A Bellefontaine area college sophomore and Calvary Christian High School graduate is wrapping up an exhilarating year of making a major break-through into the Christian music recording industry, releasing her first single this fall with national recording artists Citizen Way.
Brooklyn Horner, who now has adopted Brookabella as her recording artist name, said it has been a “big ripple effect” since she got back into songwriting over the summer months, and wrote the upbeat single, “Praise.”
She initially showed the song to her parents, Shawna and Donald Horner, and also recorded a video of herself singing “Praise.” Her father, who has connections in the Christian music and film industry, instantly loved the song (along with her mother, who gave her the nickname Brookabella as a youngster). Donald sent the video to Ben Calhoun of Citizen Way, whom he met several years ago at Rise FM’s Rock the Lake concert.
Before she knew it, Brooklyn said she was meeting with Calhoun and then recording the song during July in Nashville at a studio owned by Michael Tait, former member of Grammy Award-winning D.C. Talk.
“It’s been this big rollercoaster and it’s been so much fun,” she said earlier this month from her Bellefontaine residence, while she was home for Christmas break from Mt. Vernon Nazarene University.
“Ben is someone I’ve looked up to since I was young, and it’s so amazing that he’s helping me with my music.
“He asked me if we could collaborate on ‘Praise’ with Citizen Way, and my reaction was an absolute ‘yes.’ That is such an honor and it’s been an awesome opportunity.”
“Praise” was released in October and it reached 18,000 listeners in its first week. It’s available on all major streaming platforms. Brooklyn said it’s also been surreal to hear her song on traditional radio stations and on MVNU’s college radio station WNZR, where she also works in between her busy schedule as an MVNU cheerleader and triple major, studying music; visual art; and communication/film and media.
While she was in Nashville, Calhoun connected her with a record label, Dvout Music. During a meeting with the label representatives, she sang for them on the spot and then signed a five-song contract, which has been “such a blessing,” the 2023 CCS graduate said.
Next on the agenda for the 20-year-old is the release of two more new songs in January, “Promises” and “Zion,” along with the Spanish version of “Praise.”
Calhoun mentioned to the singer-songwriter that releasing her songs in Spanish could be another avenue to explore. Brooklyn speaks fluent Spanish and took seven Spanish courses at Benjamin Logan Schools prior to her high school graduation.
She’s thrilled for the opportunity to pay homage to her own Hispanic heritage and Salvadorian roots. Translating her songs from English to Spanish isn’t as simple as directly translating all of the lyrics, she noted, but it was a task that was she eager to perform.
“I was working at the studio all day during the summer, and then I’d stay up late at night working on the Spanish translations,” the city resident noted.
“I’d love to reach as many people as possible with my music, so being a female Christian Spanish recording artist are exciting shoes to fill.”
In her younger years, Brooklyn said she always loved to sing and enjoyed singing with her older sister, Sydney, (who is a twin, to fellow sister Savannah).
Brooklyn got her start singing in the Columbus Children’s Choir, starting at the age of 4, continuing for five or six years. She’s also appeared on the musical theater stage, including at the Holland Theatre, playing Alice in Alice in Wonderland and Snoopy in a Charlie Brown production, among others.
“I found a passion for performance that is extremely rewarding. When I was young, I didn’t necessarily picture myself as a Christian recording artist, but knew I absolutely loved to be on stage, or thought I’d go into a career in science or English,” said Brooklyn, who also enjoyed participating in Business Professionals of America while in high school and giving speeches at the national competition. She also sings regularly at her home church in Bellefontaine, Christ Our King Church.
While sitting down to write “Praise” a few months ago, the college student said she was getting back to a hobby she had in middle school.
“I love expressing my creativity through art and songs,” she said. “This summer I decided I wanted to get back to song-writing and to create songs like what I want to hear.
“I wanted to write about being a joyful, optimistic and happy person, and being that light for Christ to uplift others. I’m looking forward to more opportunities to connect with people through music and to be someone that young girls and boys can look up to.”
In the upcoming year, Brooklyn is anticipating getting back to the recording studio; branching out into new styles in her music, including R&B and surf/crush; possible gigs in Nashsville; and she also has a goal of performing at MVNU’s 2025 Christian music festival SonFest.
You can follow Brookabella’s music career and recent happenings on Instagram at “brookabellaofficial”, on Facebook at “Brookabella Music” or on TikTok and other social media.