Mariel

Mariel is the "Real Deal". Like many young people raised in a in a small country town, the 21-year-old songstress found an outlet in music, and has fought all her life to keep her dream of a music career alive. Now she's realizing that dream on her own terms, with her first album from KRK Entertainment, self titled Mariel. It's been a long road for Mariel, but it's her powerful voice-- a bell-like instrument whose soaring clarity is topped off with a tantalizing touch of soulful grit -- that's carried her through, not to mention the diminutive singer's personal combination of sugar, spice, sass and sex appeal, along with a solid-steel spine.
”Being in a large family of 9 siblings, I had to do something to stand out and it was always singing for me" says Mariel, who co-wrote most of the songs on her new CD. “My talent comes from God alone but there are artist like Mary J. Blige and Brandy that I used as inspirations”, says Mariel. “I took their struggles, their pain, and watched them overcome it. That allowed me to say well if they did it, I can too.”
Born and raised in Winnsboro, LA, Mariel started performing at the very young age of 4. Her talent, personality, and faith have always been a reflection of her religious upcoming. “My mom is a minister so the only place that I could display my talent was in church. I jumped from gospel choir to gospel choir just to display my talent with the hopes of someday being discovered”, says Mariel.
In 2002, Mariel left her hometown and journeyed to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to attend Southern University. “I felt if it wasn’t coming to me in Winnsboro, let me try the school thing and hopefully something would pop”, says Mariel. After a year of being in school, she started singing in talent shows, performing hooks on rappers tracks, displaying her talent anywhere she could, just to be heard. Little did she know that her perseverance was just minutes away from opening up the door that she had been waiting for all her life
In 2005, Mariel had a meeting with the management of KRK Entertainment in Kansas City, MO. “I didn’t really think anything of it at first. I heard of these guys because most of the artists are from the Baton Rouge area but never really took the opportunity serious”, says Mariel. “I just remember having a real bad day with some other label I was dealing with so I picked up the number and returned the call. Thank God I did, this is my FAM now and we’re ready to knockout the industry”, says Mariel.
Mariel easily admits that her writing reflects her life’s philosophy; realism is the key to someone’s heart. Dealing with people everyday, I realize that what comes from the heart reaches the heart. ”I want to be an example for young girls in following your goals and dreams and making the impossible happen", says Mariel.
With the humble and extensive realities of growing up in the deep south, “The Princess” will never forget her roots. She continues to go and give back to her hometown, and often has group discussions with young girls and makes it a point to state that, “Dreams are only dreams if not sought after". “I constantly tell others to stay around a group of people who want to see you succeed and the sky is the limit”. In a recent interview Mariel was asked how is it being the only girl on the label. “I love those guys. It’s a family. We not only do music together but we spend time together which allows us to be normal”, she says. It brings a since of normalcy to what we do everyday. “I’m happy and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now”.
A self-described “hustler” she lives for challenges and embraces them with the failure factor not even being an option. “I love what I do and thank God everyday that I have the opportunity to touch so many. Its war time and we’re coming to the industry to get a little piece of the pie, a little piece of the hip-hop/R&B movement, a little piece of the American dream”, says Mariel. Closely knitted to her family, she is now ready to develop even a bigger family. One that can know her for who she is – Mariel.