Wednesday, February 09, 2011 By Hana Bae Singer and Songwriter Alyssa Bernal poses for the camera in her studio. - Alyssa Bernal Advertising Bernal releases first singles (February 9, 2011) -- Once a Youtube sensation, twenty-one-year-old Alyssa Bernal from Texas released her first single “Cali Cali Cali” in August 2010, expressing her love for California. With perfect weather, warm sunshine and beautiful beaches, California is the subject of many songs, and Bernal has added to the list. Her first song “Cali Cali Cali” has a fun melody that reminds me of the sun shining down on the palm trees swaying with the wind, but I don’t think it is catchy enough to be her main song. Her song makes the list among other California songs, but becoming a hit song like Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” or the Eagles’ “Hotel California” will be difficult. A self-taught guitarist, she began by making covers of songs like Rihanna’s  “Take a Bow,” and soon had many fans, one of whom was Pharrell Williams. He contacted her school to get in touch with her, calling her the “real deal.” Once the two were finally able to reach each other, Bernal signed a contract with Star Trak Entertainment. As a singer and songwriter, Bernal was shy growing up, according to the biography on her website, but her love for performing, helped her overcome her shyness. As a young girl, she watched her father, the drummer of a Tejano band, perform regularly. Now she is soon to be the person standing on the stage singing her own songs. Bernal reminds me of Vanessa Hudgens with Taylor Swift’s guitar, and while I think that she has a better voice than Swift, her singing does not “wow” me. Her other two songs, “Hold Me Tight” and “Easy,” have lyrics that are very relatable, being about long-distance love and missing home, but they are not songs. I see potential and she could definitely climb the music charts with a breakout song/hit to her name. Her sweet and strong voice will keep me looking forward to her future works as will her millions of fans on YouTube. She’s not as famous as Justin Bieber, another fellow YouTube star, but I think if Taylor Swift is popular, Bernal can be popular too that I would sing and listen to over and over again.

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