Newtown’s Capri has gone from belting out Disney tunes as a child to catching the attention of stars such as Kelly Clarkson and Ne-Yo. Now she hopes to continue to take steps as her career blossoms.
Capri’s journey into music began at a very young age – 2, to be exact. Songs from Disney movies inspired her to start singing. When she was 7, she started writing original songs, and at age 13, Justin Bieber inspired her to begin posting videos of herself singing on YouTube.
She hit the stage for the first time at 14 at her middle school talent show singing “White Horse” by Taylor Swift, and put out an EP CD at age 16. Today, she continues to enjoy songwriting and singing cover songs, and has begun releasing more music to YouTube and other social media platforms.
In 2019, Clarkson offered feedback about her singing on her cover “Breakaway.” This year, Capri released “Raining In LA,” which is hosted by Ne-Yo. Ne-Yo has helped promote it on Instagram by posting it on his Instagram stories as well as going on Instagram Live with Capri to talk about the song and her journey.
PW recently caught up with Capri to talk about her career and her music.
You’ve been writing songs since you were 7 years old. Where do you find inspiration for your songs? Can you describe your writing process?
Inspiration for my songs come from feelings, emotions, true stories and experiences of mine or from loved ones, movies, etc. There’s no rules to songwriting for me, but I would have to say a lot of my songs are from true stories and based on emotions from my own past experiences. I write songs in many different ways. I write in my notes app on my phone or on paper with and without instrumental music. I also record myself singing on my voice memo app on my phone when I get an idea in my head, such as lyrics and a melody. And lastly, I use instruments such as my guitar or my keyboard while writing lyrics and thinking of melodies for my songs.
Your song “Raining In LA” dropped this year. How did that song come together? What’s been the response from your fans?
Yes, I’m so happy it has finally dropped and I have a lot more songs coming! A few years ago, this song transpired after a friend of mine named Frank Gannon told me he was in LA and while it was raining there, he had texted me that he thought of me to write a song around that idea. He told me that he could see me writing a love song using the words “raining in LA” and “Hollywood Boulevard.”
I wrote the rest of the song and came up with the melody of how I wanted to sing it. Frank and another friend of mine, Mikey Birchard, also known as Mikey B Media, c created the instrumental for the song. Frank played the guitar and Mikey completed the rest of the instrumental track. Recording this was so much fun, especially having them by my side. We recorded this song in Mikey’s studio.
Fast-forward to this year, Ne-Yo had reached out to me after I had tagged him in a couple of my cover song videos on Instagram. He told me that it was “dope” that I was working on music and that he wanted to help push my music. Long story short, Ne-Yo liked my song and hosted it! Ne-Yo also went on Instagram live with me to help me promote the song to his and my fans/followers. I’m thankful he is helping me as he is one of my favorite musicians. I have been singing his songs since he first came out when I was a kid.
I’m happy I now have a music video to this song too, and I always dreamt of having one. My fans so far have been sharing it a lot across multiple social media platforms and it has received great feedback! Tristan Rice reached out to me this year around the same time Ne-Yo had reached out, and actually heard my song before Ne-Yo hosted it. Tristan is a Grammy-nominated, multi-genre platinum songwriter, singer, vocal producer and photographer who is helping me with artist development. He loved my song and offered to help direct a music video for it out in LA, as well as work on other music out there together. My mom and I flew out there to work on all of this, and it was an unforgettable experience being my first time in LA. The music video is on YouTube called, “Capri – Raining In LA (Official Video) – Hosted By Ne-Yo.”
This song has received such an amazing response, and I’m so grateful to be able to even say that with it being my debut single.
Ne-Yo played a big role in “Raining in LA.” Can you talk a little about his involvement in the song? What was it like to work with him?
We communicated with one another through Instagram direct messaging and email. Since the release, Ne-Yo and I have still kept in touch. He is still helping me, and I am truly honored. Working with him on this song was a great experience! After Ne-Yo first reached out to me through an Instagram direct message, I sent him the song on a private share link, and the rest was history. He liked my song and offered to host it, as well as help me with promoting it. At that time, I taught myself how to distribute my own music and market right away that same week. I barely slept, but it was so worth it to get this song out as soon as I could!
What’s ahead for you in the coming months and years?
I am currently an independent artist but hope to be able to someday do this for a living, like many of the musicians I look up to. Regardless though, music is a big part of me and I will continue this journey no matter what. I am going to be releasing more music soon, both songs that I have been working on in the past as well as songs that I have more recently been working on. I also plan to perform more and plan to release an EP.
“Raining In LA” is out now on all platforms: lnk.to/raininginla
Follow Capri Wagner on social media:
Instagram: instagram.com/capri.wagner
Twitter: twitter.com/capri_wagner
Facebook: facebook.com/capriwagnermusic
YouTube: youtube.com/capriwagner
Tik Tok: tiktok.com/@capriwagner
LÜM: lum.fm/profile/capriwagner
