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Courtesy of Kristina Lin

Sophomore Kody Lin performed “Valerie” by Mark Ronson during Cabaret Night on Feb. 24. “I was really nervous at first because it was the first time I performed a solo song for an audience, but I got more comfortable as the song progressed,” Lin said.

When it comes down to bright lights and a belting singing style, Canta Bella singer and sophomore Kody Lin, a musical theater fanatic, moves through her journey as a singer with a unique voice in musical theater.

Lin’s father first exposed Kody Lin to “Hamilton,” a musical written and conducted by Lin-Manuel Miranda, by playing the soundtrack in the car.

“I’ve always been surrounded by music because he put me in voice lessons, but also in the car,” Lin said. “He will play like so many different genres of music. Like sometimes he would play jazz with classical. He’ll play rock sometimes too.”

Lin recalls that her father encouraged her to start her musical career. Her father was heavily involved in music, as he played around ten different instruments in his lifetime so far. She started getting more into singing, such as going to voice lessons, recitals, school choir and church choir.

“My dad is very musical,” Lin said. “He’s very passionate about music, and I think that translated to me.”

Because of such an early start in her music career, Lin cannot recall the year she started singing. She only remembers that her dad sang to her early.

“My dad was one of those dads where when I was in the womb, he would play music to my mom’s stomach,” Lin said. “So ever since I was little, I was just always involved with music. I remember in first grade, we had an assignment where it was like, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ And I put singer, so it’s just always been with me.”

Though Lin had both inspiration and support from her family, she struggled with finding her voice in middle school, especially with her vocal range.

“Music, in general, is always a struggle, especially singing, because the female voice does not settle until around your mid-20s,” Lin said. “There’s always been a struggle with like, ‘Oh, I don’t have a good range’ or ‘I don’t sound good’ or ‘I have a really bad singing day’ or anything like that. But it’s natural because it comes with puberty and just growing into your voice.”

Lin kept practicing to become a better singer for her middle school musical theater class. She recognized her efforts, found the limits of her vocal abilities and used them to her advantage to find her own, unique singing style.

“I really hated my voice, especially because I really wanted to be a good singer because of middle school musical theater and auditioning for musicals,” Lin said. “I really wanted to be better, but I didn’t feel like I was very good, but with time, obviously, my voice matured. But I moved on, so I just became more comfortable with my voice.”

Lin looks back and thinks of finding her voice as a hurdle in her singing career, which she overcame due to the support of her friends met through choir. Sophomore Nithila Francis noted that Lin’s tone and the way she forms her vowels are unique. 

To Lin, musical theater was not just music; she discovered that it was a way of communication and also her passion – something she actually enjoyed and looked forward to.

“It was a different style of music that allowed me to explore my voice outside of just choral singing,” Lin said. “I found that I actually loved it a lot and it became one of my biggest passions.”