With Halloween being Jasmine Ortiz’s “absolute favorite holiday,” it was only a matter of time before the singer/songwriter paid homage to the spookiest day of the year. And that she did today by announcing via her label, KGB Records, the release of her new single Trick or Treat, an alternative pop song about the challenges dealing with dating and getting “ghosted”. “Ghosting” is an expression that describes when a love interest stops communicating with a partner with no explanation—in other words, disappearing like a ghost. The song is personal for Jasmine. “Trick or Treat highlights how spooky that feeling can be,” she says. 

Penned and produced by Jasmine herself, the single marks a new musical direction for the 20-year-old artist who has gained popularity with her danceable reggaeton tracks. “Trick or Treat belongs in the American alternative pop scene with both an ethereal and electronic feel,” states Jasmine. “I still love reggaeton and learned a lot in the past couple years,” she says. “Now I’m ready for a shift in my career, I want to show people how much more I can do.”

In her new single, she does it all—writing, producing, playing and programming instruments, selecting loops and more. “This song is 100 percent me,” she says with pride in her voice.

Trick or Treat is a product of the scary times the world is currently facing due to the global pandemic, when creatives suddenly found themselves hunkered down at home for safety. In isolation in her hometown of Stroudsburg, PA or the Poconos, Jasmine found herself experimenting with new sounds and producing more music.

While “Ghosting is a scary reality of dating in 2020,” admits Jasmine, she didn’t want heartbreak and disillusion be the focus in her lyrics. Instead, she conjures the fun spirit of modern day Halloween to deliver a message to a lover who disguises his true intention and disappears with no explanation. Also, very cleverly, she doesn’t allow the song to be dated for October’s scary season. After all, date ghosting happens all year long. “My song goes well beyond Halloween,” she says. 

Trick or Treat is the artist’s eighth single in a musical career that was publicly launched about two years ago. Of Puerto Rican, Salvadorian and Spanish descent, the bilingual/bicultural songstress began her musical journey performing and recording reggaeton, releasing dance-friendly tracks, and collaborating with popular artists like Swiftondemand and YBN Almighty Jay as well as renowned producers TrackDilla and Cesar Da Emperor (responsible for hits by Tyga and Post Malone).

SpotifyThe video for Trick or Treat recreates scenes from some of Jasmine’s favorite horror flicks, such as It, Psycho and The Shining. The video is directed by Jasmine’s mother, Maria Picon, who also happens to be a filmmaker. “Unpopular opinion, but I think horror films can be really funny sometimes”, she quips.

Jasmine’s new single arrives at a pivotal time in her career. She is currently a student at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, where she is majoring in music with a minor in political science. With classes going online due to the Covid-19 crisis, she decided to take advantage of the opportunity and move to Los Angeles to expand her musical horizons. An adventurer by nature, Jasmine packed up what she could fit into one suitcase and traveled cross-country in an SUV to follow her dreams. 

“I’m here to pursue my greatest passion in life,” says Jasmine. “I started playing piano at age three, singing at six, and writing songs at eight. I’ve been doing music my whole life and I have many more songs to share.”

Trick or Treat can be played on Spotify.

The post Recording Artist Jasmine Ortiz Drops New Single ‘Trick or Treat’ in Time for Halloween first appeared on .

By Justina Bonilla

Though Covid-19 has become responsible for canceling many of our favorite holiday events and traditions, such as the famous West Hollywood Halloween Carnival, local haunted houses, and trick-or-treating, Halloween is not canceled. Many venues in Southern California have created spooky and safe alternatives for adults and families alike. Highlighted either by county or at home programs are Covid-19 guideline-friendly Halloween events for a frightful good time. In fact, several programs are already underway, bringing the Halloween spirit early. (Featured photo above by Toni Cuenca from Pexels)

Prices and dates for events available in the title links.

LOS ANGELES:

LA Art Society

Dedicated to “Bringing people together through ART”, the LA Art Society is hosting a horror movie drive-in cinema experience at the Gardena Cinema in the city of Gardena. Each day has two separate themed screenings from the family-friendly horror films “Spooky Series”, to the rated-R horror films “Dark Series”.

Haunted Hayride

The favorite LA Halloween attraction is modifying its signature scares for a drive-through experience. At the end of the trail, enjoy a drive-in of scary short film festival, with scare performers in a live show.

LA Zoo

Hosting their first ever drive-in movies experiences, the LA Zoo is hosting three weekends of film, with unique themes which are predominately family orientated. The themes include: Week#1: Animal Adventures (Zootopia), Week #2: The Brilliant Betty White (The Lorax), and Week #3: Hair-Raising Halloween (The Addams Family (2019)).

ORANGE COUNTY

The Frida Cinema Drive In

Orange County’s only art house cinema theatre, The Frida Cinema, is hosting an array of pop-up drive-in experiences. Among their array of films for the season are the horror classics Evil Dead 2, Deep Red: 45^th Anniversary, and the Halloween classic The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Santa Ana Zoo

A COVID-safe Halloween family friendly trail through the zoo. Family friendly costumes are encouraged and goody bags are available for children.

OC Fair Food Drive-Thru

The tasty treats that are featured attractions of the fair, are now available by drive-thru. Drive-thru the OC fair grounds for a unique food experience, with food favorites from funnel cakes, to kettle popcorn, and Pink’s Hot Dogs.

Urban Legends Drive-Thru Haunt at OC Fair & Event Center

Enjoy three interactive scare zones at the OC fair grounds, filled with monsters and special effects. Each scare zone is filled with “immersive storytelling and terrifying scenes”. 

SAN DIEGO

Mr. Jack O’Lanterns Pumpkins

The family fun of a pumpkin patch can now be experienced at home, with Mr. Jack O’Lanterns Pumpkin’s newest features, curbside pickup or home delivery with Grubhub. Enjoy ordering online an array of pumpkin sizes and fun pumpkin decorating and carving kits. Mr. Jack O’Lanterns Pumpkins is available in both San Diego and Los Angeles.    

Birch Aquarium

The Haunted Aquarium Remix at the Birch Aquarium has created a mix of new outdoor activities as well as animal activities and encounters for families. Costumes are encouraged when enjoying their Haunted Kelp Maze and viewing the sea creatures of the deep and dark parts of the sea.

SPECIAL ONLINE EVENTS

The Frida Cinema: Camp Frida Blood Stream

While also hosting the pop-up drive ins, The Frida Cinema is also holding its traditional Camp Frida 12-hour movie marathon online, on October 24 from 8pm to 8am. This year’s films are 1980’s cult slasher horror films, such as Spookies, Zombi 3, and Terror Train, starring Jamie Lee Curtis.

STREAMING SERVICES

While most streaming service already proved horror movies year-round, some are highlighting horror films in either special Halloween sections, with original content. 

Netflix

With its featured Halloween section, Netflix is also expanding on its horror section new horror film premieres, in particular Vampires vs. the Bronx. 

Hulu

Featuring its highlighted horror films in Huluween, while also premiering new horror films, like Books of Blood.

Shudder

The year-round horror film streaming platforms, is featuring new film releases and highlighting horror cult classics.

Tubi

The free streaming service features an array of horror movies, including modern, classic and cult films.

TV:

TCM

Every Friday night in October, TCM (Turner Classic Movies) will play classic horror films, from the timeless Universal Monster films of Dracula and Frankenstein to the infamous The Wicker Man, and a full day of classic horror delights on Halloween.

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