About Heleina Zara
Get ready to meet the next big thing in pop music – Heleina Zara is the fresh-faced Australian-Filipina artist who’s already leaving a lasting impression with her raw and unfiltered talent.
Today, Heleina Zara releases a catchy pop anthem ‘Alphabet Soup’; her first single signed to Island Records Australia. Already making huge waves as the special guest on Peach PRC’s sold-out Australian Headline tour, ‘Alphabet Soup’ has become one of the crowd favourites and a highlight from her energetic live set.
Co-written and produced by Jonny Shorr (GAYLE, Upsahl), Heleina Zara shares, “I wrote ‘Alphabet Soup’ during a time when I felt out of place and when I was at a loss truly believing that my generation was incapable of actual emotional intimacy and nurturing relationships. It’s brutally honest – which makes it a bit jarring to think about now but it’s also the reason I love it so much. It marks a point in my life where I was confused and rolling with the punches with an unapologetic mindset.”
Pairing with today’s single, is the bright and colourful official video, directed by Nima Nabili Rad (Tkay Maidza, E*ST)
Explaining the direction of the new video, Nima shares, “It was so refreshing to see Heleina’s brief for the music video, with the empowering message of self-care and reflection, being yourself and spending your time the way you see fit. My vision was to create a day in the life of Heleina where her personality shined through. Capturing off-the-cuff moments and natural interactions between Heleina and her music video friends was key, and we captured so many great moments. It was such a fun, colourful shoot!”
Heleina Zara adds, “The music video is all about having fun with friends and making space in life for some self-care and love. A twist on the cliche – friends getting dolled up to go on a date – taking away the global attention on “dating” and highlighting the importance of friendship. It was a cathartic experience filming the video and a dream to work with the whole team involved.”
With a growing global fanbase, she keeps her budding audience updated along the way, sharing snippets of her new songs to a rousing response. Excited by what had begun, she teased the song on TikTok with followers begging her to release it. With excitement quickly mounting, Johnny and Heleina Zara were forced to finish the song over Zoom.
Heleina Zara has been writing music since she was 7 years old, channeling growing pains into songwriting and using music as a coping mechanism. With a pilot as a father, she moved through countries, climates, and time zones during her upbringing. Music was her constant. Her Dad, a guitar player himself, introduced her to Taylor Swift and she became instantly obsessed with her second record ‘Fearless’.
Heleina Zara’s goal is to make music that cuts straight to the heart emotionally. She approaches her songwriting with an unapologetic boldness, refusing to shy away from expressing exactly how she feels in the moment. No matter the mood, her songwriting allows herself to be carried away in a flood of emotion while still finding a way to connect universally.
She’s worked hard on opening-up emotionally in her music and she hopes that by being unapologetic with her feelings, she will encourage others to as well. “No one should ever, ever apologise for how they feel. I want people to know that I’m just a young adult trying to figure out life.”
Heleina Zara most recently landed a part in the recently released Netflix seriesWellmania, starring Celeste Barber, playing the younger version of JJ Fong’s character Amy Kwan. Tonight, she wraps up the Peach PRC National Tour at The Triffid in Brisbane having already played shows in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
