A collaboration between singer/songwriter, Erica Rabner and Pinna, Real Me was performed and written by Erica Rabner alongside cowriter, producer, arranger, and mixer extraordinaire Chris Camilleri. The album was mastered at The Mastering Palace (Demi Lovato, Katy Perry, Alicia Keys, Dua Lipa) by Mark Santangelo (P!NK, The Weeknd, Kanye West, Shakira, Celine Dion). Real Me also features talented guest artists like GRAMMY award winner Tim Kubart, and two time GRAMMY nominees Alphabet Rockers as well as Broadway Cellist, Emily Hope Price. For a full list of credits, thank yous, and song stories, download the complete liner notes!
About Real Me
Real Me is a celebration of the growth that occurs during the transitional period of childhood from kid to tween. Written to empower kids, Real Me promotes self esteem and individuality during times of change and uncertainty.
I wrote Real Me to help kids navigate their place in the world. It tackles their relationship with themselves and others and deals with themes of identity, agency, connection, and acceptance. Each song is a single snapshot into the multifaceted, quickly changing, reality of older kids and tweens. Tweens live each day on a roller coaster. They can experience immense joy, frustration, discomfort, and pride, along with a whole slew of other positive and negative emotions all within the span of two school bells.
Real Me takes on the light and the heavy. While The Good Mood Song is meant to get you bopping, Our Own Rules pushes back on prescribed gender roles. Asking “who made me x and you y?” literally refers to our chromosomes, questioning concepts. like Who decided girls should dress a certain way and why are we confined to certain roles and behaviors? Here In Between draws upon conflicting but coexisting themes of uncertainty and strength. While being in between can often be uncomfortable and challenging, this song is a love story that encourages kids to rid themselves of pressure and expectation — something we can all work on. The Same Stars ties us all together and acknowledges how we are all connected to something larger than ourselves, a message that has felt even more poignant through a pandemic.
An early version of the title track was recognized as a finalist in the international John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Read our interview HERE. To dive deeper into the inspiration behind each song, visit the “Real Me - Behind the Songs Playlist.” For conversations with Alphabet Rockers on cowriting Glory remotely and production behind the scenes with Chris Camilleri visit our “Real Me: Behind the Scenes” Page.
““The new songs by Erica Rabner offer lyrics and themes that speak to kids in this age group, wrapped in a hip, catchy and modern sound. Amy Kraft, Director of Children’s Programming at Pinna, notes that Real Me offers musical inspiration and affirmation for kids 9 to 12, during a time of extreme emotions and transitions. “Very few pop songs deal with real-life transitional experiences of the Gen Z age group. The lyrics are either entirely inappropriate for tweens, or they have themes that don’t resonate. Real Me offers an alternative for kids ages 9 to 12. They are growing out of childhood and exploring their identity in the wider world, and these songs meet kids where they are emotionally.””
About Erica
Erica is a singer/songwriter with a four-octave range and versatile repertoire. She grew up listening to Motown legends and singing music theater. Erica has performed in the US, Australia, Asia, and Europe with big bands and intimate acoustic duets. She studied Jazz Vocal Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Sydney Australia.
Erica is also a formative researcher with a background in child development, psychology, and educational media. Erica received her master’s in Technology, Innovation, and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she works at MIT’s Lifelong Kindergarten lab and earned her bachelor’s in psychology from Brandeis University.
While Erica sang the theme to the Little Mermaid before uttering her first word, she started songwriting much later. At the time she was pursuing a career as formative researcher, testing Sesame Street and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood with preschoolers. Once Erica discovered she could combine her passions for music and kids content, she was hooked. Now Erica applies her expertise in child development and research to her songwriting process.
Her songwriting credits include “The Thanksgiving Song” for Sesame Studios, the Parents’ Choice Award-winning “PB & JAMS,” and Pinna exclusive Mixie’s La-la-la-Letters for the Pinna Original podcast “Quentin and Alfie’s ABC Adventures.” In addition to songwriting, Erica loves to record and has performed vocals for Sesame Workshop, Barbie Dreamtopia, Nickelodeon, StoryToys, Disney and PBS. Most recently, Erica wrote “Wash Your Hands” and “Mask On” as children’s PSA’s in response to the pandemic.
“The songs on Real Me offer Erica’s crystalline vocals, a deep production style, catchy beats and melodies and anthemic refrains. From discovering just who the “Real Me” is, to setting “Our Own Rules,” or setting goals on “The Same Stars,” and being “In Sync” with friends, the album reflects the tween stage of life.”
““There’s a ton of music out there for young kids and teenagers, but what about the in-betweeners?…Recording artist Erica Rabner wrote and produced this album exclusively for Pinna with lyrics and affirmations that deal with real-life emotions and changes that the Gen Z age group is dealing with.” ”
Pinna is the only ad-free audio streaming service developed and curated exclusively for kids 3-12. With the goal of activating kids’ imaginations through immersive screen-free entertainment, Pinna creates and produces original shows, stories and songs. Additionally, Pinna sources some of the best-known, award-winning kids’ podcasts, music and audiobooks from around the world. Through audio stories, songs and shows, Pinna inspires kids to giggle, guess, move, wonder, learn, puzzle and participate – in a space created just for them. From science and fantasy to interactive game shows and mysteries, Pinna has hundreds of hours of programming to pique the interest of every kid.
