The Story of Dominique
Auto-tuned vocals are the cornerstone of most hyperpop songs, often distinguishing them from other sub-genres of pop music. But you can’t just slap auto-tune on any old vocal and call it hyperpop. Lyrical content, delivery style, and other processing techniques make a track stand out. And Dominique’s vocals are one-of-a-kind.
New York City-based artist and producer Dominique began writing and singing from the early age of five years old. Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, she crafted rough productions of her original music on GarageBand in high school and performed them at coffee shops and local talent shows.
At age 18, Dominique moved to New York City to pursue a degree in Biology at NYU, choosing to keep her music as a hobby. However, the thriving NYC music scene eventually inspired her to take writing and producing more seriously and she began learning how to use the production software Ableton Live.
In the fall of 2014, Dominique released her debut single, “It’s Only You” which she co-produced and recorded with fellow NYU student ZeniF. The track was discovered by her current management The Undscvrd just a few weeks later and was subsequently featured on numerous blogs, leading to it landing on Hype Machine’s Popular Chart.
After finishing her degree at NYU, Dominique embarked on her music career full-time and chose to become the sole producer behind her music. Her debut, self-titled EP was released in December 2016, singles from which were featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist, Huw Stephen’s BBC Radio 1 show, Entertainment Weekly, and many other playlists and online blog articles.
2017 initiated new endeavors for Dominique, as she began writing and producing for other artists alongside working on her artist project. July 2017 saw the release of “Use Me,” which CLASH magazine claimed “an outrageous return, all lyrical suggestion and rolling beats that recall Lorde or Grime's more overtly pop statements.” The track shot to number 3 on Hype Machine’s Popular Chart and received praise from NME, The Line of Best Fit, and Kick Kick Snare, alongside numerous others.
“Use Me” was the beginning of a shift in artistic direction for Dominique, and she is now working on a second upcoming EP that showcases similar sounds and ideas. In 2020, Dominique returned with “Priority” which aired on BBC Radio 1 with Annie Mac with Dominique being the featured ‘New Name’ artist for that show and her song “Girls Can’t Produce “was selected by Elton John for his Rocket Hour show.