A singer since the age of 12 and an accomplished stage and screen actress, Demetria Bailey sings old-school jazz and blues in the tradition of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughan. As a professional artist, she has performed throughout the US, The Philippines, and Japan. 

We sat down with Demetria to learn how she fell into a singing profession from the encouragement of a teacher, her challenges within the performing arts world, keeping a positive perspective in an industry with constant rejection, and how to take time and pay attention to the signs that bring you back to your passions. 

Key Takeaways

01 Follow your path despite the challenges

Facing judgement in the world of performing arts is inevitable, but Demetria talks about the extra layer of being an African American woman in the industry. Often not knowing the challenge until she was face-to-face, she’s learned to ask for direction rather than let others make assumptions about her roles or capabilities. 

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02 Take the opportunities, even if you’re not sure of them

Every audition was an opportunity for Demetria, even if she knew the part wouldn’t be hers. If you get yourself in front of people, you might just get another role once people know who you are.

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03 Listen to the things that keep making their way back into your life, even if you’ve let them go

Demetria had once let go of her musical career to achieve other milestones of life that can often be difficult to accomplish when in the critical world of performing arts, but music always kept coming back to her.

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04 Do something for yourself every day

When you find that something moves you, find the time to do something within it every single day, no matter how small. It might even spark up more motivation to keep things going on for more. 

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05 Know that not everything has a place within the story

When one of the roles of her performances was cut, Demetria was given an interesting perspective on changes to scripts, which from then on forward shifted her perspective in the way she processes feedback.