Halle Bailey, recording artist and star of Disney’s live-action "Little Mermaid" remake, announced via social media that she has awarded a scholarship to a former Brooklyn Conservatory of Music student.
Through a recent post on her Instagram, Bailey named Brooklyn-based singer Melodee Pouponneau among a number of recipients that will be receiving the Grammy Award-nominated artist’s “Angel Scholarship.”
The Angel Scholarship — named after Bailey’s new debut single, “Angel” — will provide Pouponneau with $10,000, which will go towards her college education.
During the announcement, Bailey described Pouponneau and the other scholarship recipients as “young Black women in music who are charting their own pathways and (are) sources of inspiration for everyone around them,” according to a release.
Pouponneau, an 18-year-old resident of Ditmas Park in Brooklyn, has been singing ever since she was just four years of age.
Currently, the Brooklyn singer is a second-year student at the City College of New York, where she is studying both Psychology and Music
“I am so blown away to receive this news from someone as accomplished and versatile as Halle Bailey. I have been following her journey ever since she and her sister Chloe started singing on YouTube,” said Pouponneau.
“Music is such an important part of my life, bridging communities together and touching people in so many ways. I am so proud to receive this news — it’s a memory that will forever be ingrained in my head and heart.”
Prior to attending City College, Pouponneau spent eight years studying music at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.
During her time there, Pouponneau received mentorship, learned how to play piano, and also sang with the Brooklyn Harmonics Teens (teen vocal group).
Pouponneau received the scholarship news during a recent visit she made to her former music school, where she got to meet Bailey during a surprise Zoom call.
“We first met Melodee when she was six years old coming to the Conservatory for piano lessons,” said Chad Cooper, executive director of Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.
“We have watched her burgeon into a talented vocalist and artist, inspiring so many of us. We were so thrilled to have her back at BKCM to receive this special news from one of her biggest role models in the music industry.”
