Sophomore Liliko Uchida never thought music would be a passion she could pursue, but now as a social media star with over ten thousand followers, she thinks otherwise.

Uchida would have never considered the hobby if it weren’t for a middle school project.

“I actually hated it until middle school,” Uchida said. “We had a sixth grade composition project, so I picked up a guitar and tried to write a song.”

Soon after, music struck a chord with Uchida.

“The feeling of singing is probably the best feeling because you really have complete control over it,” Uchida said.

Uchida tries not to restrict herself to one type of genre or audience.

“I look up to Billy Joel and Adele for two reasons,” Uchida said. “They’re timeless, and I think age wise, every group can listen to them.”

In her free time, Uchida performs in school coffee house events, participates as a member of the Algonquin Honors Music Society, and writes songs as a form of communication.

¨Most of the time it’s a lot easier to sing the same words you could never actually say out loud,” Uchida said. “It breaks that barrier.”

In 2014, Uchida decided to share her work on  Instagram, ultimately gaining over ten thousand followers.

¨I try to do songs that people have suggested in the comments to make sure people watching them know that I read and appreciate their support,” Uchida said. “But I also make sure to do songs that I just have fun playing or singing because I think that’s important.”

Uchida’s most viewed posts include Taylor Swift’s “Back to December,” Christina Grimmie’s “I Bet You Don’t Curse God,” and My Chemical Romance’s “Teenagers.”

“My favorite Instagram cover would have to be an old one I did of ‘One Fine Day’ by the Chiffons because it has a lot of layers,” Uchida said.

Close friend and musical collaborator, freshman Karmyn Shreeve, was not shocked by Uchida’s success.

“I always knew she was talented,” Shreeve said. “I’m always asking her to teach me new riffs on the guitar.”

“[The first time we met] she brought her guitar and we recorded ‘Everything Has Changed,’” Shreeve said. “It took like four hours to record because we kept laughing.”

Despite having a large following online, Uchida is still unsure whether to take music on full time.

“I’m a sophomore in high school. I don’t know what I want to do,” Uchida said. “As a career I’ve been iffy about it… music is really hard to break into unless you hit the jackpot and have connections.”

Uchida has realized that music is not always about “making it big.”

“I wouldn’t mind if I never actually became a singer,” Uchida said. “I just think as long as I can still do it that’s all that really matters.”