquil Spanglish song about feelings of wanting a more profound connection with a person who actually cares. The main point of the song highlights the craving and urge for real, genuine love, emotional fulfillment, and feeling a sense of boredom and heartache.

We start off our interview with some more meaningful questions, generously answered by our guest, BEL.

Arya: “How did you become inspired to write music?”

BEL: ‘I’ve always wanted to find a way to express myself, and it’s my way of having a little bit of therapy, I guess. I think it’s my way of releasing the emotions that I don’t know how to deal with.”

Arya: “If you could introduce yourself in a paragraph or two, how would you describe yourself?”

BEL: ‘Well, to start things off, I’m BEL. I was born and raised in Clovis, California, and I grew up bilingual; my mom is from Argentina…So I started writing some Spanglish songs because of this, and I just love music. I’ve always been a part of music, and I grew up playing violin in orchestra, and I knew that I wanted to be a singer my whole life. I would say it really just is about persistence and keeping with it, and I think my album is about continuing and pushing forward for your dreams.”

Arya: “What’s been your biggest inspiration during your journey in music?”

BEL: “My biggest inspiration is my brother. My brother is so resilient. He has a really rare genetic condition, FOP [Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva], and just seeing him and the way he is able to go through obstacles in life is just very inspiring, and I feel like I can do whatever I set my mind to, and I think that music is so important because it connects everybody and it makes people feel understood.”

We have now reached a segment that I like to add to my interviews, known as the fun facts. This is just to help you, the reader, understand and get to know the person I interview better.

Arya: “What’s your favourite color?”

BEL: “My favourite color is aquamarine.”

Arya: “What’s your top three bands or artists?”

BEL: “Right now, I really love BENEE, HAIM, and...oof, this is a hard one… probably The 1975.”

Arya: “If you could give your fans any nickname or if there already is one, what is it or what would it be?’

BEL: “I’ve had a fan who named us the 'BELsties', so I think that's what we’ll go with.”

Arya: ‘What’s the biggest advice you can give to an aspiring artist or some of your fans?”

BEL: “Just keep going! I think that all you need to do is; don't be a perfectionist and you have to put things out there into the world and whatever is authentic to you will connect with somebody."

And with that, we conclude our interview with singer and songwriter, BEL. I’m very grateful to have worked with her and I can’t wait to see what else she has planned for the future of her career.

Written By: Arya Sladen-Suarez

Edited By: Oliver Handoko

Photo By: Arya Sladen-Suarez