On her full-length debut Tell ’Em, Gedina channels her raw passion into a daringly fresh take on R&B-infused pop. “There are so many songs out there that come from a place of loss or despair, but I wanted to create the exact opposite of that,” says the L.A.-based singer/songwriter. “The intention was to inspire, so that anyone who’s having a rough day can put the album on and feel elevated to the highest version of themselves.” Along with showcasing Gedina’s gorgeously soulful vocals—as heard on the 2015 single “First Time, First Love,” an international hit that’s amassed over 1.9 million streams on Spotify—Tell ’Em brings both gritty vitality and indelible melody to a powerful celebration of growth and resilience. With its boldly intimate storytelling, Tell ’Em shows a potent blend of strength and vulnerability—a dynamic that Gedina has embodied since childhood. Raised by a single dad in Santa Cruz, she discovered her love of singing as a little girl (thanks largely to Mariah Carey and the Little Mermaid soundtrack), and in her early teens began busking and then singing in local clubs. After graduating from high school at 15, Gedina later enrolled at UC Irvine and gigged in nearby blues bars, revealing her deep affinity for such legends as Etta James. Heading to L.A. once she’d finished school, she spent the coming years navigating the music industry and—in 2012—landed a blind audition on season three of The Voice. That same year, Gedina released her debut single “Shame,” introducing the world to her warm authenticity and spirited songwriting. Recorded at Angelhouse Studios in Torrance and executive-produced by Drew Kapner (who’s engineered records by artists like Jason Derulo and Twenty One Pilots), Tell ’Em builds off Gedina’s magnetic energy with a newfound sense of wholeness. “This album is autobiographical from top to bottom—there’s not one area of my life that I neglected to hit,” she says. Also a Krav Maga instructor and fierce advocate for women’s health empowerment, Gedina hopes that the palpable joy and uncompromising honesty of Tell ’Em ultimately embolden each listener. “More than anything, I wanted this album to promote growth rather than limitation,” she says. “I used each song as a way to release old stories and, at the same time, become the woman I’ve always wanted to be. If these songs can touch other people in a similar way and we can fly together, then I’m definitely serving my purpose.”