Kay Sibal embraces songwriting, digital format to achieve personal performance

Kay Sibal is excited for people to “Finally See” her songwriting abilities.

The third-year theater student said she’s wanted to be a part of Spring Sing ever since watching it her freshman year of college, and this year she will be on the other side of the stage competing with her original song “Finally See.” The song is about breakthroughs people achieve after facing adversity, and after writing it, Sibal said she knew she wanted to record it for Spring Sing. Sibal said she loves singing but has never been fully comfortable with songwriting, so this performance gives her an opportunity to share her newfound confidence.

“Usually, when I sign up to do talent shows or performances, I always do covers of songs,” Sibal said. “I think the first two years (of university) I was just waiting to gain that confidence in sharing something as vulnerable as an original song.”

Last year, Sibal said she participated in Spring Sing with the UCLA a cappella group ScatterTones, however, she said she didn’t feel like she was fully part of the show because of the shift to a virtual performance. Even though the event is still virtual this year, Sibal said she is excited to have a more hands-on experience with recording her song and music video. Moreover, the Student Alumni Association helped provide a team of students to aid in the production and postproduction of the song and music video. Sibal said she asked fourth-year theater student Josh Concepcion – who she previously collaborated with outside of the SAA-provided team – to be her producer.

Concepcion said while the song is personal to Sibal, it is simultaneously very accessible and relatable for others because of the message it conveys about pushing through times of adversity. Her song was somewhat inspired by the effects of the events of the past year, with many different people struggling and feeling down at some point, Sibal said.

“What I try to encapsulate with a song is the celebration of the hard part being over for now,” Sibal said. “And to also be grateful for the tough times because you learn a lot from them, but also now you can finally be free and happy and celebratory.”

After Concepcion and Sibal went over her creative vision and what she wanted the song to sound like, he said she gave him the opportunity to do whatever he thought was needed creatively with the mixing and mastering of the song. They recorded in a little studio Concepcion has in his apartment, creating a song that has an acoustic vibe at the beginning and then fills out as the song picks up.

“(The song) hits you so hard out of nowhere,” Concepcion said. “It starts off super ethereal in this open, wide acoustic space, and then it drops, and the whole song blossoms. … Her harmony parts and her background vocals that she wrote herself absolutely fill the space and the second half of the song.”

After recording the song, Sibal said she was excited to start on the video and work with a team of people to bring her vision to light, including alumna Tatum Anderson as her videographer. The video ended up being filmed in various locations throughout Los Angeles, including at the Melrose Avenue pink wall and near the Beverly Hills sign, Anderson said.

However, the aspect Sibal said she is most eager about is the use of animation, which will be added in postproduction by animation graduate program alumna Emmy Trueswell, transforming the video atmosphere from pensive to a colorful celebratory world. And while viewers will see a return to a more thoughtful tone by the video’s end, Anderson said the overall vibe of the video is very happy-go-lucky.

“(Sibal) came in with a vision,” Anderson said. “She had great director energy on set, which is cool because it was my first time being a videographer, and we didn’t really have too much of a director, so we kind of both got to take that role on.”

And while the COVID-19 pandemic posed some slight issues for recording and filming, Sibal said it also provided a special opportunity to feature her younger brother as the bass player in her song. Sibal said she treasures the opportunity to have a family member be a part of Spring Sing, as it was something that wouldn’t be able to happen if the performance was live.

But overall, Sibal said her favorite part of the process is seeing the finished product of her song and video. During a live performance, she said she has complete control over the staging and vocal performance, but with everything recorded and then edited, the final product is like a surprise. Sibal said having more people be a part of her team allowed room for more creativity and possibilities, and she is excited for an audience to see the finished piece.

“This song has empowered me and given me a lot of hope and joy, and I really want to spread that to the audience as well,” Sibal said. “I’ve already got everything else that I wanted to get – the fun of collaboration and the fun of creativity. The last thing that I’m hoping for is that the audience feels happy when seeing it.”