Celeste Prince

The conventional path a music artist will take to stardom is over.
If you were to take these classic elements – talent, a great voice, that certain luminous something called star quality, as well as the more personal quality of emotional self-awareness, add the typical insurmountable confidence of an artist that tends to create social impact, and lastly... an ability to tell a story - you’d have the magic formula for what it takes to be a star. This formula produced the music stars of the last century.
But we are in a new era.
Inside our cultural globalization, social impact becomes the predominant factor in moving masses. Technology is being used as a vehicle for intimate connections, and the artists that display an ability to use a virtual platform to create that age old magic combination – an audience that longs for intimacy with an artist – are the ones that will lead the music industry revolution. Celeste Prince not only has the un-mistakable quality that makes people want more, but has been exploring the edges of the new world her entire life, and it has influenced her ability to creatively express herself, in both art and commerce.
But having all of this isn’t enough for Celeste, for her, social impact has to include a purpose, and ironically, one that is bigger than her. “Being a musician is interesting right now,” says Prince, “at the end of the day, it all comes down to a great song. We spend our lives chasing that watermark. But at the same time, in order for a great song to be heard now, it takes a great idea. I think we’re past the days when corporate machines picked the acts they thought would sell, and pumped them into the culture. I think there’s a spiritual reason our audiences are demanding we give our music away. It’s a reminder that it’s not about the singer – it’s about the listener.”
This atypical attitude reflects an unconventional life.
Always profoundly musical, she began playing the piano at age 6, but studying Bach, taking ballet, and growing up Mormon in a small town in Utah, she developed an early tension between the external conservatism that radiated from everyone and everything familiar, and the internal hunger for exploration. This tension led to an emotional maturity beyond her years, as she attempted to bridge the gap between being different, while attempting to fit into her large and close-knit family and community. Also in the background, Celeste had heard stories of her fathers experience in Africa, which far transcended the scope of most of the other stories she had heard; stories of apartheid and Zulu warriors. This led to a deep-seeded desire to explore the world, and an early awareness that societal boundaries concealed all kinds of truths.
And explore the world she did, from living in Tokyo, to traveling to over 50 countries, including such anomalies as North Korea, Myanmar, and Zimbabwe, engaging in all kinds of International relief work, to participating in a pioneering online division of Harvard during college, to teaching music classes to inner city kids in South Central Los Angeles, her resume is an extension of her passion for people, and life. It’s appropriate that her musical exploration involved throwing out a big net.
While her extraordinary talent was obvious to many of the industries brightest, with two major label deals, and songs in big budget studio films and TV. She’s been critically hailed by her reviewers, and has had heavyweights like producer/songwriters Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Madeline Peyroux) as a writing partner, and Glen Ballard ( Alanis Morrisette, No Doubt, Gwen Stefani, Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Shelby Lynne and Dave Mathews) throw his label and talent behind the quest to get her to her audience.
“But the business of music started to drive the music too much, and people evolved past supporting the model. Now, for musicians, artists, and actors, for any storyteller – that test is surpassing our selves. Finding a deeper purpose than being famous for our talent. What can we offer people? “ says Celeste, “Especially because so much more is required of people these days. We’re all supposed to be successful at relationships, careers, parenting, and make some sort of impact - it’s so much. If that’s the audience, than the artist better lift them up, be a refuge, or be the place where they are reminded how to feel all the longing and joy that their lives can suppress with busyness. And even harder – we have to manage to be someone these amazing people can admire enough to want to spend their time and money to keep us making music, or, to at least get interesting information off of our blogs. “ she says with a laugh.
The evolution of Celeste Prince is clearly exhibiting it first signs of success. As she gets ready to launch her EP this fall, she writes and records amidst the kind of demands she loves. Demands for her voice. Weather it’s as a consultant to major corporations, relief or environmental organizations guiding their philanthropy, or as an artist expressing the change we’re all creating – it’s a voice we will very likely know intimately in our culture, and if that voice has anything to say about it, one that both reflects, and connects us to our own.