Karinna Lanee, a resident of Valrico and senior at Blake High School in Tampa, is a rising singer-songwriter star. Lanee has been offered the spotlight in many ways, including the opportunity to sing the national anthem at Tampa Bay Rays baseball games. The most recent invite, unfortunately, will have to wait until the Major League Baseball lockout has ended.
In addition to Major League Baseball, Lanee has been asked to sing the national anthem at a Parkinson’s Awareness event called Moving Day, which is on Saturday, April 30. This is a special one because Lanee will be walking with her grandfather, who was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
Lanee has been featured in several local singing contests including Impact’s Got Talent (second place) and Seffner’s Got Talent (first place).
Lanee is busy throughout the year writing and singing her original songs. Her most recent song is “Breathe Under Water.” This is her fourth original song.
Lanee explained the inspiration for this piece. Lanee said, “I wrote ‘Breathe Under Water’ in May of 2021. At the time, I was really struggling with my mental health. I was doing school online, and I could not go out or see my friends, and there was so much going on in the world. I just felt alone. So, I started writing about it. The rest is history.”
On “Breathe Under Water,” Lanee’s brother, Nikolas Crespo, accompanied her as he played the trumpet. “Breathe Under Water” was produced by Nathan L. Mitchell, a local jazz artist.
Lanee said, “I think there is so much power in writing. I write about everything. There is a lot happening in the world, especially now, and it can be really overwhelming. I find that music helps a lot more than we realize. My hope is that at least one person out there can listen to my music and feel a little less alone.”
You can find Lanee’s music on multiple platforms, including Spotify, YouTube, iTunes and others. The YouTube link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8te_Wvpw4M.
You can follow Lanee on various forms of social media using her handle @karinnalanee.
