Marilyn Hucek

Marilyn Hucek, is an American-Chilean pop singer-songwriter. Born in Washington D.C., Marilyn currently resides in New York City. After dreaming of being a pop star since before she can remember, Marilyn auditioned for The Voice with hopes of finally starting her career. After not securing a spot on the TV show, Marilyn had all but lost hope in a career as an artist. During the stay-at-home order of 2020 her father, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, contracted coronavirus while at a retirement home. In order to cope with her inability to visit him, Marilyn returned to songwriting, which she had used to express her emotions since she was young, and gave life to a special song she dedicated to her father and soon became her debut single. Since then, Marilyn has released several singles and an EP which collectively received tens of thousands of streams on Spotify.

My relationship with songwriting is personal, as personal as a secret diary sharing your deepest truths and darkest secrets. Songwriting and singing has also been my companion, my companion through sad and dark times. When I was little I distinctly remember whenever my parents would get in a fight I would cry and sing about it sitting on the floor in my room. It would make me feel better. I would also sing and write songs in my diary. I stumbled across an old journal of mine and came across songs that I had written. This was so long ago during a time when younger kids didn’t have cell phones. I wish I had a way to remember the melody but all I have are the lyrics. Songwriting was something that came to me instinctively. It’s been with me since the beginning, before I even knew what it was. I knew that I loved singing, and grew up taking voice lessons, and participating in choirs and competitions. I dreamt of being a singer my whole life even through college.

They say you spill your truths when you’re drunk, well I remember one night in college my boyfriend and I left a party early and went to my dorm room to get away from all the noise. We had a bottle of wine and sat on the floor and shared each other’s dreams. I remember I didn’t tell anyone that I wanted to be a singer, I kept it as my secret. I was scared, and not as confident at the time, but I let my secret out and told him I’ve always wanted to become a singer. That it was my lifelong dream. Vocalizing my dream to someone else had an impact on me. It made it real.

Fast forward I graduated college and moved to New York to work in the fashion industry. I was not with the boy from college, I was starting fresh and trying to make a career for myself in a new city. However, the dream to be a singer still crept in my mind. I decided I would give it a fighting chance. The last chance, I told myself. I started private voice lessons, and auditioned for The Voice, which I thought was my break. I didn’t make the cut, and at the time thought that was it. I put the dream to bed, I tried to bury the dream. I never wanted to think about it again. I told myself I tried, and that if it was meant to be I would have passed. It felt like a break-up. After that point there was no pressure to be a singer. I sang openly with friends and in cab rides and enjoyed my relationship with singing because it was for fun and I wasn’t comparing myself to anyone. Every time I would sing openly in karaoke or to the radio in a cab I always had people making comments. “Your voice is amazing”, “are you a singer?”, blah blah blah…and I thought wow that’s funny that everyone loves my voice now that I’m not shy about it and don’t care. A few years later, there was a pivotal moment in my life. I fell in love again, with the same boyfriend in college actually. The same boy I told I wanted to be a singer when I grew up. I naturally started writing songs again, as they started popping in my head. This was after I “gave it up” so to speak. I didn’t think much about it, but I would jot down my songs in my voice notes, and journal because I liked them. It was such an organic thing. I started writing my own songs. I was slowly discovering my voice. It wasn’t about trying to sound like the next Amy Winehouse, it was about my story, perspective and ultimately my voice. I had never had this relationship with music before. I noticed I stopped listening to music because I wasn’t enjoying the pop music I was listening to anymore. I was enjoying the songs I was writing. I had a completely new relationship with music. Now music started to creep back into my head again…slowly. I was still working in the fashion industry, writing music for fun, and BOOM. GLOBAL PANDEMIC.

I lost my job, I moved back to my hometown to live with my mom, and my Dad who’s been diagnosed with early on-set Alzeimbers contracts Covid-19. It was such an emotional whirlwind. I thought I was going to lose my dad. The world fell silent. I had no one to report to, I had no day-to-day responsibilities. That is when I started writing songs even more. Songs started spewing out of my brain. I wrote a song about my dad. And I thought I had to bring this song to life for him. I was determined to release the song into the world and channel all the energy and love for my dad into this song. Nothing else mattered more to me. My worries, my doubts, all the comparisons went away. I was releasing a song for my Dad and that was the most important thing for me. My dad recovered from Covid-19, and I ended up debuting my first single Memories, which was in his honor. I think my dad gave me the courage to launch my career. After I “came-out”, there was no turning back. It was an overwhelming feeling that I had found my calling and purpose in life. There was no looking or turning back. I was completely transformed. When I had finally given in to my heart’s burning desire, I realized I had found peace within myself. Even though I had a complete career change in my late 20’s with so much unknown and insecurity. I’ve never felt happier doing what I love, which is making music. I wasn’t making music for anyone else, I didn’t care what anyone else thought, I was making music for me, which in turn is making music for the world. I feel so strongly about the songs and messages I am sharing. A lot of my songs
come to me without even trying. I feel like it’s magic sometimes, it’s hard to explain how it all comes together. I feel I have a purpose to share those songs to the world, and that others will benefit from them. This is my journey.

Closing remarks- it’s never too late to take action on your dreams. Do it for yourself and no one else. Believe in yourself. There’s not one path, no one’s journey will be like yours, you have to carve it out for yourself. With our digital age, you can learn and accomplish anything you want and trust me, even though I’ve heard no, and negativity along the way I don’t listen, because the
power is not in anyone’s hands but your own. There are no more gatekeepers, and there is a sea of opportunity. If you want it you can grab it.