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.”