She put a spell on us with her riveting cover of the standard “I Put A Spell On You” in The Perfect Guy Trailer and now we are getting to know who Lydia René is with our latest special episode! During our interview Lydia opens up about how coming from a musically inclined family influenced her, her love for Philly soulsters Jill Scott and Musiq Soulchild, as well as who she’s grown up listening to including Erykah Badu, #Ledisi, #EricBenet, #GlennLewis, and #Tamia.

Lydia also opens up about who she’s listening to know including #Goapele, #StacyBarthe, #ErynAllenKane (“Have Mercy”) #PJMorten, #EmilyKing, #Ash (“The Perfect EP”),#PrestonHarris, #RobertGlasper, #KendrickLamar, and #PhonyPPL, how her LP Vintage Heart came about, why recording “True Love” took forever, if there are any plans or an acoustic or live EP, reveals plans for a Christmas album, how her singing “#IPutASpellOnYou” in The Perfect Guy trailer came together, sets the record straight regarding the possible commercial release of “I Put A Spell On You,” what songs she would put on her perfect playlist, where she sees herself in the next five to ten years, if she sees herself getting involved musically regarding #BlackLivesMatter, and of course graces the mic for The BackBeat with an original song.