On her debut album, Tamar Kaprelian sings about being “a delicate soul.” “Old soul” is more like it... growing up, Tamar loved the rock classics her musician father schooled her in. Find out more about her right here on Kidzworld...
Old Soul
“I’m definitely an old soul when it comes to music,” she 22-year old Tamar. "I grew up only listening to all those records my dad would play in the house... My dad used to play Billy Joel songs to put me to sleep." In terms of the newer artists she listens to, Tamar loves Mika, Coldplay, Alicia Keys and John Mayer - basically, all the contemporary artists who are as steeped in the great music of the ‘70s as she is!
Heritage Halves
As proud as Tamar is of the musical heritage passed down by her parents, she has at least as much pride in her ethnic heritage. “I’m 75% Armenian, and I have a little bit of Irish blood in me, too; my dad’s half. We speak the language at home, and it’s a part of my everyday life.” But her first language might have been music. She sang before she could talk, singing “Happy Birthday” to herself at the age of 1.
Song Writing
“I started writing songs when I was 14, but I didn’t play anything. So I started playing piano to be able to put down the melodies that I was already writing and singing into a little recorder.” Tamar had no formal training and picked the instrument up by ear. Even when she began to be more accomplished, her musical aspirations were unknown to her classmates. “I definitely wouldn’t talk about my music at school. I didn’t go to any of the high school parties. I would do my homework and do all my AP classes, go to the studio, go to sleep. That was my entire life - along with classical ballet, which I was very into. I’m proud to say I wasn’t one of the cool kids.”
Random Discovery
Tamar has a classic story of being discovered more or less at random. Actually, she’s got two or three of those stories. Her first discovery came at age 15, when a talent scout tapped her on the shoulder at her local mall after watching her sing with a school group for a fundraising event. One contact led to another until, right as she was about to go off to UC Berkeley at age 18, she was instead personally signed to a major label! But when that deal fell through, she beat the odds and got discovered more or less off the street again.
YouTube Hit
Tamar's producer suggested that she film herself doing a solo cover of OneRepublic’s Apologize to post on YouTube. Soon after, she learned the band was sponsoring a contest to see who could do the best cover of Apologize, so she entered. She won the contest and that was the start of her second record deal.
Some Songs
Some of Tamar's songs that we love:
- March Mornings: modeled after the Beatles
- New Day: featured on an episode of MTV’s The Hills
- Should Have Known Better: about someone who did her wrong
