Ale Zabala: “The more I knew about the show, the more I really wanted to be a part of it.”

As the next episode of the American Song Contest approaches we got to meet up with Florida’s representative Ale Zabala for a quick interview. Together we talked about her love for Taylor Swift, her background and journey into music as a career, and how quickly her ASC song was composed. Learn more about Ale by reading our interview below!

Welcome Ale – I’m so excited to meet you and help our readers get to know you a bit more! Why don’t you give us a brief introduction as to who you are?

Hi!! Thank you so much for reaching out, I’m excited as well! My name is Ale Zabala, I’m an artist who has a huge Latin influence and I also write songs for other artists in the Latin industry. I’m 26, I’ve always been writing songs, I went to University here in Florida and majored in Music Business!

And as we both know you’ve been cast as the official representative of Florida for this year’s American Song Contest! How has life been for you since the cast announcement happened?

Life has been amazing, I’ve been preparing myself, just getting ready for the show and every week taking as many classes as I can to be as ready as possible! Vocal lessons, dancing, working out, singing while jogging, taking care of my eating habits! 

Given that some of our readers are international, they may not know too much about the state of Florida. What are some of your favorite things about your home state that they should know about?

I think the coolest thing I love to share about Florida is that it’s so culturally diverse and everyone seems as if we were the same! I think we’re very calm and chill all the time, you can go to the supermarket in your pajamas and no one really cares, in some cases, you have the beach close by, it’s great and there are so many things to do!

One thing I always love to ask artists is about their journey into music, what I call an artist’s “origin story”. How did you first discover your love for music and at what point did it transition into a career for you?

It’s always been with me, I’ve always felt a bit of an introvert so I always turn to the guitar and writing down my feelings. It turned into a career when I released my music in 2019 and when I felt I had finally gotten a space in the industry to work for other artists as well. That’s then it became a little more real for me, but I’ve been writing since I’m 13.

Now since you are both a singer and a songwriter, who are some of your musical inspirations and idols? Do you think they influence the music you like to write and perform?

One of my biggest influence is Taylor Swift, her writing and her melodies…I think I don’t even need to explain. It’s funny because I write mainly in Spanish but you can still tell she’s a huge part of my influence lyrically even in another language.

This could be a bit of a fun but tricky question – if you were only allowed to listen to one album for the rest of our life, what album would you pick and why?

Just one?!?! I would say “evermore” by Taylor Swift.

In my defense, I did say it was a tricky question!! And what is one thing that our readers might be surprised to learn about you? Like something they couldn’t just read online or find on your social media accounts?

I drink about 5 big coffee mugs a day. I enjoy being with my friends a lot, but I also really like to be alone sometimes. I need to have rice when I’m eating lunch or else I feel like I didn’t eat properly. Everyday I’m either singing, writing, at a writing session, listening to music, or talking about music!

Let’s talk a bit more about the American Song Contest. How did you first learn about the competition and what motivated you to submit an entry to the online portal?

My A&R from my music publishing had sent me a link and I really didn’t know what to expect since there wasn’t so many details to the show, but I still did it because it’s music but most importantly, songwriting. Then, I started to get more details about how the importance of this show was the song, the writing. The more I knew about the show, the more I really wanted to be a part of it. 

While we don’t yet have your song just yet, can you tell us about the songwriting process for your entry? Are we going to get a Spanish song from you in the contest?

It’s mainly English but it has it’s Spanish words to it, of course! We had a first session through zoom, and we talked about an idea to do a song that is super flirty, and then one hour later the song was written!

Wow, that’s a fast process! Now I know you have some experience in live performances, but participating in a televised song contest might be new territory for you. What parts of the contest are you most excited about, and is there anything you’re nervous for?

It is completely new. I’m so excited for the performance because you never get a change like this where you get to perform your own song, in a wardrobe that is exactly how you always wanted, with dancers, etc. I feel like it’s still not real! I’m trying not to think I’m nervous, because I’m getting the chance to do what I’ve always wanted so I’m enjoying every single step, from the zooms, covid tests (lol), everything! I’m so grateful for what I’m going through right now.

For our readers who want to connect with you ahead of or after the contest, where can they find you and your music?

On instagram and TikTok you can find me @alezabalamusica and on Spotify and YouTube Ale Zabala.

Alright, one last question for you – is there a final message you’d like to share with our readers?

I hope you guys connect with my song, hope you really like it, dance to it, get memories, enjoy it and just love the show! 

Well Ale, I want to thank you again for your time and we wish you the best of luck in the American Song Contest moving forward!

Thank you!

Remember #YOU can catch Ale Zabala on next week’s episode of the American Song Contest Monday April 4th at 8 PM Eastern/7 PM Central. #YOU can also jump into the ASC discussions on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum page!