Local Teen Songwriter Releases Album

By CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA | Reporter

Thirteen-year-old Palisadian Chantal Trent has released a 13-song album entitled “Lights,” officially entering the unpredictable realm of musicianship.

Trent’s album stands out in its wide-ranging topic of lyrics coming from such a young mind. From deeply emotional like “you suffocate me and I want to let go” to more simple teenage thoughts like “I just want to be a cool kid.”

Having produced an EP “just for fun” in the fifth grade, her decision to write and produce an album was not sudden. With the help of fellow Palisadian Dan Ubik, “Lights” was brought to life and released at the end of April.

“I really liked it when I could connect with a song, it would really describe what I was going through in my life, so I wanted other people to connect with that,” Trent explained.

Since then, her life experiences in song form have been released on every major song streaming platform, with some songs being listened to as many as 3,000 times within a month.

“It’s crazy to think that something that I just do for myself is listened to by that many people,” she said.

Inspired by everything from The Silent Shout and Portugal. The Man to Adele and Ariana Grande, Trent’s attention to songwriting really shows, avoiding repetitive hooks and meaningless lyrics. With both of her parents having worked in the music industry, Trent is sure she got her chops from her parents.

“I always did poetry so the lyrics part was pretty easy, but I’d always be singing random melodies,” she said.

When everyone else is turning their brain off for the day, hers is hard at work. “I often write my music at night. l’ll just be sitting there and my mom tells me to go sleep but lets me stay up if I’m writing.”

Trent’s songwriting and song structure show great promise for the future, which she is already thinking about.

“I’ll make another album [in the future],” Trent said. “I’m going to try to start performing places and a tour would be amazing, but that’s further in the future.”

For now, she will continue writing and working on her craft while not forgetting to be a teenager.

“I’m excited for what is to come,” she said.