The Virgo Vocalist
Sun Sign: Virgo
Venus: Libra
Rising: Scorpio
“I’ve always felt like the world inside was much larger than the world I experienced outside of me. I didn’t recognize myself in much. The only place I felt I could understand myself was through art, because it had no limits.”
Danielle
As a teenager, Danielle turned to music and began singing as a way to find her voice and her place in the world. “It was always in me, like a lump in your throat when you’re trying not to cry.” She spent hours and hours practicing daily, which is a common trait as a fellow Virgo, wanting to work hard to refine her skills in order to put her best foot forward. Till finally her efforts paid off when she got the chance to audition (and later landed) the role of Little Orphan Annie in her high school production of Annie.
It’s safe to say that one of the reasons Danielle got into music was thanks to her family. Her brother Russell and her Uncle Frank both played guitar, “so there was always a guitar around the house.” One day, she even played a song she wrote for her high school crush, like any Libra Venus would, and he told her it should be on MTV. Libra placements can be notorious flirts, and they tend to find themselves inspired by the people they care about. This gave her motivation to study music further. “I slowly began to learn actual guitar chords, so that I could sing cover songs, and start to write more originals. I also taught myself some ukulele.”
For Scorpio risings, it’s quite common to already want to work in showbusiness, since most people with this rising sign have Leo as their Midheaven. The Midheaven reflects our reputation, and despite Scorpio risings coming across as reserved and secretive, performing and creating is really their happy place. Art allows them a certain mask to avoid too much vulnerability, while still allowing a connection to an audience. But despite music being her main passion, Danielle initially got into acting. After graduating, “I got an agent and spent my days waiting around for auditions. I was lucky enough to land a few roles that gave me a taste of life as an actor, but I didn’t love the industry, or the lack of control I had over my career.”
Things took a complete turn after Danielle experienced a moment that changed her forever. She was sexually assaulted, which led her to going back to her hometown of Thunder Bay. After getting therapy and taking time off, she began making music again.
Although as much as the stage is a great passion of hers, it isn’t always easy. The anxiety and not knowing what to expect each time a show comes up, can take its toll mentally and emotionally. Before a show, “I bounce back and forth from being so excited that I can’t sleep, to being so stressed out that I’m ready to give up on all my dreams as a performer.” But like any artist, she pulls through anyhow and reminds herself that a bit of fear is normal. It’s what keeps us going and shouldn’t stop us from moving forward.
Even with all the other skills she’s learned over the years, Danielle says that “my main instrument is my voice, my voice is everything to me. I absolutely love to play with my voice, with its textures and tones. Like painting with different colours, the more I play and mix, the more colours I have to work with.” When listening to her sing, you feel transported to another world, the kind of place that only really exists by tuning in. Despite her Libra Venus being ruled by air, having it in the twelfth house gives music and art in general a more mystical tone. Venus in the twelfth sees art as something that can heal others, and wants to make their audience feel seen and understood.
And of course, like many artists, one of the places Danielle likes to promote her work while connecting with fans, is through social media. However, a few months ago she experienced what everyone dedicated to social media dreads: her Instagram account got taken over by a hacker. She says, “I had just posted a new video of myself singing an Elvis cover, and I was getting a lot of Instagram love. A [direct message] came from a woman I follow.” The woman claimed she needed help to get her account verified and as a lot of us would, Danielle agreed to help. “She asked for my phone number and then sent me a link. I started to feel a little hesitant.” Not wanting to click the link, the woman told Danielle that she could just copy and paste it to her, which she did.
“Seconds after, I was logged out of my Instagram and no matter what I tried, I could not get back in. I spent days stressing.” Before she knew it, she kept getting messages of different people asking why her account was posting about Bitcoin, to confirm whether it was really her who was sharing these posts. After a week or so, “they managed to hack a handful of people from my account.”
Unfortunately, due to the lack of real customer service on Instagram, it was near impossible for Danielle to get assistance in reclaiming her account. “I was posting on Facebook constantly, trying to warn anyone and everyone not to trust anything coming from my Instagram.” Finally, Danielle took her efforts a step further by reaching out to her local news in order to get the message out there, since social media has become such an important part of our lives. “They did a story about me and it went national on CBC. It wasn’t until I went to the media that Meta got in touch with me and someone personally helped me get my account back. Since then, Danielle lost many followers due to the hackers putting so much effort. And this wouldn’t be the first time either.
Right now there is an Instagram page called @standagainstthescam that’s aiming at spreading awareness on the issue of scammers who go so far as to hack or even clone profiles in order to get people to send money to them. Some of the people most affected by those scams have been small businesses and especially those within the tarot and astrology community, but it even sometimes happens for artists like Danielle. “I felt so bad that someone was taking advantage of [my followers] and also saying things that could ruin my reputation as a professional artist.” A way to prevent this is by being vigilant about not opening links that claim to help with account verification, and we need to especially avoid those pesky scammers who claim they felt “drawn to giving you a reading”. Until Meta actually does something and improves their customer service (which is near non-existent), people like Danielle who work hard on promoting their work on their platforms will continue being at risk. The creator behind @standagainstthescam currently has a petition that can be signed online, and also is encouraging people on IG to do a week-long blackout sometime in June. More info can be found on their page.
As for her music, Danielle recently recorded her first album, which is set to come out this summer, in collaboration with producers Tennyson King and Dan Hosh. Her sound is a mix of pop, R&B and alternative. “When we recently recorded […], we brought on [Dan] and the three of us spent a month at my grandma’s cottage.” Initially, the album was expected to have, as she describes “a more chill R&B sound,” but like all things art related, it turned into something completely different. “It became a more fun, light-hearted, pop album.” If there’s one thing she wishes would change about the music industry, it’s the way in which artists get compensated. “I wish streaming platforms took better care of us artists. It’s a joke how much money we get per Spotify stream,” which at the moment is only 3 cents per stream.
Karina
To listen to Danielle’s music, you can find her on Soundcloud, Spotify or whatever is your preferred streaming platform. She can also be found on Youtube, as well as Instagram @daniellepollari
Any artists who would like to be featured in Persephone’s Lounge: Artist Sun Days can submit here.
Persephone and Co. 
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