Paula DeAnda: Singer and Corpus Christi native talks about life as a celebrity

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 17:25:00 GMT

By Sarah Rubey

Paula DeAnda, whose latest single is “Walk Away (Remember

Me)” (featuring The DEY), Photo courtesy of Jacob “BOK”

Bocanegra.

From a normal math-hating teenager to a nationwide star, Paula DeAnda is quickly making a BIG name for herself. Discovered at her piano lesson, DeAnda’s life hasn’t slowed down since. “I was at piano lessons and my teacher said that I have a good voice and should start singing. I went to an audition with Clive Davis in New York and he signed me immediately,” DeAnda said. DeAnda has been working since she was six toward her goal, but she has known all her life that singing is what she was meant to do. “All the dreams I had as a child were to be a singer. I would sing with my cousins, in the mirror with our hairbrushes,” DeAnda said. “Before that I wanted to be a nun for a while. I used to beg my mom to take me to [convents] but that didn’t work out.” Along with all the glamour fame brings comes the downside to it all. “I really miss the setting of an actual school and my friends. I’m taking online classes; it’s actually much harder than actual school,” DeAnda said. “There are a lot of sacrifices I’ve made. I’m not home much. I’m flying a lot but I don’t think I missed out on any of my teenage years. I’m a total dork, so I like to mess around with my dancers and my manager and just make it fun.” Being away from home also makes normal teenage things like a boyfriend difficult. “I don’t have a boyfriend. I don’t have time. My schedule is crazy and hectic, but something may come along in the future,” DeAnda said. DeAnda still finds time to show her true teenage girl ability to shop. “I love sneakers! I’m a huge sneaker fanatic,” DeAnda said. “[I also wear] a lot of hoodies; I love to rock hoodies. I love to dress my stuff up with jewelry, but I can’t wear silver because I’m allergic, so I wear a lot of gold.” DeAnda is still amazed when she encounters an awe-struck fan. “I think of myself as Paula not Paula DeAnda,” DeAnda said. “I still get freaked out when people are like ‘You’re my idol, oh my gosh I love you!’ In San Diego this guy stood in the sun and waited and waited outside in the heat by the gate for me to sign an autograph. Later he found a pass on the ground and put in on and came backstage just to get a picture with me. He went through all that trouble just to get a picture with me!” Fans aren’t the only ones that back up DeAnda: her parents are also there for her through it all. “My parents are my biggest supporters, but God gave me the gift [of singing],” DeAnda said. “No one in my family is a singer or a musician so it’s a blessing, but my parents are always there for me.” Fame has landed a lot of unique opportunities in the seventeen-year-old’s lap. From appearances on TRL to traveling, DeAnda has experienced more than most her age. “It was really cool to do TRL but my favorite thing I’ve done was this show, Dismissed, with my best friend Gabriella,” DeAnda said. “She did the dating and I was the one telling her ‘No, no he’s lying, don’t pick him!’” DeAnda also just returned from Hawaii and the Bahamas. “[My favorite place I’ve been] is close between the Bahamas and Hawaii,” DeAnda said. “They are both so beautiful and it makes you feel...tropical.” DeAnda appears to have a great start to what she hopes to be a long career. “I want to keep singing,” DeAnda said. “I don’t want to be a one-hit wonder.”

The Waldron Street Journal

Paula DeAnda: Singer and Corpus Christi native talks about life as a celebrity