Born with paralyzed vocal chords, doctors said Sofia Schuster might not live long let alone speak. Through a combination of strong will and quality medical care, she persevered and found her voice. At the age of 3 Sofia became captivated by music and that set her on a trajectory which profoundly impacted the rest of her life. 

After winning the Teen Impact of the Year Award for Girls Rock SB in 2018 and winning the Teen Star SB competition in 2019, Sofia was contacted by producers to audition for the 2020 season of American Idol. 

Sofia had previously performed her original women’s rights song “My Body My Choice” at a Planned Parenthood benefit, and decided to perform it again for American Idols’ celebrity judges as a way to boldly share what’s in her heart rather than take the safe route with a popular cover song. It was a risky move but the right one as she passed the audition in Hollywood.  

Her message of female empowerment is rooted in a strong role model at home and in her music community. She enrolled in GIRLS ROCK SB in 2012 studying guitar, vocal performance, piano, & drums. This program gave her the confidence to record her first album, “Golden Gate,” at age 12 in studio with Martin Gore (Depeche Mode). As a way to give back, Sofia donated all album sales to support scholarships for 10 girls to attend Girls Rock SB’s after-school music programs. 

Sofia has been personally mentored by Multi-Grammy and Academy award winning icon Kenny Loggins and was cast by him in the 2019 Footloose Benefit Concert in addition to performances on the Unity Telethon and Teen Sing charity event + TV special which raised $65,000 for survivors of the Thomas Fire and mudslide. 

Other performance highlights include singing the National Anthem publicly >125 times, including with David Foster at the Ash Bash fundraiser and with the U.S. Marine Corps at the Santa Barbara Country Music Festival. She has also opened for Elle King at the Granada Theater, and sang in choir performances backing Katy Perry at the Santa Barbara Bowl and Chris Pratt at Disneyland.

Sofia has been featured on Good Morning LaLa Land and KEYT in addition to Gladys Magazine, The Santa Barbara Newspress, Montecito Journal, Santa Barbara Independent, SB Life & Style, and more.

She completed a song writing program in June 2019 through the Berklee College of Music and has performed in 15 musicals including, West Side Story, Les Miserables, Hairspray, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. 

Sofia is currently a high school senior at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan where she is a singer-songwriting major.