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Spring Sing 2016: Temme Scott

Taylor Broom, a third-year psychology student, is easing herself back into performing after dealing with musical insecurities that developed after high school. (Aubrey Yeo/Daily Bruin senior staff)

By Victoria Vallecorse

May 20, 2016 10:57 a.m.

Singing wasn’t something Taylor Broom thought about; it was something she naturally did.

As a young girl, she skied on the slopes of Whitetail in southern Pennsylvania, humming and singing songs from musicals such as “Annie” and “Wicked.”

Broom, a third-year psychology student ​known on stage as Temme Scott​, will perform a secret original song in the warmer climate of UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion for Spring Sing on Saturday.

In her junior year of high school, Broom decided to stop racing in order to focus on singing and playing the guitar. She and two friends formed a band, and they uploaded videos of their song covers to YouTube.

Their videos eventually caught the attention of a management and booking team in New York. Once they signed with this management group, Broom and her band traveled throughout the U.S. to open for artists like Sara Bareilles and Augustana.

In her senior year of high school, Broom was accepted to UCLA, but she decided to take a gap year to focus solely on music. She said during this period, music was a full-time job with countless hours dedicated to live performance, rehearsals and songwriting.

She remembers feeling trapped not only having to write songs on strict deadlines and rehearse for hours, but also manage the band’s business endeavors, such as running the band’s merchandise store, bank account and website. This work became a source of stress that competed with the time she spent on songwriting and playing, Broom said.

In addition, Broom dealt with the pressure of being an artist as a teenager, in that she said she felt nervous performing in front of others.

At the time, Broom said she didn’t feel like she was good enough to perform on the same stage as artists who she believed were more trained and musically developed.

“I just felt lucky, like maybe I haven’t worked hard enough to be here,” Broom said.

Broom questioned if a career in music was the right path for her.

In January 2013, the band parted ways and Broom stopped singing. Although she still had the option to attend UCLA, she did not feel ready to commit because she needed time to be at home and regroup after the band split.

She later enrolled in Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, where she spent two years completing her general education. Broom said her new Cuesta College friends found her videos on YouTube and urged her to begin singing again as a soloist.

In 2015, Broom transferred to UCLA, where she is currently easing herself back into performance.

Rachel Dellefield, a fourth-year English student and Broom’s roommate, said Broom is starting to perform in front of larger audiences ranging from 70 to 150 people.

Broom recently performed at Lambda Chi Alpha’s “Weekend Three of Coachella” concert, an open mic at The Last Bookstore and The Surf Team’s “Wings for Life World Run Concert.”

Dellefield said she noticed during Broom’s recent performances that Broom has grown into a more confident performer.

“She does this thing where she lifts up her right foot and rolls her shoulders back at the same time,” Dellefield said. “She’s developed more swag.”

When she was in a band, Broom thought of music and performing as a job. However, once she became a solo artist, she said she felt more freedom to be herself.

Broom has made her passion for music her main priority, rather than focusing on having an agent or writing enough songs.

“Now that there is none of that – I am playing because I want to,” Broom said.

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Victoria Vallecorse
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