Donna Missal

“I write about what I know.”

What Donna Missal knows is what she feels. Whether it’s the butterflies in one’s stomach from a new crush, the sinking feeling of a heartbreak, or even just the joy of being with her family, the Brooklyn-based songwriter manages to put into three-minute compositions of words and melodies what most of us can barely express within 20 pages of our diaries.

And she’s been doing it for her entire life. “I have very early memories of playing in my backyard, climbing fences and trees and making up songs to myself,” she giggles. “They were essentially long-run on sentences about my day put to melody. I didn't realize then what I was doing but that’s when I first started writing.”

She hasn’t stopped penning her feelings since, though her subject matter has changed a bit since her swings-and-slides days. “I always write about relationships. Of course love and loss of love are always on the table as far as subject matter goes,” she explained, but she doesn’t limit herself to romance. “Usually my songs are about a friend, an enemy, or even just my parents and family.“

While she admits that it took Ariel from The Little Mermaid to get her into music as a youngster (“I would sit on top of my couch singing ‘Part of Your World’ everyday!”), her musical influences today are as limitless as her subject matter. Missal’s parents grew her up on the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, and the Who. She came of age with Destiny’s Child, Joss Stone, and Lauryn Hill, and she’s since expanded her tastes to pretty much everything, but she has a few current favorites, including Marina and the Diamonds, Kimbra, Macklemore, and Frank Ocean.

Missal developed her love of music, writing, and performance in community theater and musical vocational school, but really discovered her calling in auditions for college conservatory programs—but not the way you’d think.

“I was so turned off by the idea that the goal was to sound the same as everyone else--the same technique, the same intonation,” Missal sighed. “It was about being perfect, being technical. I decided then that I didn't want my life to be about that.” So what’d she do? She rebelled a little bit and went with what felt right--and it worked out beautifully. “I auditioned for a rock n’ roll band instead and started writing music with musicians.”

Since then, Missal’s went on to do voiceover work, demo singing, and a slew of top-line songwriting for numerous artists and agencies, creating memorable melodies and lyrics that not only move you, but will stick in your head for days. And her mantra hasn’t changed since day one: “It's really just about how I feel.”