Fox’s “The Four: Battle for Stardom” finalist Whitney Reign has changed her life entirely and done it all while raising her son, Levi. Reign has dreamt of pursuing a music career ever since she can remember and went from working a “normal job” to an overnight success through her appearance on “The Four” and with the support of her parents and faith.
“My mom and my dad realized my talent at a young age and they didn’t force me to do anything, they just told me what they felt like I had and I took it and I ran with it,” Reign said. “They’ve been by my side every step of the way and I couldn’t have done any of this without them.”
Reign was ecstatic to sign with Island Def Jam years ago until the deal slipped through and “life happened.” Reign began working a typical job, which she hated, but made the most of it, until she got an Instagram direct message from “The Four.”
“The show reached out to me through Instagram and at first I thought it was a joke,” Reign said. “But I responded to see what it was about, I ended up on the show and it changed my life… It was honestly scary, but I just prayed and I think God was with me the whole time.”
Her son Levi, as explained by Reign, is going through his “terrible twos,” but nonetheless, had made the trip with her to Los Angeles, accompanying her in her “Battle for Stardom.” While that battle is not over, he is and will be with her every step of the way.
“I’m still being a mom and going into adulthood and trying to do all of this at one time. It’s exciting, but it’s a lot,” Reign said. “I thought I worked hard before, but now I’m working harder than I ever have. Now I really know what ‘sleepless nights’ mean. I’m not going to lie, It’s hard being a full-time mom and working on my music career, but he’s my bubby and everything I’m doing is so that I can give him the life he deserves.”
Although taking on a musical career can be stressful and restless, Reign would not want to be doing anything else. The feeling of performing and sharing her voice with the world is one that she believes is like no other.
“It’s hard to explain,” Reign said. “It feels like my soul leaves my body when I perform. I know that sounds crazy, but when I’m up there, I go into another world and when I open my eyes and hear the audience clapping for me, it gets me emotional and that’s why I started crying on the first episode — because I can’t believe that I can make people smile, make people cry, make people happy. It’s just amazing.”
After having released covers on all streaming platforms, Reign has been working on writing and recording music inspired by her experiences, all of them (heartbreak included). Listeners can expect everything from original music to Grammy’s and beyond.
“I’m working on an EP now, I’ll be releasing some music very soon, some music videos and I’m praying I get some Grammy’s and some awards and touring,” Reign said. “I love to perform so if you follow me on social media you’ll be seeing everything.”
Reign motivates aspiring singers to keep going and not to listen to the people who have something negative to say.
“Just don’t give up. There’s going to be a lot of naysayers, but what I tell people that ask me about people that talk crazy about me on social media is, that I’m an acquired taste and not everybody’s going to like you and it’s just life. You can’t get the world to like you, but that doesn’t mean that you should stop doing what you’re doing. Just don’t give up and don’t let anything get in the way of your dreams. I didn’t give up and look where I’m at now.”