Houston native Alaina Castillo first found fame with her online renditions of popular songs before making the jump into the pop world with the release of her 2020 debut EP, the voicenotes. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Castillo grew up on a diet of church choirs and popular music — with acts like the Beach Boys and Elvis being regulars — before finding her own way and discovering R&B, pop, and in particular Usher. Deciding to share her voice with the world, Castillo started uploading takes of popular hits by the likes of the Weeknd and Plain White T’s. It wasn’t long before her hushed, yet precisely pronounced vocals found their way into the online ASMR community, with her series of Sing U 2 Sleep lullabies receiving huge attention. Moving to Los Angeles, Castillo naturally found herself moving further into the music industry and in 2019 released her debut single, “i don’t think I love you anymore.” A handful of singles followed and saw Castillo drawing on her Latino heritage, combining Latin with contemporary pop and R&B. In 2020, she released her debut EP, the voicenotes, with her vocal delivery and alternative take on pop eliciting comparisons to contemporaries Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande. Later that year, she issued the singles “Tonight,” “Párate,” and “Wishlist.”