Elle Nikole grew up in Sacramento in what she describes as a “music house,” where her dad played the bass guitar and her mom played a collection of music.
Nikole was intrigued by music and would often latch onto the radio, excited to hear her favorite songs on the airwaves. She would often try to emulate what the artists were doing on different songs.
Fascinated by the songs she heard on the radio, Nikole started taking vocal lessons at the age of 11.
“I trained with my vocal coach in Sacramento and got to do a lot of talent competitions and showcases,” Nikole said. “I just really loved it. After that, I went to college and was doing music off and on at that point. And then during the pandemic, I realized just how happy it made me. So I vowed to just be consistent with it and not stop doing it.”
Nikole continues to take vocal lessons until this day. She writes songs, collaborates with artists, and performs songs wherever she can. She is an R&B singer-songwriter and vocal coach who helps her clients in Sacramento take their singing to the next level.
She has music streaming on all platforms and although she doesn’t have a full-length project, Nikole has a collection of singles for music lovers to enjoy.
Nikole grew up on 90s and early 2000s R&B and tries to infuse a little bit of that into her music.
Nikole said growing up she drew her music inspirations from Beyonce and Destiny's Child, whose work she studied intently. Nikole also counts Coco Jones, Jazmine Sullivan, and Teedra Moses as her favorite artists.
“Even today I watch [Beyonce] and I just study her,” Nikole said. “But as a kid, I really copied her. I was in awe of what they were able to do as a group, and then what she was able to do on her own.”
Coaching singers
Nikole lived in Atlanta for a long time, where she went to college at Spelman, but returned home to Sacramento during the pandemic.
She stayed in contact with her vocal coach, and upon her return, Nikole expressed a desire to learn how to coach herself.
“I kind of trained under her as a vocal coach, and then, by chance, got my first client, and then started to express that that's what I was doing,” Nikole said. “It kind of just worked out that she was doing less coaching, and would send me clients, which was pretty cool. I love singing. I love singers. I love helping people be the best singers that they can be.”
One of Nikole’s clients is a Sacramento music artist, Micah Stinson, who goes by Micah LaRae. Stinson said she has been making music for years and started taking lessons with Nikole in 2023.
Stinson said she started taking lessons after listening to some of her songs and did not like how she sounded.
One of Stinson’s specific goals was to achieve breath control. According to Stinson, she's now better at singing her notes out and having enough breath to sing more, better, and stronger.
“I definitely noticed the difference from when I first started to where I am now, like I find myself taking little things that she taught me and going into the studio and executing it,” Stinson said. “And I still take those things with me to this day, even with vowel sounds. When I pronounce my words when I'm singing, I still take that with me, because I learned that from her. So it's very beneficial for me.”
Stinson shared that her favorite part of working with Nikole is that she gets a song to work on and they break it down and dissect it line by line. One of the songs she got to work on is Again by Kehlani, which is one of Stinson's favorite songs.
“I just realized now that I sing it — I think of her every time I sing the song, or every time I hear the song,” she said.
Nikole said she thinks studying techniques gives her something tangible to work towards.
“I realized that not everybody will like my voice or my sound, but I can technically sing this the right way, in a healthy way, and I can teach someone else how to do it too,” Nikole said. “I think it helps me to just remind myself of my skill and on days when I maybe didn't feel as confident.”
According to Nikole, being a vocal coach has helped influence the creation of her music.
“As a coach, I train my voice every time I work with somebody else. I'm training my ears because I want to be able to hear them, and I'm also doing the exercises along with them,” Nikole said.
She said inadvertently, coaching has made her voice stronger.
“It's made my ear better when I'm listening back to music that I'm creating, and I think listening to people who sing things differently and make different musical choices just kind of adds to my creative box of things,” Nikole said.
What’s next?
Although Nikole has a collection of singles in her music catalog, she mentioned that her ultimate goal is to do a whole project.
“I think singles work because putting together a whole EP or album is expensive,” Nikole said. “Getting the right people, being able to pay people for their time and getting a team together is just a little bit heavier of a lift than just putting out singles.”
Nikole said she would also love to go on tour performing at small venues with her own music, but would also love to tour as a background singer.
“I know some artists don't see themselves as background singers, but I would love to be a part of a big production as a background singer, to soak all of that in and get that experience,” Nikole said. “And then just to meet more talented people and continue to learn from them.”
Nikole said the advice she would give to aspiring artists and vocalists is to go for it.
“I think we overthink things a lot before starting or trying new things,” Nikole said. “I would just say, just start somewhere, even if that's in your room, just getting a little practice routine together, or coming up with little creative ideas in your room. But start somewhere, and don't talk yourself out of something you want to do.”
