Rising Star Stella Cole Talks Early Beginnings, Touring and Debut Album

Stella Cole performed stunningly at the iconic Canoe Place in Hampton Bays over the summer, transporting the whole crowd back in time with delicately executed selections from the Great American Songbook. Her highly anticipated self-titled debut album delivers unique renditions of Songbook Tunes such as “Over the Rainbow,” “(Love Is) The Tender Trap,” and more. 

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In a world dominated by pop music, she has successfully introduced the classics to a new generation and captured their hearts with her heavenly voice. Her popular covers garner millions of views, and just recently, due to popular demand, a second show was added at the Sony Hall in New York City. The people have spoken. Stella Cole is a rising star!

“A lot of people tell me after my shows that they feel like they’ve just been transported back in time, which is always fun to hear. People also tell me a lot that they felt listening to the music was cathartic or emotional for them in some way,” Shared Stella Cole.

Stella Cole spoke to Hamptons.com about her early beginnings, touring, and debut album.

Let’s go back to the beginning, How/when did you realize you wanted to be a singer?

When I was 3 years old, I saw The Wizard of Oz for the first time and absolutely fell in love with the music. I asked to watch it every single day for over a year. I also begged my parents to watch other movies on repeat, like Meet Me in St Louis, Singin’ in the Rain, Mary Poppins, and Sound of Music. As a kid, I had these movies memorized from beginning to end and was singing these songs as early as I could talk.

Fast forward to college – I graduated in 2021 with a degree in theatre and international relations with a German minor and a musical theatre certificate. Even though I’ve loved singing my whole life, I didn’t realize I wanted to pursue a career as a recording artist until 2020, when the pandemic started. I started posting videos of myself singing on TikTok, and they started going viral. That’s when I realized that singing this music I love, touring, and making records was a possible career path for me. I moved to NYC as soon as I graduated and found the incredibly vibrant jazz community there, which made me realize how many people are still playing and loving this music.

Now, I put my debut album out, and I set out on a 9-week tour this fall. It’s been a pretty amazing couple of years.

What artists have inspired you?

Like I said, I grew up on old movie musicals. So I’m really inspired by performers like Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, and Julie Andrews, who just had this incredible presence on film and could tell a story through song so beautifully. I’m also super inspired by Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Doris Day, just to name a few.

You’ve toured internationally, can you share one show that stood out from the rest?

Doing my first shows at Birdland in New York City earlier this year was really special. That’s one of the first clubs where I saw music in the city, and it has such an amazing history. A real honor to play in that room.

All the international traveling I’ve been able to do has been truly unreal. In April, I did a residency at Le Duc Des Lombards in Paris. We did six sold-out shows, and it was just amazing. I remember during the pandemic, I was always dreaming of wanting to sing at a jazz club in Paris. I am so grateful that I was able to do that. The coolest experience of this summer has probably been singing at Lake Como—one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.

Tell us about your debut album? Can you share a memorable moment from the recording process?

It was an amazing recording experience. We did it the old-fashioned way, just one day in the studio with a strings section and a trio. We recorded at Sear Sound with Chris Allen, and I was so excited to be recording my first album that after the day ended, I stepped in the elevator and immediately started getting teary-eyed because I was so grateful to be working with the incredible team that put this together.