11

I think I’ve always seen the world through rose-colored glasses. The hyper-romantic phase of my life never really ended. It’s simply who I am. An eternal optimist, a hopeless romantic, someone who still believes that love can make the impossible possible.

I’d rather be in a ballet class, talking about yoga, or humming melodies under my breath. Just like I did as a little girl, when I couldn’t resist singing along with the pianist during ballet class. My Russian teacher didn’t appreciate it one bit, but I couldn’t help myself. There was always music playing inside my head.

I’ve always wanted life to feel a little like a Baz Luhrmann film, where passion is larger than life, beauty exists in the chaos, and even heartbreak deserves a magnificent soundtrack.

Growing up in the whirlwind of two reality shows, navigating the highs and lows of being signed to a record label and finding my way as an independent artist, I’ve lived through so many versions of myself. Some were fearless, some were uncertain, and some had to learn how to begin again.

But somewhere along the way, I discovered that the greatest freedom in creativity comes from listening to my own voice.

11 is a reflection of all those versions of me. The little girl who couldn’t stop singing, the dancer who learned discipline through movement, the woman who has loved, lost, dreamed, fallen, and gotten back up, still believing in the extraordinary.

This album represents the love I have to give. Not just romantic love, but the love I feel for life itself. For music, for people, for the beautiful and unexpected ways our stories unfold.

I want to love without holding back. Without fear, without grudges, without judgment. To see people for who they are and still choose to believe in the beauty of what could be.

Maybe that’s what being a hyper-romantic really means. Not being blind to reality, but seeing it clearly and choosing love anyway.

This is my sans culpa.

My permission to feel everything, to romanticize the ordinary, to keep dreaming, and to never apologize for loving so deeply.

For love to be love.