Kandice Marie Melonakos (born December 20, 1987), better known by her stage name Lola Blanc, is an American singer, songwriter, director, writer, podcaster, and actress. As a musician, she has been declared a "rising star" by

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

, and "one to watch" by Ladygunn Magazine. Blanc co-wrote

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

single " Ooh La La". Blanc has appeared on such television shows as '' American Horror Story: Hotel''; she has also contributed writing for

Vice.com ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. It was founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, and its founders later launched the youth media company V ...

, having written about a number of topics including ageism in the music industry and her experience with believing in a cult leader. In 2019, Blanc co-founded Fatale Collective, an all-female horror filmmaking collective. Their debut anthology short film, "Bleed", went to

Fantastic Fest Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas, focused on fantasy, horror, sci-fi, action and cult films, the largest genre festival in the United States. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse. Lisa Dreyer ...

and a number of other genre film festivals, also winning the Director's Award for Cinematic Achievement in a Short Film at FilmQuest.

Early life

Blanc was born in Bavaria, Germany but raised primarily on a farm in

Fremont, Michigan Fremont is a city in Newaygo County, Michigan, United States. The population was 4,516 at the time of the 2020 census. History The first inhabitants of the Fremont area were Native Americans. A group of settlers led by Daniel Weaver first s ...

. Brought up Mormon by a

Greek-American Greek Americans ( ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. There is an estimate of 1.2 million Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. According to the US census, 264,066 people o ...

father who was in the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

and a motivational speaker mother, she spent much of her childhood writing songs and performing as a

ventriloquist Ventriloquism or ventriloquy is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) speaks in such a way that it seems like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventrilo ...

and auctioneer with her mother and brother, who performed magic and escape art. When Blanc was a pre-teen, her mother was targeted by a religious impostor posing as a true

LDS LDS may refer to: Organizations Religion * Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within the Latter Day Saint movement * Latvijas ...

prophet who played on her beliefs and lured her into his web. Blanc found their letters and believed in him, too; she was temporarily separated from her mother, who was coerced into human trafficking until an accomplice who had a change of heart saved her. They were promptly reunited. Eventually Lola moved to Los Angeles, where she now resides, to pursue music full-time.

Music and career

Lola Blanc has written songs alongside producers and songwriters such as

Sophie Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Soph ...

Ammo Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

Fernando Garibay Fernando Garibay (born December 27, 1982) is an American record producer, songwriter, and author. He was one half of the short-lived pop duo, Kylie and Garibay, which he formed with Australian singer Kylie Minogue in 2014. Career Garibay was ...

Jimmy Harry Jimmy Harry is an American songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Harry has worked with artists such as Madonna, Pink, Weezer, Kylie Minogue, Kelly Clarkson, Fischerspooner, Oh Land, a ...

Jon Levine Jonathan Levine (born 1976) is an American film director and screenwriter. Jonathan Levine may also refer to: *Jonathan LeVine (born 1968), New York City art dealer * Jon Levine (musician), Canadian producer, songwriter and musician *Jon Levine (te ...

TheFatRat Christian Friedrich Johannes Büttner (; born 1 June 1979), known professionally as TheFatRat, is a German DJ, record producer and musician. His genre is often described as "glitch-hop." His 2016 extended play ''Jackpot'' reached 23 on the Billb ...

and more. Blanc originally co-wrote

' single Ooh La La with Fransisca Hall and producer

for her own project; the title was intended to be a play on her name. When

Dr. Luke Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He began his professional music career as the Saturday Night Live ...

heard it, he thought it'd be perfect for Spears and brought in songwriters

Bonnie McKee Bonnie Leigh McKee (born January 20, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut album '' Trouble'' was released in 2004 by Reprise Records. After being dropped, she took a musical hiatus and established herself as a songwriter. She ...

and J. Kash to rewrite the lyrics so they would better suit Spears and

The Smurfs 2 ''The Smurfs 2'' is a 2013 American fantasy comedy film loosely based on ''The Smurfs'' comic book series created by the Belgian comics artist Peyo, produced by Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, The Kerner Entertainment Company, and ...

Acting

Blanc has made appearances on television shows such as '' American Horror Story: Hotel'' and ''

Life in Pieces ''Life in Pieces'' is an American television sitcom created by Justin Adler that aired on CBS from September 21, 2015 to June 27, 2019, with a total of 79 half-hour episodes spanning four seasons. It was produced by 40 or 50 Years, Inc. and Ka ...

