Artist Spotlight ~ Whitney Tai

Artist Spotlight is a segment that we started to introduce our readers to some deserving up and coming artists/bands. They have made an impact on us for all of the right reasons. We think they kick ass, and we hope you do too! Today we’d like to shine the spotlight on songwriter/vocalist Whitney Tai!

Whitney Tai is a multi-award-winning songwriter, vocalist and GRAMMY considered artist crafting lush and evocative desert dream pop. cinematic, AllMusic.com writes, “Tai’s signature sound of electro-pop, rock, and alternative metal is powered by her nuanced, soaring vocals.” In2015 Tai and #1 Billboard producer, Tim Janssens, carved a distinct pop-rock sound on acclaimed albums, Metamorphosis and Apogee. Tai was named Best Vocalist in the 2021 ICMA awards and Best Pop album by Progarchy. The NYC native graduated in the fine arts as well as writing poetry and music since her pre-teen years. Upon moving to LA, Tai was named one of the best live bands in Los Angeles, recorded a boutique performance with sponsors Warm Audio and headlined at the 2020 NAMM convention.

Tai has written and performed in a number of projects including Beauty in Chaos, Julian Beeston, Brenda Carsey, Harry Vato, Sunfreakz and multi-platinum artist, Chuck Wright. KNAC Radio calls Tai’s and Wright’s rendition of “Army of Me” by Bjork a sultry and haunting version of a Bjork classic. Whitney’s music can be heard in radio stations, films, runways and networks across the globe. Her newest downtempo duo project BLAKTAI resurfaced in2023 with a cover of Low’s “All Night” to which original member Alan Sparhawk praises, “soars to new heights and horizons.” With a number of new releases out now and her third studio album due in 2025, Folk n Rock writes, “The ethereal sounds and infectious melodies will pull you into its intoxicating haze… this is pop at its best.” Tai walks the cutting edge of pop and indie without sacrificing honesty and integrity.

We sat down with Whitney for a short but fun Q&A session!

Every superhero or villain has an origin and a band is no different minus the radioactive spiders and secret government experiments. What is the origin of how you got into music?

Whitney Tai: The origin of Whitney Tai was a slow grow. It was a series of exploring my artistic propensities from a young age. My youth was a porridge of music, art, fashion, writing, figure skating and dance. I found a very fluid line that connected of all of these early on and started my natural journey to find myself through the arts. I didn’t only have one thing to say, my body wanted to express many things across a canvas. Growing up in a very traumatic household made art my healthy escapism. Once I graduated from architectural design school and worked in the commercial field, I began to see that I was very interested in human beings 3 dimensional relationship to space, emotion and sound. It was then I finally realized music was my official language.

Artist or band names can have a special meaning or it can be a name pulled out of a hat. What’s the story behind Whitney Tai?

Whitney: Whitney Tai is my actual name. My family would always call me by my first and middle name as a sort of tagline when I was a kid. Every time I pop in a 90s video cassette, someone somewhere off in the background of that wood paneled and wallpapered interior is yelling “Whitney Tai!” and I’m probably darting off in my baby walker. It just stuck and became my eventual stage name.

What are you currently working on? (This could depend on if the band is finishing up an album or actually out on tour)

Whitney: I just finished my 3rd studio album with my good friend Tommy Hatz! This is so exciting considering what we both went through to see it through. I’m currently releasing “Simulation” today on January 2nd a new single from my acoustic series. Last year I began producing a new group of songs at the outset of COVID of intimate Laurel Canyon folk pop that’s reminiscent of the mountains and 70s storytelling. I really needed to explore producing tracks that highlight the bare-naked magic of just composition, melody, lyrical playfulness and voices with dreamy but modest production. I sense and see my own, as well as all humans around me longing for real connection in these dark times. This acoustic series feels like it scratches a penchant desire to be closer to the collective.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

Whitney: My first real celeb crush when I was a teen I think would have to be Shannyn Sossamon. She has such a kind demeanor, gentle eyes and an understated beauty. When I found out years later that she was a musician and a dancer it made so much sense why I felt I could identify with her.

We love cereal, especially at night. For some odd reason, it seems to taste better then. Do you have a favorite cereal?

Whitney: Honeycomb all day every day. The crunch, the soft honey flavor, the puffy lightness floating like pool rafts in that milk. 10 out of 10.

What are your 5 favorite movies?

Whitney: I’m a fond lover of Sci Fi/Adventure and Fantasy. My 5 favorite movies if I had to boil it down are Interstellar, K-Pax, The Green Mile, The Matrix and Contact. It’s hard, there are other genre movies I love but these always seem to resonate or stick because of the emotional themes.