Today we’d like to introduce you to Simone Gundy.
Simone, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always sung since I was able to make any kind of noise at all. The majority of my youth however was spent in every choir you can imagine. From Church choir to all city choir to Texas girls’ choir I was gaining a really important foundation that I still use today. It wasn’t until high school that my theatre aspirations were born. I had had about all the choir I could take and was feeling stifled so I took a leap as a little freshman and auditioned for Once on this Island and landed the lead role of Timoune. Since then, I’ve been so blessed to grace stages all over the world from the voice and an international tour with Todrick Hall to making a second home at Houston’s own Theater under the Stars and now performing with the best band in the Nation The Drywater band! I feel like I’m just starting to stretch my legs!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely was not the smoothest. One of the biggest additions to my life came in 2005 when I had my son at only 16. I didn’t know how but it never crossed my mind to stop singing and my family’s support just propelled me forward. My son became a regular visitor at rehearsals and now he such an expectation of me and what I do that I honestly think it would freak him out if I did anything other than sing! Ha.
Simone Jasmine – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I do it all baby!! Lol, my dream is to grace the Broadway stage and despite the current events I know in my heart that the pulse of the world is kept by the magic of all forms of art and I have no doubt my industry will come back harder than ever. Nowadays my life consists of parenting, singing, and acting. Singing with the Drywater band for the last 3 years and pursuing my acting through local and national commercials has not only continued to make me better but I’ve gotten to do what few can boast. I do what I LOVE for a living FULL TIME. It’s one of the best feelings in the world. I’ve always found myself a truly eclectic person when it comes to music so to find myself in a band that does it all is like a kid in a candy shop. I’ve been able to provide for my family and even start my own natural skin care company called Skin Karma! So overall if tmi had to say what makes me different is that I’m constantly looking for ways to express every part of myself and I’m often proud and satisfied with myself but never complacent.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I would have to say standing on the voice stage as a top 20 finalist after standing in line for 6 hours against 40 thousand people was definitely a toot my own horn moment lol. I recently added another proud moment I got to represent the city in a quintessential way. I opened the Houston thanksgiving parade next to the mayor and mattress mac. Last but not least. Looking up at my dad from a stage in London during Todrick Hall’s second Oz world tour was definitely a moment that left me speechless.
Contact Info:
- Website: Skin-karma-Houston.myshopify.com
- Instagram: @simonegundy
- Other: Drywaterband.com
Image Credit:
Sheldon henry
Adam Adolfo
Rachel Landon
Theatre Under the stars
NBC
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