Samaria Corbett is a tenth-grader at CHS who is currently working on producing and creating her debut album. Samaria listens to pop music but will listen to any type of music that piques her interest. Some of her favorite artists are Hayes Warner, Olivia Rodrigo, Sofie Dossie, and Jessica Baio. Her favorite song by Olivia Rodrigo is “I hope that you’re ok”. When listening to music, Samaria says she likes to “listen to the lyrics and the story behind them.”
Samaria writes very personal songs, saying “I don’t want to talk about a wall, I want to talk about what’s in the heart.” She has been writing music since she was little but has now taken the big step to start producing and sharing her music with the world soon.
Samaria has been through a lot of changes in the past year, which inspired her first single called S!CK which will be coming out in about a month.
Samaria moved into the CHS school system halfway through the school year when her family moved from Albemarle County to Charlottesville. She didn’t know many people, but her boyfriend at the time said he would be there to help her with readjusting.
During her first week at CHS, her boyfriend was blowing her off leaving her to fend for herself at a school she knew nothing about. Samaria was also dealing with a lot of health and friendship issues at the time of this move, which added to the stress, leading her into a depressive state.
“I don’t know the hallways, the people, I had no support. I just started falling apart.” On her fourth day at CHS, her boyfriend said they needed to talk. The first question he asked her was how she was doing and Samaria was baffled. “You know there is so much going on and you’re asking me how I’m doing?”
The next thing her boyfriend told her was “I think we should break up.” With all she had already been dealing with, she broke down and cried. “I had nothing else to hold on to, I just fell.”
For Samaria, what hurt the most was that he wasn’t there for her as not just a boyfriend, but as her best friend. They had known each other for years, but he was able to end all of that so quickly.
When she arrived back home, she went to her piano and started playing. For two hours, Samaria was on the piano. When she showed it to her mom, she said “This is my favorite song you’ve written yet.”
In the fall of 2023, Samaria started going to the Music Resource Center (MRC), a local non-profit organization for youth in Charlottesville that has resources for producing, creating, and learning music. “It’s a really good place if you want to get into music.” Says Samaria.
At the MRC, Samaria started working with fellow CHS student, Jasper Scott, to start producing her music. Samaria played the piano and sang the vocals, while others at the MRC helped with creating the sounds for other instruments like the drums. Because of sickness, and a major surgery Samaria had in the fall, there was no consistent schedule for production, but now she and Jasper are near the finish line for her first single.
Samaria has three other songs in the process, one with CHS student Jasper, and two with Ike who works at the MRC. Currently, one of the songs will be finished in about a month or so, while the other two she is still working on the tracks and writing lyrics. One song is a gentle and depressing song similar to songs by Olivia Rodrigo, while the other is more bouncy and upbeat similar to songs by Britney Spears.
Samaria didn’t see music as a career option before, but now it seems like a possibility. Her advice for other aspiring songwriters and producers is “Find someone with a common interest and learn from them.”
Samaria Says “No one is too old or young to relate,” to relate to her music, except for maybe one-year-olds.
Samaria’s music will be on most music platforms in the near future. If you are interested in listening to Samaria’s music when it comes out, follow the KTR Instagram or Samaria on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram for more updates!
