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Bella Marcy is connecting with thousands through her music.
The fourth-year music industry student has cultivated a strong sense of community among her listeners across social media. Last September, she released her song “Laura” – which quickly gained traction on TikTok and Spotify. Most recently, she collaborated with fellow musician and producer Niko Sitaras on their song “VIDEOGAMES.” Drawing inspiration from artists such as Radiohead, Beach House and Tamia, Marcy described her music style as a combination of pop and alternative. When it comes to writing songs, she said she often starts with instrumentals and then begins to layer additional harmonies and lyrics.
“I tend to generally start with the music,” Marcy said. “I’ll just start singing gibberish melodies over it (my guitar) until I find something that lands.”
When first releasing music, Marcy said she didn’t have a complete idea of what she wanted to do, yet she said she learned to market her music using social media and ventured into producing. During her time at UCLA, Marcy said much of her growth as a musician can be attributed to the faculty and fellow students she has worked with, including Lecturer Lauren Spalding and Director of Music Industry Programs Tiffany Naiman.
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Friend and fellow fourth-year music industry student Desmond Wong said Marcy’s free-spirited creativity is the force behind her music. Wong, who works at UCLA Radio alongside Marcy, said he has always been impressed by her creative energy, adding that, “she doesn’t let things hold her down.”
Nevertheless, Marcy said her love for music started in middle school when she began playing bass. In high school, she said she taught herself to play guitar and drums, which led her to join a band. While she wasn’t always set on a music career, Marcy explained her love for making music made it clear that she wanted to continue creating and sharing her art.
“I knew this was going to be a part of my life one way or the other,” Marcy said. “When I got into college and I started thinking about my future, essentially, I was like, ‘How can I tie this into my life in a way that’s sustainable and can feed my soul in the way it does, but also my everyday life?’”
Standing for a photo is Marcy, with her head tilted to the side, as the sun shines over her face and the background. The student said her music is greatly influenced by artists such as Radiohead, Beach House and Tamia. (Courtesy of August Suchecki)
Aside from her musical skills, Marcy has developed a strong grasp of her target audience. In the past year, Marcy has accumulated a following of nearly 16,000 on TikTok, with almost 12,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. As she nears the first anniversary of her TikTok account, she said she is grateful for the ways that her online presence has shaped her musical progression. In particular, she has received overwhelmingly positive feedback towards her acoustic music and guitar covers, which she explained has pushed her to produce more acoustic songs. At the same time, she added that she still tries to maintain a balance between the acoustic and more heavily produced music she creates.
“Being online in general has let me discover myself a bit more,” Marcy said. “Sometimes I’ll write something and I’ll even feel like maybe this is too vulnerable, and I put it online and somebody else is like, ‘Wait, me too.’ And I try to convey this unity in whatever I’m doing – hopefully it makes them (others) feel that way too.”
Though other musicians might find it hard to balance listener expectations with their own creativity, Marcy said she enjoys having an online community that empowers her to experiment. She added that she strives to respect her own creative process and music tastes while producing themes that have universal appeal.
Leaning forward with her hands framing her face, the singer poses for a photo on the side of a building, casting a shadow on the wall. Although involved with music since middle school, Marcy said she didn’t begin considering a music career until later in life, when she discovered her passion for the creative process. (Courtesy of August Suchecki)
Marcy said her single “Laura” embodies this endeavor. Since its release, the song has been streamed over 360,000 times on Spotify and garnered considerable attention on TikTok. Marcy said she considers the song a landmark in her career.
“People really connected, and that gave me a lot of clarity and it made me feel more comfortable being honest with myself,” Marcy said. “It (Publishing “Laura”) was a moment of ‘Hey, I can be really honest and people will still like it if it’s not peaches and cream.’”
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Sitaras, Marcy’s boyfriend and music partner, added that writing “Laura” was a “monumental” moment in Marcy’s career. In addition to rapidly growing Marcy’s online platform, Sitaras said the song represented the culmination of her songwriting ability.
“Her songwriting is really next level,” Sitaras said. “She really has a deep understanding of lyricism and she has her own voice with it. It’s very developed and fleshed out, but yet also allowing enough room to allow things to happen. She is a perfect combination of knowing what she’s doing, but also allowing the unexpected to happen.”
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