#1 searched “Alyssa” in Spain

During my 2025 trip through Spain, I made one simple decision: I would never waste an organic opportunity to share my music.

I didn’t run up to strangers demanding that they follow me on Spotify. That would be weird. But whether I was talking with a server, barista, taxi driver, Uber driver, or someone I met while singing karaoke, the same questions naturally came up: “What brings you to Spain?” and “What do you do for a living?”

Instead of simply answering, “I’m a singer-songwriter,” I would say, “I’m a professional singer-songwriter. Do you have Spotify?”

Most people would hand me their phones and ask me to find myself. During my first week in Barcelona, I still needed to type “Alyssa Jacey”—or at least “Alyssa Jac…”—before my artist profile appeared.

Then I continued having conversations. Barcelona became Valencia, and “Alyssa Jacey” gradually required fewer letters.

By the time I left Valencia and arrived in Madrid to perform at the Hard Rock Hotel—roughly nine or ten days after arriving in Spain—I could type only:

A-L-Y-S-S-A.

No “J.” No last name. Just “Alyssa.”

And Alyssa Jacey appeared first.

I saw that change happen on phones belonging to people I had never met, in another country, thousands of miles from home. It didn’t come from one enormous promotional campaign. It grew through genuine conversations and my willingness to walk through every little door that opened.

Spain was a great reminder of something I have been telling myself since the beginning of my career: one at a time. One conversation, one connection, and one new listener at a time.

My career has been a slow burn that has required tremendous patience, but every genuine connection matters. I remain grateful for each person who chooses to listen, because you never know where one conversation might lead—or what could happen when you’re prepared to answer.