'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

; she has also acted in several indie features and shorts. In 2011, she played Green-Eyed Girl in filmmaker

Joshua Leonard Joshua Granville Leonard (born June 17, 1975) is an American actor, producer, writer, and director, known for his role in ''The Blair Witch Project'' (1999). He has since starred in films such as '' Madhouse'' (2004), '' The Shaggy Dog'' (2006), ' ...

's movie, '' The Lie''. In 2015, she played

The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...

Max Landis Max Landis (born August 3, 1985) is an American filmmaker. He is the son of director John Landis. He wrote scripts for the films ''Chronicle'' (2012), '' American Ultra'' (2015), ''Victor Frankenstein'' (2015), and '' Bright'' (2017). He wrote ...

' online short "Wrestling Isn't Wrestling". In 2021 she appeared in the feature film

Venus as a Boy "Venus as a Boy" is a song by Icelandic musician Björk, released as the second single from her 1993 album, '' Debut''. The song was written by Björk and was produced by Nellee Hooper, who produced the majority of her debut album. The single w ...

starring

Ty Hodges Eric Tyrone "Ty" Hodges II is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He is known primarily for his roles in Disney Channel films and television shows, including his role as Larry Houdini in '' Don't Look Under the Bed'' and Larry Beale ...

and

Olivia Culpo Olivia Frances Culpo (born May 8, 1992) is an American model, actress, and media personality. Culpo has won Miss Rhode Island USA, Miss USA 2012, and Miss Universe 2012. Early life and education Olivia Frances Culpo was born on May 8, 1992, ...

Documentary

Blanc appears as a "Former Cult Member/ Podcaster" on several episodes of

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

's 2023 documentary "''How to Become a Cult Leader."'' Although her specific experience is not mentioned, she provides insights and analyses of famous cult leaders.

Podcast

Blanc co-hosts a podcast called "''Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation."''

Collaborations

Blanc has been photographed and filmed for a number of fashion and beauty brands, including Vera Wang Princess,

Make Up For Ever Make Up For Ever is a French cosmetics brand owned by LVMH. It was created in 1984 by make-up artist Dany Sanz. History Make Up For Ever was founded in 1984 by make-up artist Dany Sanz. It provides cosmetics to many people, including professional ...

, Pinup Girl Clothing, and Lime Crime Makeup. YouTube celebrity makeup artist

Michelle Phan Michelle Phan (born April 11, 1987) is an American YouTube personality and entrepreneur. She is the founder and owner of EM Cosmetics, a cosmetics brand she relaunched in 2017. Early life and education Michelle Phan was born on April 11, 1987 ...

has used several of Blanc's songs (Shangri-La, April Fools, and Bad Tattoo) in her tutorial videos. Blanc has also starred in a number of music videos; she plays the lead role in the

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

music video for "

Lights Light is an electromagnetic radiation, part of which stimulates the sense of vision. Light or Lights may also refer to: Illumination * Lighting * Light bulb * Traffic light Arts and entertainment Music * Lights (musician) (born 1987), Canadian s ...

" and the

Tiger Army Tiger Army is an American psychobilly band based in Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1996 in Berkeley, California, and its only constant member is singer, guitarist, and lead songwriter Nick 13. The band has released six studi ...

video for "Prisoner of the Night", among others; she is also featured in the

LMFAO LMFAO (an initialism for Laughing My Freaking Ass Off) was an American electronic dance music duo consisting of Redfoo and Sky Blu (rapper), Sky Blu. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Nancy Leiviska. Sky Blu ...

music video for "

Sexy and I Know It "Sexy and I Know It" is a song by American duo LMFAO from their second and final studio album, '' Sorry for Party Rocking''. It was released as the third single from the album on September 16, 2011. The song was written by Stefan Kendal Gordy, ...

", as well as the Lifehouse music video for "

Halfway Gone "Halfway Gone" is a song by American band Lifehouse (band), Lifehouse. It is the first single released from their fifth studio album, ''Smoke & Mirrors (Lifehouse album), Smoke & Mirrors'' (2010). It was first released via digital download in the ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanc, Lola Living people American women singer-songwriters American women pop singers 1987 births American writers of Greek descent People from Fremont, Michigan 21st-century American actresses Female models from Michigan American synth-pop musicians American dance musicians American electronic musicians American indie pop musicians Ventriloquists American women in electronic music Singer-songwriters from Michigan 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters