Star Power Vol. 20

star power [NYOTA Magazine ]

starring

Haley Pham Volume 20

from the editor

HELLO THERE, READER! In this Star Power issue, Haley Pham graces the cover. Haley is a digital creator who has been making a name for herself on YouTube for the past nine years. She also is an entrepreneur and recently came out with a clothing line and a podcast. I also was lucky enough to have a quick chat with singer Halston Dare. As always I hope you enjoy reading the issue and are inspired to go after your dreams!

YOURS TRULY, Carol Wright EDITOR IN CHIEF, NYOTA MAGAZINE @_CAROL_WRIGHT

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contents 1. Editor's Letter 3. Get to Know Haley

4. Haley's PlaylistÂ

5. Star Power: Haley Pham 9. Â Haley's Top Picks 11. Quick Chat: Halston Dare 13. Love Classic

Follow us @nyotamagazine

#StarPower

GET TO KNOW HALEY I hate vegetables.

I am a 7 on the enneagram.

My mom has 5 brothers and 5 sisters.

I can’t sleep in a room alone.

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I am half Vietnamese.

#NyotaMusic

Haley's Playlist Surfaces // 24/7/365 Madison Beer // Selfish Benee // Wishful Thinking Keyshia Cole // Love Hillsong Worship // King of Kings Kanye West // Jesus Walks Billie Eilish // No Time to Die Ashe // Moral of The Story Ruel // Painkiller SAINt JHN// Roses (Imanbek Remix)

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#StarPower

Haley Pham Interview by Carol Wright | Photos by Paige Miller

#StarPower

What inspired you to create your YouTube channel?

When I discovered the iMovie app, I really fell in love with editing. I would record my outfits and my makeup so that I could teach myself how to do cool effects with iMovie. Then everything just spiraled from there.

You’ve had your channel for nine years.

How do you go about planning your content so that it stands out and your audience stays engaged?

I try to focus on the things that are just fun to me and usually if I am having fun in a video, then the audience will have fun watching.

You put a lot of your life online. Did it take a while for you to find a balance between what to share and what not to share?

I’m pretty open on social media, but there are a few things that I keep behind closed doors. I feel like if you’re comfortable with a lot of people knowing your business then it’s pretty easy.

What’s one of the best experiences that has come from creating your YouTube channel?

If I hadn’t made my channel, I would have never met some of my favorite people online. One of those people introduced me to my boyfriend, Ryan.

Were you nervous to take the leap into fashion by creating your clothing line?

How did you come up with the name Retro Reprise?

Yes, but I feel anytime you start something new, you have to start to figure things out as you go. I feel as if I’m still a baby in this space and I can’t wait to learn more throughout the years. The clothes are retro, and reprise means to repeat something, together its Retro Reprise!

You got into the podcast space this year with ‘Call Me Candid’. How has the podcast helped you connect with your audience?

The podcast is actually a really fun way to open up because of its long-form and it feels more personal than any other social media platform. For all the extra juicy information, that’s where we put it.

On the podcast you cover topics ranging from business advice to getting married.

Why did you and your co-host Lilly Ann feel like this was the right time to create a podcast?

2020 was a new year and we had just met at the end of 2019, we’re both obsessed with podcasts and we both been wanting to create a podcast on our own for so long. All it took was us meeting for it to finally happen.

Your job allows you to be creative in so many different ways. Have you been tapping into your creativity even more during quarantine?

Quarantine has definitely forced me to figure out video ideas that obviously don't require going out and being entertaining with the supplies and activities we can do.

After working on YouTube for the past few years and building your businesses.

What have you learned about yourself?

I have learned patience through the ups and downs of any business. Whether that be emotional or numbers wise. I’ve just learned that all of it is temporary so enjoy it while it's good and be patient when it’s bad.

What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?

It takes 10,000 hours to become a pro at anything so be consistent, be patient, expect failure, and persist none the less.

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#StarPower

"It takes 10,000 hours to become a pro at anything so be consistent, be patient, expect failure, and persist none the less."

- Haley Pham

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#StarPower

Haley's Top Picks

The Bible 9

Bride Wars

Ozark

#QuickChat

Halston Dare Interview by Carol Wright | Photography by Shaider Divina

#QuickChat

Growing up were you often performing?

