SAY HELLO TO

     TAYLOR CASTRO

For as much as Taylor Castro flourishes on the microphone and on screen, she makes the deepest connection through her writing. The Florida-born and Atlanta-based singer, songwriter, screenwriter, actress, and creative amplifies novel-worthy stories with a skyscraping voice that belies her petite stature. After gathering tens of millions of streams and views and receiving acclaim from LADYGUNN, American Songwriter, and many more, she opens up her world on her 2021 independent full-length album, Girl, Afraid.

“I love both music and acting so much, but I consider myself a storyteller, first and foremost,” she explains. “I try to stand out lyrically. That’s really the way I connect.”

Growing up in Florida, she always thought up songs. As early as five-years-old, she would string together words and phrases for fun, fashioning herself into a writer during the most formative stage of her life. In between, she honed her performance chops through local musical theater productions and picked up guitar and keyboard. By middle school, she started to record on Garage Band and post her original music online inspired by everyone from Taylor Swift and The Lumineers to The Fray and The Script.

She landed her first role in Assumed Killer during 2013, which led to a series of cult films such as Boyfriend Killer, Girlfriend Killer, and Dream Killer. Taking the reins as a writer, she collaborated with producers Willy Perez-Feria [Jon Secada, Roberto Blades], Rudy Pérez [Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera], and Kyng David [Baha Men] on her 2018 independent debut, PURE. The single “I Got You” amassed over 2 million YouTube views and 1 million-plus streams with “Don’t Know What To Say” on its heels at 1.8 million YouTube views. Live Nation invited her to participate in its Virtual World Tour, and she also played at Jingle Ball.

Along the way, she started to infuse a deep passion for literature into her songwriting. Obsessed with William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, she architected an expansive concept for what would become Girl, Afraid throughout 2020. It tells the story of Ophelia—played by Taylor—who leaves seclusion in an asylum to attend Olympian Heritage High School (which she could consequentially see from her cell window). Insecure and shy, she initially has trouble making friends before meeting Apollo. However, obsession gets the better of her as the album takes a series of emotionally dramatic twists and turns. 

She set the stage for the record with the title track “Girl, Afraid.” It intimately details her struggles with OCD, and American Songwriter hailed it as her “most vulnerable track yet.” For the latter, she also garnered “Best Female Vocalist” at the Hollywood Music & Media Awards, 2021. In the wake of the single “Muse With A Dagger,” LADYGUNN christened her “a fantastic songwriter with a voice wisened beyond her years that pulls you into her world with ease.”

Now, she pulls listeners into Girl, Afraid with the single “Avoiding Me.” This upbeat and undeniable anthem highlights her vocal fireworks with a traffic-stopping performance and undeniable hook. “It’s a personal narrative drawn from a few different relationships,” she reveals. “Feeling avoided is definitely something everyone can relate to. It was more of a creative story, and it’s part of the overarching narrative. I’ve felt the emotion in the song and definitely sent a psycho text, but it’s also the most fun track I’ve made,” she smiles.

In the end, Taylor is writing a different kind of story altogether for popular music and culture. Much like a good book, it’s bound to resonate for a long time to come. “My message is it’s okay if you feel like you’ve changed, if you’re sad, or if you’re upset,” she leaves off. “It’s okay to experience life. It doesn’t mean you’re not going to get back to that good place. You don’t need to have it all together. If you want to sit down and take a break, you have right to do so. I hope my music comforts and empowers you, genuinely.”