A year ago, Lauran Beluzo was sitting in a communications class as a freshman at Manhattan College. She was making friends, eating at Locke’s and all the while pursuing a music career that, little did she know, would be a reality in her near future.

Beluzo is now signed to Water Music. She works in the studio every day, learning new songs and recording tracks. Within the past year her life and been swept up in a whirlwind, going from a college student to an upcoming recording artist.

She is known as Elle B by fans and has gained a huge following on Twitter and Instagram (@ElleBofficial), where she posts beautiful covers of songs like “Good For You” by Selena Gomez and “Hotline Bling” by Drake. When crafting her stage name Beluzo wanted to keep the B for her last name and her label liked the name Elle. The two names together was a great “pop star” name according to her label.

Before she was Elle B, Beluzo was singing at a very young age and knew that this was her passion.

“I started singing as soon as I could talk. My mom said I was always a singer and it is something I have always been passionate about,” Beluzo said.

When she was six, her talent for singing was noticed by a local group in Massachusetts called Dan Kane Singers. The group ranges from ages six to 85 and performances vary from events in local restaurants to holiday events to breast cancer walks.

“Instead of doing sleepovers on the weekends, I was performing with him,” Beluzo says.

Throughout high school she performed at restaurants, special events and talent shows. Beluzo continued to perform with Dan Kane, who she now calls her mentor, and gained more and more experience with every performance.

After high school, Beluzo decided to attend Manhattan College. In college, she was undecided, but she was sure of one thing.

“I knew I wanted to share my voice with the world. I wanted to create and show emotion because when I am performing there is no other place I would rather be.”

During her short time at Manhattan, she was able to gain even more experience and knowledge that helped her to follow her dream of singing. It was during that time that Beluzo was discovered at the Apollo Theater.

Even though her time at Manhattan was short, Beluzo did take away a few things from her college experience.

“I met the best of friends here. And from that I learned a lot about myself and luckily last spring is when I got picked up by Water Music Publishing.”

Of course, working toward your dream is never easy.  “My day to day routine is recording new tracks, getting an album together, building my fan base and letting people know who ‘Elle B’ is,” she said.

Beluzo is continuing to follow her dreams. She is in the studio every day, learning, listening and of course singing. “I am trying to do the best that I can and I am loving every moment of it. I have never been so happy.”