“Music can take you to another place, it takes your mind off of life and allows you to focus on something that makes you and other people happy. Sometimes once you start playing music you just want to sit there all day and keep playing,” junior Emma Kleinberg said.

Kleinberg has been singing for as long as she can remember. She started taking voice and piano lessons when she was five. She started writing her own songs in middle school and shared them with friends and family. In eighth grade, she was inspired to take guitar lessons by her father, who also plays the guitar, and joined a band.

Over the past several years, Kleinberg has auditioned for The X Factor, American Idol, and The Voice. She made it through three rounds of The X Factor, and she said that she looks forward to auditioning for singing competitions because she is able to meet new people and get constructive criticism.

Kleinberg also works to further her music ability at JC, saying that the music and theater departments were part of the reason she decided to go to JC. At JC, Kleinberg is involved in the theater productions, chorus, and the a cappella group, Bella Voce.

YouTube has also played a large part in Kleinberg’s blossoming passion for music and desire to pursue it professionally. When she joined a band, one of her bandmates immediately suggested that she get a YouTube account and start posting videos. Her first video is from May 2011, and she now has videos with more than 1,000 views, such as a cover of “Won’t Go Home Without You,” by Maroon 5.

Kleinberg covers a multitude of genres on her YouTube channel, from traditional songs like “House of the Rising Sun” by Animals, to Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” but her covers are always unique because of her soulful sound. She tries to cover songs to keep people interested, and collaborates with her music savvy friends whenever possible. Many of her videos feature her singing and playing the guitar, and more recently she has taken up the ukulele.

Kleinberg firmly believes that YouTube can be a big factor in getting a music career started. She thinks that, often, the most successful YouTube channels, music focused and otherwise, post at least a video a month. “It’s tough sometimes because videos are hard to film by yourself and I don’t have as much time to make them during the school year. It can be stressful to keep up with,” Kleinberg said.

Since she has had a taste of YouTube success, and knows what YouTube could do for her music career, Kleinberg plans to keep up with her channel. “There is a formula for getting lots of views and I am trying to figure that out,” Kleinberg said.

Kleinberg knows that the music business can be a difficult one, but sees each opportunity as the next step in her career, no matter what the outcome. “In order to be successful, you have to fail. You can’t expect to get a lot but you have to keep trying if you expect to get anywhere,” she said.

For college and beyond, Kleinberg is thinking about moving to and attending college in Nashville. She wants to live in Nashville at some point because there is so much activity in the music business, lots of other talent to meet, connections to make, and people who can help her become a better musician herself.

In the meantime, Kleinberg wants to keep getting her name and voice out to the world, and YouTube is just the first step. “YouTube makes me happy, the support makes me feel like people care about the thing that I love the most,” Kleinberg said.

Karly Horn is an A&E Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.