Born and raised in Los Angeles and now based in New York City, Diva Smith offers an idiosyncratic take on the modern pop artist. Growing up in a musical household, Diva was influenced by listening to the likes of Bread and Fleetwood Mac as a child, learning the piano at 8, and picking up the guitar by 10. Diva’s sonic interests led to her becoming her own creative, beginning to record her music in 2016.
Her self-proclaimed “therapy pop” ballads reminiscent of Bon Iver meets St. Vincent. Her music is self-reflective and hauntingly beautiful, while her sharp-witted lyricism exhibits her capability of being the voice for issues of urgency, proving her wise beyond her years. Diva adds beauty to the seemingly prosaic, through a cozy, soft pop sheen.
Subject matter of her tracks strays from the expected, tackling urgent matters of today’s world, such as gender inequality, addiction, and mental health issues. As a student studying psychology at New York University, Diva brings an unconventional perspective to the power of music and its effects on mental health.
As someone who strongly believes in the value of women in the music industry, Diva works with a woman-fronted team of producers, engineers, photographers, and videographers.
Says Diva:
“I want my music to create a space where people feel safe to get lost. I aspire for my art to be pensive and profound, while also providing a colorful and visual world that people can feel comfortable to think thoroughly about the constant fluctuations between ups and downs in their personal lives.”
A GLIMPSE INTO MY LIFE
As a singer, songwriter, producer, I find self reflection to be an essential part of my creative process. I tend to write from my own perspective, and I feel that taking the time to process my own experiences is what allows me to create art that is definitive of who I am.
My whole life is centered around relationships… whether that be with myself, my friends, romantically, and everything in between. I am constantly inspired by the people around me and the ways that they influence my own self discovery.
Lyrics are most important to me. I spend the majority of my time perfecting the words I put into songs because I want them to represent what I want to say in an innovative, concise way. If there was one thing I would hope that people gain from my music, it would be that they are able to hear a song, relate to it, and feel that it was expressed in a way that they understand but didn’t know how to say themselves.