This immigrant singer is making music to help connect people who feel lonely and disconnected

Ambar Lucid views her journey to stardom as one that began when she was a little child using toy pianos and plastic microphones. She always trusts her intuition and consults her tarot cards when writing songs, according to HuffPost. At 15 years old, she was on SoundCloud uploading her own songs, which she recorded with wired headphones and a guitar in the (un)comfort of her bathroom "for the reverb." Now, at just 21, she has changed her entire musical style and finished her first headlining tour. In just a few years, she has single-handedly raised her monthly Spotify listeners to nearly 600,000.

“Music was the only thing that made me feel alive and made me feel connected to a higher power,” Lucid shares. When Lucid was only 8, her father was deported to Mexico and she pinpoints this moment as the beginning of her challenges with mental health. Lucid, an immigrant first-generation child, wound up caregiving for her two younger siblings while figuring out how to manage her depression.

Speaking about the loneliness she felt as a child, Lucid says, "Like it literally felt like I was on an island all by myself, because I didn’t really have many people that I could relate to. I wasn’t very open about the things that I was experiencing at home as a kid … I didn’t really know any kids growing up who had a family member deported." Lucid shares about her mental health: "I didn’t grow up having anybody that supported me … my mom was very distant, and I was emotionally neglected. There was nobody, so that affected my mental health for a long time. I just felt very disconnected.” She said, “Music makes me feel alive, so the fact that doing what I love has a positive impact on people who grew up like me, people who feel alone like that, just makes what I do so much bigger than I ever thought.”

Five years ago she posted her first song, “Letting Go” pushing through her negative self-talk. The song which is around three minutes is about healing and vulnerability in a new relationship with painfully accurate lyrics. After uploading new songs for a few months, fans of independent music encouraged her to release her debut album "Dreaming Lucid" with "Letting Go" as one of the tracks. She expresses her loneliness and pain via harmonic melodies and gut-punching lyrics to express her loneliness. “I want to be open about it because I want anybody who feels like they’re on that little island to know that they’re not alone," she said.

Lucid recorded her most recent summer hit, “girl ur so pretty” and released a "Euphoria" inspired music video for it. She also released her new single, “Timeless,” with soulful melodies and a catchy pop vibe proving that she’s here to stay. “Once I make up my mind, nobody can tell me no; I will find any way possible to make what I want happen,” she said. Lucid is also proud to represent the Latinx community through her music. “I’m just going to give my all to the art and let the art speak for itself because like, yep, I’m Latina, but I also do these things", she said. Refusing to conform to the music industry norms, she sings in Spanglish, switching between English and Spanish, which has been a big part of her life. "I’m not gonna go with one [language] or the other, I’m always gonna tap into both. I wanted to prove those people wrong,” she said.

"Llegaron las Flores," a documentary she previously recorded, is about the separation and reunification of her family. She participated in the 2019 "Selena for Sanctuary" fundraiser performance and is an avid supporter of immigrants' rights. She also credits therapy for saving her life. "Therapy was the first time somebody actually validated what I felt; somebody listened to me and walked me through the negative feelings I felt for a long time,” she said. Lucid also is embracing her authentic self and bisexual polyamorous identity. "Once you accept yourself for who you are, it also makes it easier for you to find people that think like you,” she said. Lucid has no plans of slowing down. “I’m on my way,” she said. “I will be legendary.”