“Barefoot in the sand Chilling by the beach Lovers in the street”

Vera Ciocca, Class of 2021, sings as she stares confidently at the camera. Donning a red skirt in minus five degrees Celsius, the NYU Abu Dhabi senior shines in the music video for her third single When You’re Close To Me. The song was released on March 13, in collaboration with students from Tisch School of the Arts and is part of her capstone project.

“I thought I was going to be in Abu Dhabi so I thought, okay, maybe I can shoot with the sand dunes or something like that,” the young artist laughed, referring to the lyrics in her song. “But because I was in New York, there was a change of plans. I thought, okay, well, maybe we could ironically use the snow as the new sand, the new beach.”

The song was written and produced in Abu Dhabi, even though the music video was shot in New York.

“I sat with [my producer], we had a songwriting session and the song came out literally in one day… Obviously the production of the song took a lot longer … but the lyrics and melody came all in one day, so it was really nice how synchronized we were when we wrote the song,” Ciocca said.

As Covid-19 disrupted many of her plans, Ciocca had to rethink critical moves in her musical career. “Part of my capstone is [about] how to achieve a sustainable career in the music industry nowadays as an independent artist,” she said. “There’s this whole culture of DIY … so it’s trying to minimize the cost as much as you can and try to do things yourself.”

Even though she was unable to return to campus for her senior spring semester due to flight complications, being stuck in New York at the onset of the pandemic had a silver lining – access to Tisch’s pool of creative talent.

Ciocca posted on a Facebook group scouting for filmmakers and dancers who would be interested in shooting a music video. Pretty soon, her all-NYU crew was assembled.

“It was a really great experience because everybody was in this collaborative atmosphere,” she reflected. “I just literally had to pay [for] the equipment and that’s it. The rest everybody sort of did it for free because they believed in this project.”

The Colombian student singer previously released two singles in Spanish, one of which has recorded 1.2 million views to date. “When You’re Close To Me” features lyrics in both English and Spanish and is her first song that mixes two languages together.

“This is a style I’ve been wanting to do for a while,” she shared. “I want to start releasing music in both English and Spanish specifically because I feel like I’ve had the opportunity to be in very different places.” Ciocca, who spent her formative years in Italy before moving back to Colombia, is fluent in English, Spanish and Italian.

She started singing when she was seven years old, experimenting with different repertoire from classical to Brazilian samba. Ciocca was one of eight finalists in The Voice Teens Colombia, was dubbed the “King of Latin Pop” at the Dubai Jazz Festival and even opened for Ricky Martin.

“I cannot say that my style is very defined because I’m just starting off in this journey,” she admitted. “I think that artists are constantly shaping their music, they’re constantly evolving. This evolution is continuous throughout your entire career.”

Even though her charisma on stage is impossible to ignore, Ciocca let on that she always gets very nervous before she performs. “But once I’m performing, I feel like I’m really being myself and I just transform into this new me,” she expressed. “It’s crazy and I forget that I’m anxious … I’m in this new era.”

“Singing amplifies my voice … [and it] amplifies who I am and it makes me really happy every time,” she continued. “Doing music makes me feel like I’m free and I can experiment with so many options.”

Though she wants to pursue music full time after graduation, Ciocca admits that it may not be feasible as she is still a new name in the industry. Without the backing of a record label, it is virtually impossible to make a living off internet streams alone. “It’s important to always keep your options wide. Know what your goal is but try to take different ways to achieve this goal,” she advised.

Currently, she plans on pursuing graduate school after leaving NYUAD. She has already been accepted to the Master of Science in Integrated Marketing at NYU School of Professional Studies and is looking for scholarships to finance her education.

“I feel like I already had the opportunity to know about music … [so] I’m interested in doing something more broad that can solidify my business knowledge,” she said. “Nowadays, for any artist, your art or product is extremely important, but if you don’t know how to sell it, if you don’t know how to put it out there – it’s a waste of talent.”

Of course, Ciocca will continue developing her musical career on the side and hopefully land a record deal someday.