Mountain Brook High School student on the verge of stardom

When Marissa Luna was 8 years old, she had an audition with Red Mountain Theatre Company that would change her life.

She — along with 300 other hopefuls — was trying out for RMTC’s performing ensemble. At the time, Marissa didn’t have any stage experience at all.

“They asked her to perform a song and a monologue, and I thought I was a bad mom because I kind of threw her into it with kids who had prepared monologues and had been in shows,” Misty Chitwood said. “She went in and told a joke and sat down and sang ‘The Cup Song.’ I was preparing my ‘better luck next time’ speech, and she was one of 42 picked. Keith Cromwell (RMTC’s executive director) told me, ‘There’s something different about her voice.’”

‘MAKING THIS MY LIFE’

Now that she’s 16, the rest of the world is learning about Marissa’s voice. The Mountain Brook High School junior is preparing to release her first EP, she’s collaborating with a big YouTube star, and she’s working with some of the best music producers and songwriters in the business.

“I’m definitely planning on making this my life,” Marissa said of her burgeoning pop music career. “It is something I’ve been working hard toward for a long time.”

Her early experience at RMTC instilled a love for theater in Marissa, and she appeared in shows there and at the Virginia Samford Theatre, including “The Wizard of Oz,” “Hairspray” and “Hello, Dolly!” She studied with Amy Musphy and Kristi Tingle Higginbotham along the way.

But at about age 14, Marissa made the decision to devote her time to pop music, and she’s thrown herself into it full force.

“I guess I honestly always knew I liked pop music,” Marissa said. “I never was the kid who grew up listening to country. That was not me. I guess pop had more of an appeal to me than other genres.”

And music in general appealed to Marissa growing up because it was an escape.

“I’ve always been the outcast in school,” she said. “I had a small friend group, was quiet in the classroom, never asked questions. ... I had the sense that music was my purpose. I had this great feeling when I was playing music. No matter what else was going on, music brought me this feeling of safeness and home.”

And now, it’s bringing her recognition. She’s working with songwriter Michael Warren, who is from Birmingham and worked with the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Flo Rida, Cody Simpson and Toni Braxton; and has been signed by producers Michael Shane Wright and Grammy-winner Dan Hannon in Muscle Shoals. She’s also working with Grammy-nominated Jan Smith Studios, whose “Mama Jan” has worked with Justin Bieber, Usher, Shania Twain and others.

Most recently, Marissa sang with YouTube sensation Landon Austin on a cover of Selena Gomez and Trevor Daniel’s “Past Life.” She’s also put out three covers of her own, of Maren Morris’ “The Bones,” Ariana Grande’s “One Last Time” and Shawn Mendes’ “Lost in Japan.”

All that before her first EP is released in the fall.

It hasn’t just been handed to Marissa. She’s worked hard, her mother says.

“From April to August, she worked on her first EP, with five songs,” Chitwood said. “Every single week, except one, she’s been in the studio. They’ve written 40 songs, and five made the cut.

“Michael is really helping her, and now we’re getting songs from the top writers in Los Angeles,” she added. “It’s amazing how God has just opened up the door for her. I’m amazed every day.”

BRANCHING OUT

Marissa also has a history with pageants, most recently serving as Shelby County’s Outstanding Teen. She also was only the second sophomore to win Mountain Brook High School’s Miss Olympian Pageant.

The pageants have both helped and hindered her music career, she said.

On the down side, the pageant style of singing — 90-second snippets of songs with big crescendos to wow the judges — is not what producers are looking for. On the plus side, Marissa became accustomed to being on stage and being interviewed. She also still helps the community through her pageant platform.

“My platform, More Than Meets the Eye, helps children with hidden disabilities, and I’ve carried that through to my music and hope to carry it through the rest of my life,” Marissa said.

And her community service doesn’t stop there. She recently created another community organization, Psalms 91 Luggage, after finding a lot of suitcases while cleaning out during the pandemic.

“It was foster month, and I was thinking about it, that I have this amazing, supportive family around me, and some people don’t have that, and I wanted to be a friend, family to them,” Marissa said. “A lot of the girls in foster homes don’t have luggage, and they have to pack up their belongings in a trash bag when they have to move.”

So Marissa and her mother started packing the suitcases with essentials and donating them to organizations that could use them, mainly Grace House Ministries and King’s Home. To date, they’ve delivered almost 200 pieces of luggage.

Marissa turns 17 in October and already has her sights set on devoting herself to her music full time after graduating from high school.

“Right now it’s basically just music and school for me,” she said. “Five years from now, I hope to be mostly out in LA performing and touring. I also hope to be at the Grammys.”