Growing up I started performing at a very young age and I was going to an open mic almost every single day all of middle school and high school. I had two best friends at the time, one played drums and one played electric guitar and we would hit up every single open mic in Houston all the way out to Conroe. We would stay out till 2 AM singing even though I had school the next day. Good times!

Who are some artists you look up to?

I look up to a lot of artists dating back to Whitney Houston, Patty Labelle, Bryan Adams, The Eagles, all the way to Ariana Grande, Julia Michaels, Dua Lipa, the Weeknd and so many more. Every single one of them has inspired the way that I write and the brand that I have chosen today. I like to consider myself a poetic conversational writer, and I like to describe my genre as edgy pop.

Outside of creating your own music you post covers on YouTube. Does singing other people’s music strengthen your own voice or give you ideas for lyrics?

Absolutely! Hearing other people's music inspires me to write things of my own based on how I felt or what I learned after listening to their music.

Outside of creating your own music you post covers on YouTube. Does singing other people’s music strengthen your own voice or give you ideas for lyrics?

Absolutely! Hearing other people's music inspires me to write things of my own based on how I felt or what I learned after listening to their music.

Tell us about your song “Replace You”.

What inspired the lyrics and the sound?

"Replace You" is my newest single that I just released, and it’s so exciting because I haven’t released a song in 2 1/2 years. I wrote it back in November 2019 when I was dealing with an argument with a boyfriend at the time who was making me beg for his attention, and I was chasing after him instead of him chasing after me.

It was a time in my life that I didn’t understand my self worth, I didn’t understand the love that I deserve, and I didn’t understand what it really meant to love myself.

During the argument that I was having with him I was quickly realizing that I was fighting for somebody who didn’t want to fight for me and somebody who also was acting like they were not replaceable and that was definitely not the case. I was calling all of my friends that night crying and one of them was looking at me telling me "Halston you have to write a song about this!” The next day I went into the studio to write a song with my favorite producer and writer Michelle Buzz, and I walked in and told her this kid thinks he’s irreplaceable!! And later that day we knew we were creating something super special, and that is how replace you was written.

What is your songwriting process?

My songwriting process usually consists of me dealing with whatever I am writing about. I love to write about my experiences and be transparent with my audience and fans about whatever I’m going through at the time. Any music that you hear from me, it is something that I’ve actually been through, experienced, and felt.

Once I’m done writing it I wait a while to record it so I can fine-tune it the best that I can and I spend months on that song making sure that it is perfect!

What advice do you have for aspiring singers?

The greatest advice that I was ever given when I was starting out as a young musician was by my Vocal Coach at the time. He looked at me one day and said “Halston, is this what you really want to do? Do you want to sing to the world and write music and tour all around the world?" And of course I said “yes!” He then told me, "the only person that’s going to stop you from getting there is you. Don’t let anybody ever get in your way. Dreams don’t have to stop after you wake up.”

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Love Classic: A Brand That's Giving Back Love Classic is a female founded sock brand based in Washington DC! Started by Cynthia Kim, Love Classic socks are simple, sexy and stylish! From knee, and thigh high styles, as well as a collection of athletic socks, Love Classic has it all- for under $15!

They are sold on their website as well as Amazon. Love Classic is dedicated to giving back to their community. For every pair that is purchased, Love Classic will donate a pair to support Doorways' cause of creating pathways out of homelessness, domestic violence, and sexual assault heading to safe, stable, and empowered lives. In addition to donating to this amazing cause, Love Classic is giving 10% of their profits to a charity of the customer’s choice, relating to COVID-19.

Organizations include World Health Organization COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, No Kid Hungry, Project HOPE and more!

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NYOTA Magazine has partnered with House of Flair to launch a brunch series that bridges the gap between generations with topics such as business, mental health, networking and so much more. Follow @nyotamagazine to stay up to date and to find out when our next virtual brunch will be.

Love Classic

NYOTA Magazine STAR POWER TEAM EDITOR IN CHIEF

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

CAROL WRIGHT CAROL WRIGHT

COVER DIGITAL CREATOR

Haley Pham

CONTRIBUTORS PHOTOGRAPHER

Paige Miller

PHOTOGRAPHER

Shaider Divina

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