Fun fact. If you have heard Shawn Mendes’s ‘Teach Me How to Love’, you have heard Milla’s vocals on it.
Milla worked in the studio with Shawn Mendes on his latest album, Wonder, laying vocals on ‘Teach Me How to Love’, ‘Dream’, and ‘Piece of You’, released on December 4, 2020.
You can also catch a glimpse of Milla working in the studio with the Canadian singer-songwriter in the Netflix Original Documentary, Shawn Mendes: In Wonder.
Milla Santana is a Brazilian-born, New York-raised artist who has been singing her whole life. Having performed alongside headliners such as Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas, Milla’s now taking center stage with a style that’s all her own. She joins Natasha Martinez to discuss the fusion of cultures in her music, her single “Something Real,” and quitting her day job to pursue her dreams.
Watch the full episode here.
Read more here.
After grandly announcing herself into the industry as an indie artist - and hitting over 50K streams on Spotify in a short span of time - the “Something Real” singer follows up with a sexy, fun and powerful record “Calor”. The irresistible beat, inspired by Brazilian-funk, features Milla's signature R&B vocals with lines in both English and Portuguese. “Calor”, which means “Heat” in Portuguese, is a tasteful crossover of funk carioca with R&B. The song is out now on all major platforms. Listen to it now here.
Review from Aipate on June 7, 2020.
As she was releasing her debut single “Something Real” on May 1st, it was clear that New York-based Brazilian-American singer and songwriter Milla Santana was grandly announcing herself into the industry. The Bahia, Brazil-born artist combined rhythms of bossa nova (a style native to her country of birth) with contemporary R&B elements to create a track that belongs to the present as much as it bears Latin music heritage. Gifted with a soulful voice, Milla Santana weaves a song that should be well received by even the most ardent of R&B/soul purists. “Something Real” is both haunting and pleasurable in equal measure.
Prior to her official debut, she’d excelled as a background vocalist for big-name acts such as Demi Lovato, H.E.R and Nick Jonas as well performing across New York City. In a crowded creative space, the emerging singer stands out.
Follow Santana on Instagram or Facebook to never miss on any future release from her.
Review from WBSS Media on Milla’s debut single “Something Real”.
WBSS Media is the brainchild of award-winning radio presenter and soul/R&B aficionado, Wes Berwise. WBSS Media is commited to promoting and elevating creative and ground-breaking R&B and soul artists worldwide.
Write-up from Dutch based music blog, LeFutureWave.
Lefuture Wave
Spotify playlists
Milla’s debut single, Something Real was featured on ASCAP’s Rhythm & Soul #RealSounds Playlist on Spotify a few days after its release on May 1st, 2020. The song shares a spot on the playlist with other artists such as Victoria Monet, Alicia Keys, dvsn, Alina Baraz, Megan Thee Stallion and Beyonce.
Listen to Something Real on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Music.
Released May 1st, 2020, Milla’s debut single, ‘Something Real’ is an organic fusion of Brazilian and American genres.
“Sonically, I wanted to blend Bossa Nova – a rhythm from Brazil which is where I was born – with R&B, another genre that has influenced me so much. You get to hear both influences on this song,” says Santana.
Produced by Miguel Rodriguez and John Ponce, New York-based musicians, producers and friends of the singer, ‘Something Real’ is the first song off of the artist’s upcoming project. “Something Real was the first song we ever worked on together. We went into the studio, I shared some ideas with them and they immediately understood the sound that I wanted to create. John played a few chords on the guitar and the rest of the creative process was very organic,” describes the singer-songwriter.
According to a Rolling Stones article, many artists outside of Brazil have already started to infiltrate their songs with Brazilian influences. Lucky Daye, a young R&B from New Orleans, includes bossa nova guitar in the intro of “Call,” from his major-label debut album. Other artists such as Bazzi, Juice WRLD, Black Eyed Peas and others have also been inspired by Brazil’s classic bossa nova style, which is known for its soothing, rhythmically coy and melodically generous attributes.
“I wrote this song because I was tired of fake love. I had just gone through a big disappointment. I was frustrated and hoping for more from that situation,” shares the singer. “It comes from a real place and I hope that people connect and are reminded to keep fighting for something real.”
The song is available worldwide on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music and all other major streaming platforms.
Milla being interviewed by iHeart Radio Host Nik Hartfield, where she shares more about her journey and her upcoming single. You can listen to the interview on the American Busker iHeart Radio Podcast here.
Singing BGVs for H.E.R.’s BET Awards 2019 performance.
Milla performs for SoFar NYC.
Celebrating Video Vanguard honoree Jennifer Lopez at the 2018 Video Music Awards.
