Some students have hobbies that take place in and outside of school, and some look to turn those hobbies into careers. For junior Evan Bonanno, rapping and making music is what he has set as his goal in life. 

Going by the name “The Vacay,” his debut single has reached over 126,000 streams on Spotify alone. Almost a year later, on Dec. 2, he released his second single titled “No Fears”. 

“I waited a while to release it because I wanted my music quality to be better for my supporters to listen to. My motive for releasing it in December was to release something a year apart from my last single just to show how much I’ve improved with my sound in music,” Bonanno said. 

By promoting his music through different social media such as Snapchat, Tiktok and Instagram, the song has surpassed over 10,000 streams within the first seven days of its release. 

“The title “No Fears” was chosen after we wrote the song in my producer’s studio. We took the catchy last verse of the chorus and said at the same to each other ‘let’s call this song No Fears.’,” Bonanno said. 

Planning to make an album in the future, he already has ambitions for the new year. 

“The next step for me would probably be collaborating with different artists for more projects going into 2022. I have more music that’s on the way so be on the lookout as well,” Bonanno said. 

Having been heard around the world by many, some may wonder how the name “The Vacay” came to be. 

“I came up with the name from other artists that really inspire me. These artists are known as The Weeknd and The Hxliday. I’ve always really liked The Weeknd’s music and his name as well. The Hxliday released a song called ‘Mistakes,’ and it was my most streamed song back in 2020, soo that’s truly how I got the name. I wanted to start rapping and making music because I feel that I have a story to tell and a message to this world. You can really do anything in this world if you have the dedication and the motivation to do it. I always want to hear how I can relate to others’ situations as well and give my music an outlet for them or an escape from anything negative going on in their life,” Bonanno said. 

Bonanno takes a lot of his inspiration from artists like Juice WRLD, Iann Dior and The Chainsmokers into his song writing. With big goals set, he wants the best quality and creativity to be heard by his listeners. 

“I see myself in five  years continuing music, becoming an artist and sharing my story to the world and spreading the message to millions worldwide that they can do anything with dedication and motivation to reach their goals in this lifetime,” Bonanno said.