Interview: Carla Dona, the singer from Antibes, releases her first EP

The young singer from Antibes, Carla Dona, known from two years ago on the show Star Academy, released her first EP on Friday.

Before joining the show Star Academy, the singer received training at a dance school and the Cours Florent, in the musical theater section. In 2019, she joined Joseph Di Marco’s dance company. After the Star Academy, a Zénith tour alongside Christophe Maé, and a role in the musical Flash Dance, the Antibes singer and dancer Carla Dona talks to us about her first EP, “A coeur ouvert”.

You are releasing your first EP, “A cœur ouvert”, can you tell us about it?

“I released my first EP on Friday, which is called “A coeur ouvert” composed of seven tracks, I have my concert coming on May 26 at the Café de la Danse in Paris.”

After releasing several singles and touring the Zénith with Christophe Maé, you are diving into solo work, does that scare you?

“There is certainly some apprehension because it’s my first solo project, so now I am really on my own. I hope that people will understand who I am through my music and what I want to convey. But I am mostly excited and happy because this is what I love to do.”

You have toured the Zénith with Christophe Maé, was it a good musical experience?

“This experience was amazing, the first part is a real challenge because people didn’t come for us. So we must carry them with us, and I was lucky to have a super enthusiastic audience. They liked it, they encouraged. There’s a lot of apprehension because these were the Zénith, they’re still large venues, so it’s a bit scary to open the show with so many people, but it was a great experience that I loved.”

Did he give you any advice for your future in the music world?

“Christophe is very natural, that’s how people like him. That’s what he told me—to really be myself, not to worry, and to be truly natural.”

The subjects that come up most in your EP are love and the duality of that love, whether romantic, friendly, familial or other… What does that evoke to you?

“Love for me is what makes the world go round, I am a lover of love so it’s what I seek in my daily life, it’s really what makes me tick. It’s what I generally look for in my relationships. I need this feeling, and for me, it’s the very essence of life. So, that’s why I talk about it in different ways. Because love can have different facets; I talk about it with family love, friendship, it’s the adventure as well.”

In your song “Perdue,” you say, I quote: “the truth yeah, if you’re not afraid, it’s because by taking my body, you broke my heart.” In your song, it seems we understand that you’ve been through difficult times in your life. Can you tell us about it?

“I did not write this song for myself; it’s a friend who told me their story, and I was so moved by it. This still happens far too often today, and I really wanted to talk about these assaults and consent. Through the song “Perdue,” I really wanted to discuss this subject which is very important to me.”

And finally, in your EP, there is the song “Paris-Antibes,” because you are from Antibes. If we listen to your song, we understand that you miss Antibes, your life in Paris is less pleasant? What do you miss from Antibes?

“I chose to move to Paris after high school to pursue my dream. Paris is an artistic city, I built my life there. The sun, the sea, I miss them a lot, I try to come back often. And Paris-Antibes is the train I take quite often, so it was important for me to name this song as such.”