Reina Mar is not your average pop singer. With a sultry voice and reservoir of emotion akin to Lana Del Ray, singer-songwriter Reina Mar has swooped onto the music scene with an original poise and mastery of craft rarely heard in the repetitive modern music scene. Riding a wave of success from her most recent hits, “Novela” and “Back to You,” Reina Mar is looking to climb to new heights with another EP and several guest performances dropping throughout 2022. Yet Reina’s rise to fame didn’t come from nothing; she has been singing and writing songs since age six, keeping her eyes set on stardom from an incredibly early age, as she shared in a recent interview:
“My real name is Rosa Martinez,” Reina confides. “I grew up in Bergen County, NJ in a middle class latin household always surrounded by music and talent. I’ve been singing since I could talk, but my real love for performing as a musician came at age eleven and by the age of 18, I had officially started my journey into the world of professional singing. Since then, I have been singing, songwriting, and performing at every chance I can get. As an independent artist, performer and songwriter, I write my own music and have been contracted in studios as a recording artist. To build a presence in the music scene, I have also performed at clubs, restaurants, and private events.”
Growing up with a music-loving mother who surrounded her daughter with latin icons and classic singers, Reina Mar has been deeply immersed in the music scene from day one. With influences like Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, and Celia Cruz, Reina Mar has been cultivating a voice and performing style that stands out from the crowd of typical modern pop singers. Her ability to seamlessly flip between seemingly incompatible genres has allowed Reina Mar to vault over other pop singers in the space, landing her highly sought-after recording gigs and event performances. When asked about her massive repertoire and dedication to her craft, Reina Mar shares some profound insights from her early days as an artist:
“When it comes to performing and getting your name known in the music industry, mindset is everything. Having a strong, open mind is important, and accepting the idea of failing multiple times in order to be successful is key to finding that success. Outside of singing, I have worked in the sales industry almost my entire adult life, and my experience there has taught me an incredible amount about failure versus success and having a tough skin. I admire the saying: 100 ‘no’s’ make 1 ‘yes.’ You’re going to have to handle a lot of rejection if you want to catch that big break!”
If Reina Mar has experienced failure, then she has certainly experienced wild success as a result. With her first EP gaining thousands of listeners, Reina Mar has been able to tap into her Latina heritage to create her own unique blend of sounds. From pop, latin, rap, and even trap, Reina Mar has mastered a menagerie of disparate sounds and styles that are incredibly hard to find in the oversaturated world of today’s pop singers. In addition her latest single pop ballad called “Back to You” already has nearly half a million views on YouTube. While it took an incredible amount of resilience and determination to make it where she is today, Reina Mar never let go of her own voice in favor of pleasing a producer or label. Her unique sound shines through all of her songs and there is no doubt that her next release will garner attention and listeners the world over.
You can keep up with Reina Mar on Instagram and listen to her latest single “Back to You” on YouTube!