I understand that you are a Virginian! I have family from VA! What was it like for you growing up there?

As you know, the motto for Virginia is “Virginia Is For Lovers” and I believe that to be very true in different ways. Virginia has provided a nurturing environment for my upbringing. I’ve discovered who I am as an artist, learned how to refine my skill and hone in on my craft, study the business of it and implement ways to leave a lasting impression even outside of it. Virginia is home to many amazing artists such as Missy Elliott, Chris Brown, Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, and other incredible artists who have taught me the value of authenticity and what it takes to succeed. I have always found Virginia to be a peaceful place where I can relax, recollect my thoughts, and continue using my education, experiences, and encounters as tools to assist with my dreams coming to fruition. 

When was your passion and love for music born that led you on a path of wanting to pursue it professionally?

I grew up singing in the church choirs at the age of 5, thanks to my late aunt “Rene,” whom she desired to be called. I always had this shy kindred spirit and found an outlet in writing songs and singing. I eventually began writing songs for my church choir and created an annual Reunion Choir for those that grew up in the church but moved away and came back for the Church’s Anniversary.  Prior to this, I was no stranger to special church programs and non church performances.  Eventually, I made a debut on Radio Disney, performed the National Anthem for the Norfolk Admirals, and made connections with prominent executives from Disney Worldwide, Music World Entertainment, Atlantic Records, Interscope Records, Bad Boy Records, Mosley Music Group, and artists/musicians including Heavy D, Lady Luck, Thomas Taliaferro, Dunlap Exclusive, B. Malik and more.  More recently, in the past ten years, I have obtained acting and synchronization credits in television and films such as “My Favorite Five, Perfectly Single, Empire, The Holiday Proposal Plan, Hey, Mr. Postman!, Puzzled, Catfish Christmas, A Heart For Christmas,” etc.  It is an honor to have credits associated with LifeTime, Fox, B.E.T., Netflix, PlutoTV, Hulu, Centric and other platforms. 

I am also the podcast host and creator of “DeAna Fai Presents Kings & Queens of Entertainment” at which has shifted into also being a giveback campaign featuring over 60+ entertainers in the world of sports, film, music, comedy and fashion including other celebrities like Rebecca King Crews, Shanti Lowry, TT The Artist, DJ Pryor, Tehran Von Ghasri, Claudia Jordan, Rodney Perry, Lady Luck, Erica Hubbard, Tony Dofat, Carrie Bernans, D-Teck, Stevie Boi, Candace Wakefield, Jackie’s Boy, Erika Ringor, Angelique Bates, Tyrell Crawford, Rosemary Rodriguez, Rob Gordon, Brandon Broady, Hannon Lane, Sprague, etc. My music video “Me and Mine” features long-time friend and Grammy, Dove and Stellar Award Winning Music Producer Dunlap Exclusive and the other titled “Ready For Christmas” features Karine “Sho-Time” Thornton, Owner of Sho-TimeTV, Sho-Time Battle Rap League and the President of the Hip-Hop Fraternity of New York. I’ve also been invited back to one of my Alma Maters, Norfolk State University, along with RnB Artists Vedo and Sevyn Streeter, where I was the Mistress of Ceremony introducing Former Olympian turned Motivational Speaker, Charles Clark. I simply believe that God’s will has always allowed me to consistently connect with performers in all sectors of entertainment where I could bask in the love of music via writing and performing my songs. I’ve also been incredibly fortunate to have been walking a path that most others haven’t without the support of an agency or management company. For this, I am sincerely thankful and humbled to be receiving the many blessings that lie ahead of me. 

Let’s talk about your new and original song that will be played in the new Christmas movie, #WorstChristmasEver, this year, starring Bill Bellamy, Taja V. Simpson, Shanti Lowry, B.J. Britt, and more! Tell us more about it! How did this opportunity come about for you, and what inspired you to write this particular song? 

Shanti Lowry, an actress and good friend of mine who also stars in #WORSTCHRISTMASEVER, shared the musical need for the film. I always believed that the power in networking is more than “let’s get another placement.”  I have always been keen on the energy presented. It just felt right for me to want to be a part of a project with a good friend and also reconnect with film producer Maurice Hall again, after having been in his previous film “A Heart For Christmas,” which featured him, his daughter Sydney Reese Hall, Taja V. Simpson, who also served as executive producer of the film, Grammy Award Winning Artist MAJOR., and Nikiva Dionne.

“Christmas Magic” is the title of my original song that will be featured in #WORSTCHRISTMASEVER, as well as the trailer. It was my goal to create a song that no one had ever heard before lyrically and musically. I wanted the song to convey the joy and warmth of love—that time when you will stop at nothing to find a way to spend Christmas with your loved one—despite the difficulties of a busy work schedule. 

I have to tell you, I love your song, “Christmas Love”! Christmas is my favorite holiday! How does it feel hearing your songs placed in television shows and movies like “Catfish Christmas” and “The Holiday Proposal Plan”?

Thank you so much for the compliment!  Christmas is also my favorite holiday! I don’t think it ever gets old hearing my songs on networks such as B.E.T. and LifeTime, for instance, some of which I grew up watching and admiring. It’s also amazing when I’m given the opportunities to meet and network with some of the actors/actresses I grew up watching and now we’ve become good friends because we are connected to these projects. I think the surrealness also is knowing that what you’ve worked so hard for, no one can take away.  It’s like you’ve proven to yourself that you belong because the medium at which it has been streamed or heard on has already been produced and released. I will always feel this sense of excitement and surrealness anytime one of my songs is heard.

Can we look out for a Christmas album from you sometime in the near future?

Absolutely! That is definitely in the works however, I’m currently not exactly sure of the release date.

For a new listener, how would you describe your sound/genre?

My sound is primarily Pop/Soul and RnB.  However, it is an infusion of a variety of genres to also include Hip-Hop, Funk, Techno, Disco, and Rock. It is an untraditional blend of a variety of instruments more widely utilized in a specific genre which is atypical from an artist signed to a major record label where artists normally have a confined sound. 

When you’re not busy working, how are you practicing self-care?

I write songs and screenplays, read motivational and entertainment-related books, travel, work out and occasionally take naps to decompress.

Thank you so much, DeAna Fai!

Connect with DeAna Fai:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deanafaiofficial?igsh=OXU1M212czQzaTBp
IMDB: Imdb.me/deanafai
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