Norwalk college student releases first song
Angelica Zacarola: ‘ It’s 100% me’
NORWALK — Angelica Zacarola put pen to paper and wrote the words and music to her song “Inside Out” during her sophomore year of high school.
At the time, she wasn’t sure what it would lead to.
“I didn’t really know how to play instruments or anything,” said Zacarola, 18, a rising sophomore at Sacred Heart University. “So I put it aside and thought whatever happens to it, happens.”
Now, the song has become her first single.
“Inside Out” was released this week and is available on all streaming services, including Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify and YouTube Music.
It’s a huge achievement for Zacarola, a Norwalk resident whose love of performing and music goes back to elementary school. She performed theater in the second grade, covered music in the sixth grade, and began writing poetry and short stories in high school.
“I’ve been interested in music for pretty much my entire life,” Zacarola said. “It’s always been a goal to get my own, original music out there at some point. If I had a chain of words in my head, I would just take a piece of paper, write it down and think, ‘ we’ll see what happens with that.’”
“Inside Out” has been four years in the making, as the creation process started while Zacarola was at Notre Dame- Fairfield High School. During the past few years, she’s learned how to play the piano and ukulele, which are featured in the song, leading to its recording this spring.
Zacarola called “Inside Out” a “teenage heartbreak song.”
“It’s about meeting someone who you think is going to be ‘ the one,’ but they turn around and do the things you expected them to do because that’s just how people are,” she said. “You wanted them to be a different person, you were thinking they were going to change this time, but you’re just going around in circles with this person.”
“Inside Out” was not necessarily destined to be her first song, but Zacarola said it “really stuck with me.”
“I wrote a lot and this was the first one that I thought could actually be something. The song is pretty simple in terms of music and chords, so even if it’s not the most complex song, it’s 100 percent me. I wrote it, I produced it, I played the instruments and I did everything myself. That’s where the pride comes from: It’s 100 percent me and the inspiration came from my emotions and my heart,” she said.
A twist of fate helped lead to the song’s recording at this time.
Zacarola was attending classes at SHU when the COVID- 19 pandemic hit and students shifted to distance learning from home.
A theater and broadcast journalism student, Zacarola is deeply involved on campus, but suddenly found herself with more time.
“If it wasn’t for this quarantine,” she said, “none of this would’ve happened.”
Armed with a new Mac laptop and the Garage Band app, Zacarola had all the tools she needed to record and produce the song.
“I took a pair of headphones that I had and here we are,” Zacarola said. “It all fell into place perfectly.”
On Monday, Zacarola’s friends, family and neighbors helped her celebrate with a parade of vehicles past her house.
That kind of support has meant a lot to the young singer.
“It’s amazing,” Zacarola said.
“It’s really exciting for me to see how supportive everyone is. I’m only 18 and making this decision to pursue music professionally is a big step. So to have all my friends and family, and my community supporting me, really means a lot.”
A big chapter in her journey thus far came two years ago when Zacarola performed in the Connecticut’s Got Talent competition at Norwalk’s Wall Street Theater and was one of the finalists.
Part of the thrill came from stepping outside of her comfort zone.
“I did a lot of performances for my schools and stuff like that, but never anything where everyone could just come and watch from all over,” Zacarola said. “I learned a lot about myself as a performer, and about how music helps other people deal with things. Being in a competitive setting was a lot different, too.
“I liked seeing how far I could go, and I actually ended up being a finalist. I didn’t win, but I made it to the final round, which was really, really cool.”
When classes resume, Zacarola will continue working with the SHU theater arts program, where she said she’s making a lot of great connections while working with other budding artists.
“Every single person in that program is talented,” she said. “It’s just a great community and people come to SHU from all over the place to see the shows that we do. We’re working with a very prestigious group of people who could potentially help us out in the future. It’s a great environment.”
As for “Inside Out,” the song is just the start of what could be a career in music.
“This is definitely not the last song I’m planning on putting out,” Zacarola said. “I write all the time, so I just have to see what projects feel like the right ones to pursue. Hopefully, I can make a living with professional music and make people happy with whatever I’m doing.”