Thursdays With Una: The Story of Planeta

By Una 

As I talked about in the video what are the 5 things you should know about Planeta, here is the story of why I wrote it. When I was younger all through out middle school and high school I felt like I never belonged and the hardest obstacle was to accept who I am.  I feel like if you do any sort of art it’s natural to feel like you’re an outsider. But I had this drive I had to build something stable for myself internally. I started making music and getting my voice out there, but of course, even that was uncomfortable because now I was showing myself and parts of myself that weren’t seen before. I think there’s constant battle whether you’re showing too much or is this good enough? When I was a kid, I was in this TV music competition it wasn’t really easy on me because I was so young. I was eight when I started filming the show and just turned nine when the show was on the air. Nevertheless, that was the beginning of building my own world. 

That was when I knew what I wanted to do, that I wanted to live in the United States and make music for a living. I feel very proud that I am someone who comes from such a small region country and town but I continue to dream big and build my own world. If you’ve ever felt mistreated, misunderstood or felt like no one was listening. I’m listening because I understand. Continue to build what you believe in. That is the only way to live your life. 

That’s the only way to build your Planeta.

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Una is a Serbian born singer-songwriter based in Boston, where she studies at Berklee College of Music. 

Be sure to follow along with all of the "Thursdays With Una".

To keep up with everything else going on in Una's life, check out her Section 36 Music Homepage.

Thursdays With Una - Do it even when you’re not ready

By Una

I spent so much of my life overthinking certain things and debating whether I should do them. it was also super hard to let go of certain things that were no longer serving me. However, letting them go or what brought me to what I am and who I am today. It doesn’t also have to be necessarily anything in life. I decided to also not to share things about my music, but also my personal life with you guys. The overgrowth certain environments and people and without you, we shouldn’t just make room for something new by letting it go. There won’t be another you. You are all you have. If you don’t do it and choose to get up in the morning and live the life that you wanna live there won’t be anyone who’s gonna ask you to do it. Put yourself out there grow fail start again. Life is not meant to be linear. Healing is not linear. Don’t wait for your life to end linear, and that you regret it in those last few moments that I wasn’t messy a little more. New chapters are in front of us. I wish all of my Berklee classmates, a good year and a year of winning. This is the time when you do it scared and even when you’re not ready.

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Una is a Serbian born singer-songwriter based in Boston, where she studies at Berklee College of Music. 

Be sure to follow along with all of the "Thursdays With Una".

To keep up with everything else going on in Una's life, check out her Section 36 Music Homepage.

Thursdays With Una - Writer's Block

By Una

I want to talk about writer’s block. I’ve seen a lot of people talk about writer’s block, as I’m experiencing one myself these days, and so many songwriters that are on this app and might be reading this. I think as an artist as well as a songwriter, it’s really important to have a period of time where you just sit with your thoughts in silence. People might think that that’s bad and you’re running behind, but also you have to realize that things come at their own pace. You can’t rush a process. You can only trust it. As seasons change we do as well. And as night comes after the day, that’s also the cycle of life that we will experience in songwriting. There’s this constant pressure is on us to be the best and always on top of things. But there’s beauty in silence and that just means that new chapter is opening. Not only opening, but this silence and night is preparing for a new day and sunshine. I think one message would be just view this as something that will pass, but don’t try to rush yourself out of this silence and writers block. Accept it. It’s important for us songwriters to let this creative energy circulate through us.

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Una is a Serbian born singer-songwriter based in Boston, where she studies at Berklee College of Music. 

Be sure to follow along with all of the "Thursdays With Una".

To keep up with everything else going on in Una's life, check out her Section 36 Music Homepage.

Una Visits Section 36 Music!

It's time for another visitor to Section 36! Una is an incredible artist, with a single "2 Sides of You" that would don't want to miss. I was thrilled that she was willing to visit with us to discuss the release, her future goals, and more! I'm sure you'll love what she had to say.

So, let's see what happens when Una visits Section 36 Music!

I am absolutely in love with your single, “2 Sides of You”. What can you tell me about it?

When it comes to "2 Sides of You" as a song, I think it’s the most vulnerable song that I’ve written so far. It starts off with a prayer and really throughout the whole song it’s me wondering if I’m with the right person or on the right track in life. I decided to use a darker tone than my previous song because when I wrote it, I was very sad and broken. But when I released it, I really wanted it to be not just a song but a message to people that things work out and there’s a season in your life for things will happen and you might not know whether to keep going but it’s very important that you keep going. Not only that, but life puts you in situations that you don’t understand and you just have to push through them and accept them and that’s exactly what that song is about.

Do you see more studio work in your future?

Absolutely yes, you can expect my next single September 20th. I’m working on an album right now and I’m really excited. It will come out in the beginning of next year. It’s definitely experimental sound. I didn’t want to stick to one thing I wanted to kinda see where things go, but still have a strong message. I am super excited for the next single because it’s very 2000s inspired and more upbeat.

You are attending Berklee College of Music. What made Berklee the right choice for you?

I think Berklee was definitely the right choice for me. It was not easy to leave my home and come. But I think that even through obstacles in life me and my parents stick together and overcome anything. I think that that’s the most important thing, have your own circle of people who uplift you and contribute to your energy, that’s what kept me going. Berkeley experience has just been wonderful and I have won an outstanding achievement award in the voice department. That moment felt surreal, and it was a confirmation from God that I should just keep going.

Who, or what, would you say are your biggest musical influences?

My biggest influences are definitely Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carrey. But when it comes to stage presence and visuals I will definitely say Britney Spears, Lady Gaga Madonna. However, I think when it comes to song that I played on a daily basis is definitely Britney. There’s something about her that I just can’t explain how connected I feel to her music. On another note, I love listening to R&B, hip-hop in so much more so I like to listen to variety of artists and genres as well.

If you could cover any Disney song, which one would you choose? Why?

Mother Knows Best and Mother Knows Best (reprise). I would cover that song  because I feel all my life I tried to fit in somewhere, and then as much as I try to fit in there were people who tried to hold me back and change the way I think. Trying to constantly fit and gets you nowhere you have to learn that you have your own identity and people that don’t think like you can’t really understand you, but that’s okay. And I feel like Rapunzel’s mother trying to hold her back and constantly tell her what to do and how to think because she just wanted to control her really resonates with me when it comes to my life and certain people

What are your immediate musical goals?

I would love to tour and record more music get signed eventually. And I would love write for other artists, collaborate and after that, I would also open my own business. I wouldn’t just stay in the music industry. I think I would love to expand more. I think I would love to do fundraising help people help other teenagers who would love to get the education that I’m having and not just in Berklee but somewhere else and I would love to fundraise and help them achieve their dreams. besides that I would love to have my own label, and just be a mentor later in life for young upcoming artists.

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Those sound like incredible goals!

As always, I want to thank Una for visiting with us, and for sending along the pictures to accompany the interview. 

I'm sure you’ll all want to follow her and see what she has going on. Here are the best places to find her:

Instagram

Spotify

Apple Music

TikTok

YouTube

Thanks again Una, and good luck reaching your goals!