From her humble beginnings as a musical.ly star, singer and social media content creator Baby Ariel, otherwise known as Ariel Rebecca Martin, has released her debut six-track EP blue, which, like the majority of music in this day and age, was written and recorded completely in the isolation and quarantine of the COVID-19 pandemic. The moody and sharp stylings of Baby Ariel, which tackles the inner turmoil of teenage girls, are a departure from her previous bubblegum-pop musical works.
Ariel said that the process of recording blue was a period of self-discovery for her, similar to many people, as we spent time at home, often with nothing but our thoughts to keep us company. Ariel felt as if she had lost herself, and that time alone felt reparative.
“In some ways, the pandemic helped me with that because we were forced to spend a lot of time isolated and by ourselves.” Ariel said in an interview with GRAZIA. “It helped me really get in touch with who I am and the person I want to become and a lot of that is reflected in the music.”
Ariel spent time listening to artists like Cigarettes After Sex, Dizzy and Dominic Fike in the process of making this EP. She drew from other sounds, artists that she recalls from her childhood such as Mazzy Star and The Beatles, resulting in what Ariel considers a “chill, melodic vibe” in blue. For the most part, what you hear in the EP is Ariel herself at the piano or the guitar, resulting in an organic EP that shapes the sound as each song comes to life, without any specific intention.
Now, asking an artist to pick a favorite from their own work is near impossible, each song encapsulates something different. But for Ariel, while she feels all of her work is personal, she chose “winter” and “nothing” as the ones she felt most connected to.
“They captured where I was when I was at my ‘most lost’ – when I really needed to dig deep to find myself. Those songs helped me do that.” Ariel said. “All my songwriting feels a little like therapy to me but those two were especially important for me in that process.”
But as much weight as Ariel has on the contemporary media climate, especially among Gen Z, she doesn’t like to pin the label of “influencer” on herself. Although some have called her the “queen of Gen Z,” she prefers a more humble approach as to how she navigates her public image. She finds that influence is a result that comes with being an artist or a content creator with a sizable platform, and that “marketing and sales departments in big companies” created the term influencer.
For Ariel, influence is not the focus of what she does, she just loves to share her art with people who are willing to appreciate and respond to it.
The 20-year-old singer, who has twice been deemed “one of the most influential people on the Internet” by TIME Magazine and graced the cover of Billboard Magazine, grew up in a household full of music, acting and writing, which she says have always been a bigger part of her life than social media ever has. With her mom, an actress and her dad, a songwriter, these creative influences were always present in her life, and pushed her forward in her career today.
“When I first started musical.ly, it wasn’t with the intention of getting big or famous – I was just making fun videos to share with my friends. But when it blew up, we realized as a family that it was an opportunity to open doors to the things that I really loved like acting and music.” Ariel said. “So at that point, I continued with social media because it was fun but also to help open those doors.”
Instead, Ariel expresses that people should utilize social media as a platform “as a genuine form of expression.” She said that if you’re using social media to try to get famous, it’s going to be a tough ride without the fun, and that you can’t and shouldn’t make becoming famous the goal.
“Create content that is authentic – that is your truth. And have fun with it. Be creative and challenge yourself.” Ariel said. “If you are authentic and share your unique voice, you’ll have an opportunity to have other people notice you and respond to that.”
As for the future of Ariel’s career, right now she is shooting for Disney’s ZOMBIES 3 in Toronto, which is set to come out in the beginning of 2022. On top of that, Ariel plans on doing a lot more songwriting, working on developing a film project, which she plans to produce on and spending time with her cat, Koa.
