Zee Avi

(last.fm)

After dropping out of high school at 16, Zee Avi found her passion that would support her needs throughout her life. As of today, Zee Avi is known as a 31 year old guitar/ukulele playing musician from Malaysia. Zee Avi was born in Borneo in 1986. She moved to Kuala Lumpur when she was 12. At the age of 16, Avi dropped out of high school. It was only one year later that she started playing the guitar. During her childhood, Avi felt pressured by her parents to become a lawyer, so she took classes to become one. But, she realized that she loves making music. She was discovered on Youtube in 2007, after one of her videos went viral, resulting in being recognized by numerous record labels. After four years of studying in London, Zee Avi returned home and took music more seriously. A hero is an individual who is brave and noble. They must have it in themselves to face pain, danger, obstacles, and show high moral standards. Zee Avi is a hero because she stayed true to herself and followed her passion.

Performance at the Rainforest World Music Festival (Aquila Style)

Zee Avi is a hero because she stayed true to herself when she was figuring out her life. When Avi was younger, "she felt compelled to become a lawyer" (Naviance). When Zee Avi dropped out of high school, she didn't know what to do in life. At one point in life, she decided to become a lawyer. Her parents always wanted her to become a lawyer. After her indie DJ friend offered her to open for a band called the Deserters, she noticed a spark in making music and didn't want to be a lawyer anymore. Later on, she studied fashion design in London for four years, but realized that her true passion was making her own music. Even after 4 years of studying in London, she still wanted to make music. Instead of becoming a lawyer, like her parents wanted her to, she found happiness in writing songs and made it her career. Zee thrived in making her own music. "'I'm just playful in my nature,' she says. 'I write whatever comes naturally to me - all the songs you hear on there are projections of how I am'" (Raz). Avi's songs are a reflections of herself. She incorporates her feelings into the music she makes. Her themes may be different, but they're what she finds interesting. Rather than writing songs that were cliche and have the same melody as every other pop song out there, she wrote about what she truly believed in. Avi "possesses a mischievous quality" (Raz) when making music. Her parents wanted her to become a lawyer, but that wasn't what she wanted to do in life. In place of letting her parents choose her life for her, she took charge and decided for herself.

Even with all the self doubt that Avi faced throughout her pursuit of music, she still went through with it and followed her passion. Avi's passion for music goes way back during her childhood.  "'Consciously, jazz has been close to my heart, and I've always had this special place in there for oldies and classics'" (Raz). Avi grew up listening to jazz classic Americana, because her parents were genuinely into music. She grew a liking for "classic" songs, because she was surrounded by it so much, which explains her love and affection for music. Even though Avi had a strong passion for music, there was still a time where she thought that she couldn't make a living with her music. "[S]he posted the song "No Christmas for Me" on her channel (this was her self-proclaimed "last video" on YouTube" (Reges). She thought that this would be her last video on Youtube, but it turned out not to be. After facing such disbelief in having a music career, she started to obtain a bundle of emails. Avi's music career began to take off when that video started to receive various offers, from multiple record deals. Rather than not having faith in being able to make a living out of this career, she saw that she had a chance in the music business and took it. With her strong passion for music, Zee Avi was able to overcome her self doubt about not making it in the music business. In result to receiving countless emails from record labels, Zee Avi took a leap of faith in following her passion.

Zee Avi is a hero because she took control of her life and made her dreams come true. Instead of becoming a lawyer, like her parents told her to be, she made her own music and had time to study fashion along the way too. Zee Avi thought that it would be impossible for her to sneak her way into the popstar-life, but she proved herself wrong when her song "No Christmas for Me" went viral and caught the attention of several record labels. Zee Avi inspires countless people by pushing through the ups and downs in her life to make her dreams come true.  "Like anything else in life, it's a huge roller coaster ride-there'll be high times, low times, happy times, sad times, and you just have to hang on" (Zee Avi). Zee Avi is an inspiration because she demonstrates how there will be tough times in life and by just have to push through in order to achieve your dream. By doing this courageous act, of following her passion through the thick and thin of times, Zee Avi is considered a hero. A hero is not considered to have superpowers or be well-known around the world, it's the courage and nobility they have to pursue their dreams that makes them a hero.

Works Consulted

AFP. "Malaysia's Female Pop Stars Break Out with Social Media." Aquila Style, Aquila Style, 23 Oct. 2012, www.aquila-style.com/focus-points/malaysias-female-pop-stars-break-out-with-social-media/22369/. Accessed 16 May 2017.

Filipenko, Cindy. "Zee AVI: Ghostbird." Herizons, Fall 2011, p. 45. Academic OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=powa9245&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA270979906&it=r&asid=55113f3dbb3e8bee411481cc6b552190. Accessed 5 May 2017.

Hall, Russell. "Zee Avi: An Old Soul's Organic Sounds." BMI.com, Broadcast Music, Inc.®, 10 Sept. 2009, www.bmi.com/news/entry/zee_avi_an_old_souls_organic_sounds. Accessed 28 Apr. 2017.

Last.fm Ltd. "Zee Avi." Last.fm, CBS Interactive, 2017, www.last.fm/music/Zee+Avi. Accessed 16 May 2017.

Raz, Guy. "Zee Avi: Jazz, Americana And Island Pop." NPR, NPR, 26 July 2009, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106990903. Accessed 28 Apr. 2017.

Reges, Margaret. "Zee Avi | Biography & History." AllMusic, AllMusic, Member of the RhythmOne Group, 2017, www.allmusic.com/artist/zee-avi-mn0001020778/biography. Accessed 28 Apr. 2017.

"Roadtrip Nation Interview Archive." Connection.naviance.com, Hobson, Inc. , connection.naviance.com/family-connection/careers/roadtrip-nation/. Accessed 3 May 2017.