Hillary Zhuner, is an Ecuadorian singer-songwriter and composer based in New York, artistically known as "Ilandria", her music is a fusion of jazz, pop, electronic and Latin music; with its own stamp and identity that explores beyond these conventional sounds, achieving a production that is fantastically out of the traditional.

 

Since she was a child she was inclined to the artistic, between games and jokes in meetings with friends and family, Ilandria, always characterized some of her musical idols, coming to feel like a "Rock Star", while her grandfather supported the pranks that explored that innate part that brought by art; She learned to play the violin, and thus discovered a lyrical, masterful way with a lot of intonation to sing and interpret her songs. Among the artists that she remembers as an influence in her childhood, the following stand out: Shakira, JLO, Britney Spears, Ricky Martin, Selena. 

 

At the age of three, her family decided to settle in Miami in the United States, completing all her primary and secondary studies in "La Capital del Sol", and then moving to New York City, with the desire to study music. While in Miami, she learned to play guitar and discovered that she liked to sing in 4th grade, middle school, and in high school she looked for opportunities in musical theater, doors that were opened for her by the potential of her voice, becoming the main actress in musicals, already in her adolescence her influences were: Avril Lavigne, Jason Mraz, Paramore, Panic! At the disco, Steve Perry, Queen, Regina Spektor, Norah jones.

 

In the beginning she chose her stage name because she was convinced that her art is something extra sensory and outside of the typical concepts, playing a lot with the colors: blue, purple, pink and neon flashes, which evoke the 80's, and when she found music as a profession, she did not hesitate for a moment to dare to mix all this with the artistic influences of the 20's, 30's , 40's experimenting with their own sensations, everything that provokes this amalgamation of vintage and modern.

 

She has completed her higher studies in New York City, at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and it is here that she falls completely in love with jazz, her greatest reference being Caterina Valente, despite spending her whole life listening to pop and rock artists, she found in the elegance of jazz, an authentic way of making new music based on these melodies. She discovered her facet as a composer in this city, although she already had experience writing poems and short stories with a lot of imagination, which allowed her to better perform musical composition. Her first song was in English and she called it “Lost In Time” ”, inspired by a personal experience of heartbreak, letting off steam on the guitar strings, and since then she has not stopped writing songs, among which are now available on the musical platforms: I don't belong here, Strange Love, Dynamite Boy, Little eyes, Fantasia, Anita; her songs have been in English and now she discovered the passion for writing and composing in Spanish, a language that is her native language and she feels that it is a new way to better express feelings in songs.

 

"Ilandria"is a musical mix that dares to experiment with sounds, and reinforces this original way with the live presentation, super interpretive in the theatrical and full of colors from their costumes and accessories, to enjoy a true musical and visual artist. 

 

In the last three years, she has been one of the artists invited to perform on the stage of the “AIDS WALK NY” walk or marathon, leaving her professional stamp as a singer on this important stage in the United States, and the single “Fantasia” reached 18,000 streams on Spotify organically. 

 

She was a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition and was a Grand Prize Winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the Latin Division for her single "Se Acabo" in 2022. She was also named "Singer of the Year" in 2022 by the Latino Street Awards.