Nikki Alva Interview (The Next Selena?)

Everywhere we turn, we are hearing the name Nikki Alva. Who are you and where do you come from?

Oh my! Thank you! Well, before anything I just wanted to thank you guys for the opportunity to be apart of this magazine, I am truly honored. And a little bit about me is I am 17 years old, I am a music artist and currently have my music available on all digital platforms, so that’s a big deal for me! I also was born in New York City, but I was raised my whole life in Nashville, TN. I come from a very musical family… my dad was a major part of the reason why I chose to be a music artist due to him being a Latin Percussionist with his own Salsa band, it always influenced me to love music the way I do. I have basically always sang my whole life, ahah, my family likes to joke around with me and say I would sing before I could ever talk, which is kind of crazy… but I started to sing in front of actual crowds when I was 9, leading into performing anywhere I could get experience. It’s really funny, because I was actually so afraid of performing at my first event, I couldn’t even get on the stage because I was crying about how scared I was, but then my family helped me through it, I went up and sang “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele, and when I got off the stage, I looked at my family and told them I wanted to go up and do it again. After those experiences of performing at many different places, I got the chance to actually be on a National Latin Singing Competition TV Show when I turned 14, it was called “La Banda” on UNIVISION, so that was also a major experience I got as well. And then when I turned 15, I realized I really wanted to take my work to the next level, so that’s where everything started, leading me to where I am today.

We hear you’re called “the next Selena” – Are you?

Well it’s honor that somebody would even say that, but I truly believe that there will NEVER be a “next Selena”, because she was a one of a kind artist and I definitely do not think that anyone can be like another person. Selena was mine and many other people’s role model, and I definitely look up to her in many aspects, not only music but her fashion, her kindness, and her always being her genuine self. But along with all of that… I think I will be just… “Nikki Alva”, if God allows it.

You are 17 and have one of the most awesome salsa bands. How did that come about? A 13 pc. Orchestra?

Thank you! But I have to give that one all to my dad, Jay Franco, because he helped me form it and made it come about to where it is now. He has taught me everything about what having a band means and the commitment that comes with it, and it honestly has been a massive part of my life. We practice frequently to always be prepared for a show that comes along, but we are also a great big family as well!

So your dad is the orchestra leader and your mom is your manager. How does that work for you?

Oh… I absolutely LOVE it, no doubt. I truly wouldn’t choose anyone else to be along my side than my parents. They push me to strive better each and everyday and I KNOW they ALWAYS have my back. I have always been very family orientated, so anywhere I am, you usually see my parents, my sister, and my dog, ahah, literally ALWAYS together.

You always smile. Every time we see you you are beaming? Why is that?

Ahaha… Thank you! Well… I just think why shouldn’t you smile? Everyday is a blessing and you should always try and be the most positive you can be. I also want to be a role-model and show young girls to always be happy and live life to the fullest. There’s actually a quote that I heard a couple years back and ever since then, I have always lived by it which is… “Let your smile change the world, but don’t let the world change your smile.”

It’s obvious to everyone that hears you that you love it! We can feel you pouring your heart and soul into it. Tell us how that came to be.

I truly do love doing what I do. Not only do I love just being able to make music, but I love to perform in front of people, meeting fans, and just all of the above! But like I said, my dad taught me my love for music and when I started becoming more serious in it, I quickly came to realize that the way my dad taught me to love it, I wanted to teach others how to love it as well.

Do you play out of the country?

Right now, I have only played inside the U.S., but I know it is on the list of things to do. My team’s and my goal is to have a tour soon… so we will see where that takes us, but I want to play anywhere I can!

What is on the horizon for Nikki Alva? What is “in the works”?

Well, there are many good things that have been happening in my life, thanks to God and my family and lots of hard work and dedication, so I am really excited for the future. Currently, I have many projects I am working on that include things like, making music with some pretty AMAZING people, to learning new things, up to maybe the tour I was talking about earlier. I also hope to finish my first album as well… so it is A LOT, but it’s just apart of my story and I can’t wait to share it with all of you guys!

Why Salsa? Do you want to be a salsa star? Or a superstar of ANY genre and salsa is just is what is at hand? Where do you see yourself going musically?

Well, salsa has ALWAYS been apart of my life, especially coming from a Colombian family, I definitely always am surrounded by it. But the reason why I wanted to start salsa goes back to when I was 14. My parents gave me my birthday present as going to Puerto Rico for the first time and I was ecstatic! I mean, I truly was so excited to go and visit the beautiful island. When we were vacationing, we went to a Salsa concert on Christmas. My family and I were having a blast, as always, dancing, singing to every song, up until when I started to notice that my sister and I were literally the ONLY YOUNG people there. And I am not trying to exaggerate or anything, no, I’m truly telling the truth. After the concert, I talked to my dad asking him why there was no one my age there, and his response changed my life. He said that salsa was “dying” because the popularity was decreasing. He said it wasn’t something many people listened to anymore and no one really tried to pursue it either. After that, I got this feeling and urge to pursue this difficult genre and hopefully, with the help of God, I can rise salsa to the top charts again. I believe I need to help make a mark in helping salsa go back to what it used to be. And I also wanted to show anyone, that it doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, how old you may be, to want to change something… YOU CAN DO IT! And I’m not saying it’s easy, it’s hard work and I’ve fallen many times, but each time, I’ve gotten stronger. So that has always been very important to me while pursuing salsa. Musically, I see myself doing anything. I really just never want to say I am limited to anything, because the sky is truly the limit.

Tell us your dream, your goals.

My dream is truly to be able to have the opportunity to get up everyday and make music where I can show the world what I love to do. I have many goals in my life, ahaha, as I think we all do, but my major ones are to be an international cross-over music artist, to be able to not only just make salsa music, which I love, but to make any music I want. Whether it be pop in English/Spanish, jazz, country, whatever it may be… I want to make music that can connect to everyone around the world. Another one of my goals is to take care of my family. To be able to give them whatever they desire just as they have always done for me. I also have always wanted to start a school of the arts to offer it to kids who don’t have the same opportunities I was fortunate enough to have. I want to make the schools in a bunch of different places and if God allows it, to reach world-wide. There are many things I want to do but the most important thing for me is to be able to teach young kids that if you want something, you just gotta work hard, never lose faith, and the time will come for their dreams to come true too. I want to teach people to dream! To dream for the most insane things that seem like you can’t reach them, but if you just keep reaching and reaching for them, that dream that seemed impossible became possible.