LOS ANGELES, CA- Given that the future of the long-standing Hollywood institution The Viper Room is still in limbo, heading out to the Sunset Strip and catching some live music there while you still can seem to be something many Angelenos are making sure they do… myself included. When Alexandra DeMattia invited me out to catch a late-night performance at the end of April, I decided I’d make the trek out to Sunset Boulevard and pay top-dollar for parking to support an independent artist I featured at one of my Saturday night showcases at Madame Siam a few years back.
I had hoped to bring my cameras out to shoot the performance, but the possibility of The Viper Room closing seemed to have made obtaining media footage inside the venerable establishment cost a premium. Relegated to my iPhone11 Pro, I did my best to photo-document the performances, but I really wish I had access to my camera gear as the late-night entertainment that graced the stage was a double dose of pop perfection.
The first performer I got to catch perform was Genelle Seldon p/k/a “Genelle”. Genelle is parlaying her status as a social media influencer to make some waves in the pop-music scene. Earlier this year, she released her first mixtape, Cosmic Love, and has hinted at new that’s in the pipeline.
This was a celebratory performance for Genelle. Apparently, it was her birthday a few days earlier, and she had arranged the performance for family and friends, who were all upfront cheering her on throughout the show. In an amusing moment of the show, she had to apologize to her father, who had traveled from out of state for the show, for some of the more lyrically risque music she would be performing. Her joke that her “daddy was here tonight” had me laughing aloud.
Although this was only Genelle’s third live performance, I was impressed by her confidence, sass, and charm. Even for a relatively small venue/stage (The Viper Room’s capacity is about 250), she was accompanied by two dancers and hit all the movements of her fully choreographed numbers. I thought her cover of Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” was a little out of place considering the other music that’s available in her repertoire, but she did use it to incorporate some light-hearted, and drunken, audience participation. I think as she continues to develop and perfect her live show, she’ll probably recognize that she really doesn’t need to incorporate gimmicks like that. I think she has enough original music to keep the crowd entertained.
During the pandemic lockdowns, Alexandra went into full creative mode writing and recording 10 tracks that she dropped in “four chapters” throughout 2021. Her hip-hop-infused pop jams are the stuff that clubs are made for.
This would be Alexandra’s second time on the Viper Room stage this year, and you could tell that she was familiar with the space and the stage. She performed selections from her “Chapters” and she even threw in her most popular song, “Should Could Would” (over 100K streams on Spotify).
Alexandra closed her set with the last song of her Chapters series “Leveled Up” and I truly think she has in fact leveled up since the last time I hosted her at Madame Siam over two years ago. Alexandra’s a go-getter, and I’ve always viewed her as someone who goes for what she wants no matter what; a truly admirable quality. I’m going to keep my eye on her and her music to see where she levels up to next.
Follow Alexandra DeMattia on Facebook, and Instagram.
Follow Genelle Seldon on Twitter, and Instagram.
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