Long Beach teen Alexandra Brodsky on the road to fame

“Some people say that once you start with music, that becomes your life,” said local musician, actress, and model Alexandra Brodsky, 15, a Long Beach resident who will compete as a finalist in the Reach for the Stars talent contest at Eisenhower Park this Saturday. “I rarely go out to hang with my friends because [my music] just consumes everything,” she said, “but because I love doing it, it’s not a big deal for me.”

Growing up in a musical household with her brother and percussionist, Jordan Brodsky, 17, Alexandra has played her share of instruments since she was 4 years old, including piano, guitar and cello, she eventually discovered her ultimate passion as a singer.

Although she enjoys acting in television commercials and modeling in photo shoots for fashion companies, Brodsky says that she mostly prefers to express herself through her music.

“Usually if I’m going to auditions, there’s always something that I have to practice,” she said. “I always have to practice lines, practice how I have to present myself, like I have to be something that I’m not in doing the role. But with singing, you can just be you.”

Looking to major female artists such as Beyoncé and Hayley Williams, of the rock group Paramore, for inspiration, Brodsky is working hard to break into the music scene by writing and recording original songs with the help of a computer program in her home studio. She has even produced her own demo to send to recording studios.

“What I write is real,” said Brodsky. “What makes me different from [musicians like Swift] is that [these experiences] are happening right here and right now for me.”

“The reason why I encourage [Alexandra] is because I think she does have the talent and I do have the motivation and the time to travel to the city and expose her to anybody that wants to meet her,” added her mother, Julie, who said she realized that her daughter was a natural-born performer at an early age.