Mýa—the name speaks volumes to music lovers everywhere! Since bursting onto the scene in 1998, Miss Mýa has had a sixteen-year record of hits, racking up accomplishment after accomplishment, and giving back to our community time and again, and she is still going strong. A star of music, film, TV, she is a true superstar, and yet she is someone that truly cares about her fellow human beings.
Philanthropy has always been a part of Mýa’s career and life. Starting back at the beginning of her rise to fame in 1998, she was the spokesperson for Secret to Self Esteem. In 2005, she founded The Mýa Arts & Tech Foundation to help disadvantaged youth. She has been advocating for breast cancer survivors, in honor of her mother who is a 16 year survivor, working with the Global AIDS fight, assisting homeless
LGBT youth, advocating for equality with the NOH8 campaign and most recently standing with our community in the #LoveConquers Hate campaign.
When you look at all Mýa’s accomplishments, endeavors, awards and her gracious generosity to so many causes, it’s a no brainer that any Pride festival would be proud to have her join their Pride 2015 lineup. And Mýa loves Pride: “As an entertainer, live performance is the ultimate experience for me. And there’s really no other platform where I feel I can comfortably be free without judgement except for the Pride platform.”
Mýa has performed at other Pride events in recent years in other cities as well, showing her continued support for LGBT fans all over the country. One of her most memorable Pride moments happened at a Los Angeles event, she said, where “the city lost power and the stage completely blacked out. We lost, lights, sound, but we didn’t stop. We finished the show to our own rhythm, our own beat and the crowd cheered us on. And it was clear then, we were all in this together and didn’t need anything but just that and the spirit that brought us there in the first place.”
When asked about her passion for being an ally for our community, Mýa explained, “My passion comes from respect and compassion for humanity. Life and travel has only been confirmation [for me] that people, animals, plants and every creation have been designed to be one of a kind. And if not one of us is designed to be the same, why can’t we exist as we are without scrutiny and punishment? I have a problem with that.”
Mýa also knows that “conflict in the world has been created by humans” but she sees it as part of her calling to bring people from all walks of life together to share in the basic human needs of unconditional love. She also said that almost losing her mother to cancer twice has “instilled [in her the value of] pursuing balance. It’s been a reminder that everything that glitters is not gold and true richness is giving love and using yourself to make the world a better place.”
Not only are we excited to have her headline our Nashville Pride, Mýa’s excited to come back to Nashville as well. “I’ve always loved the scenery in Nashville, and it’s a place that I know will naturally feel
like home. Being that there’s an incredible established music scene there, I’m super excited to share new music in a place that births extraordinary music.”
With all she has going on currently, downtime is important to recharge and maintain balance. What does that look like for Mýa? She takes time to smell the roses, literally: her Instagram account shows pictures
of different flowers every day that she stops to admire. Her #AFlowerADay pictures collect a beautiful assortment of nature’s charms that helps not only her, but also all her fans, stop each day and enjoy the
world around them. She can also be found visiting aquariums or museums, or just chilling with her animals and family in Maryland. Mýa also said, “I love thrills and adventure, so amusement parks or something outrageous like a shark encounter tour” could be on the agenda at any time!
What’s next for Mýa? She just released a series of three digital EP’s on her independent label Planet 9. She is also focusing on her biggest project, herself. She’s will have 365 days of veganism under her belt as of July 1, 2015, something that she is very proud of. Her focus on being a free spirit and doing bold things also is part of her current plan for life. Whatever she chooses to do in the future, we know that it will be something that her fans will enjoy, and her long history of giving back is sure to continue.