Today we’d like to introduce you to Madeleine Ho.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Hi! I’m Madeleine Ho and I create music under the name miinii, pronounced “mini.” I’m a Vietnamese American singer, songwriter, content creator and software engineer based in the Tampa Bay area. My life has taken me down two very different paths, one in technology and one in music, and I’m currently learning how to turn everything I’ve built creatively into the career I’ve always dreamed of.
Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started classical piano lessons at four years old and wrote my first song at eight after losing my uncle. Growing up, I joined choir, band, orchestra and musical theater, eventually performing in All State Choir and learning instruments including guitar, ukulele, flute, oboe and marimba. I was always happiest when I was creating or performing, but for a long time, I didn’t realize music could become a real path for me.
As the daughter of a Vietnamese immigrant and a first generation college student, I felt a lot of pressure to choose a stable career. I earned degrees in computer science and finance and became a software engineer at 21. I’m incredibly grateful for that career, but the dream of becoming an artist never went away. Eventually, I decided I didn’t want fear or someone else’s definition of success to keep me from finding out what I could build.
I began sharing music and content online under the name miinii, slowly teaching myself everything from recording and production to content creation, marketing and live performance. What started in my bedroom has grown into a community of more than 150,000 followers across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. I’ve released original songs including “ICARUS,” “LOVE BOMB” and “CHASE,” and I’ve performed at festivals and events around the country, from Tampa and St. Petersburg to New York, North Carolina and Dallas, where I performed a 45 minute choreographed set with backup dancers.
Building this career while working full time has been one of the hardest and most rewarding things I’ve ever done. I’ve had to become my own songwriter, creative director, marketer, editor and biggest believer. I’m still very much in the middle of the story, but today I’m more confident than ever that I’m building something meaningful. My goal is to create bold, honest pop music that makes people feel seen and to show other young women, especially those from immigrant families, that choosing a creative dream doesn’t mean you’re being unrealistic. Sometimes it simply means you’re brave enough to create your own version of success.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. One of my biggest challenges has been balancing a demanding full time career in software engineering with building a music career from the ground up. There have been countless nights when I finished a full workday and still needed to write, record, edit content, rehearse or plan my next release. When you are independent, there is no team waiting behind the scenes. You have to create the art and also figure out how to market it, fund it and convince people to believe in it.
I also had to work through a lot of fear and self doubt. Growing up in an immigrant household, stability was incredibly important, and pursuing music did not always feel like a practical or fully supported choice. For a long time, I felt like I had to prove that I could be responsible and successful before I earned the right to take my creative dreams seriously. Even now, it can be difficult to step away from the traditional path when I have already worked so hard to build a secure career.
Social media has opened so many doors for me, but it comes with its own challenges. Numbers can rise and fall overnight, and it is easy to feel like your value depends on an algorithm. I have had to learn that visibility and progress are not always the same thing. Some of my most meaningful growth has happened during seasons that looked quiet from the outside.
There have also been financial limitations, rejection, missed opportunities and moments when I questioned whether I was doing enough. I have had to build without industry connections, learn through trial and error and keep showing up even when the results were not immediate. But every challenge has made me more resourceful, disciplined and clear about why I am doing this. I have learned that confidence is not something you wait to feel. It is something you build by continuing to choose yourself, especially on the days when it would be easier not to.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a singer, songwriter, performer and content creator working under the name miinii, pronounced “mini.” I create pop music that blends emotional, honest storytelling with fun, confident energy. My sound moves across different sides of pop, from vulnerable piano driven songs to pop rock, pop rap and dance inspired tracks, but the common thread is that everything begins with a feeling or experience I want to turn into something other people can connect with.
As an independent artist, my work goes far beyond writing and singing. I record my own music in Logic Pro and take an active role in developing the creative direction, visuals, content and marketing behind every release. I have built a community of more than 150,000 followers across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube by sharing music, personality driven content and an honest look at the process of pursuing a creative dream while working full time.
I’m known for being versatile, both musically and creatively. I grew up studying classical piano and performing in choir, band, orchestra and musical theater, so I bring a strong musical foundation to modern pop music. I also love creating full experiences around my songs. Whether I am performing alone at a piano or putting together a 45 minute choreographed show with backup dancers, I want every performance to feel intentional, energetic and memorable.
I’m most proud that I built all of this independently while maintaining a career as a software engineer. I did not begin with industry connections, a label or a team showing me what to do. I learned how to record, edit, market, perform and grow an audience by experimenting, failing and continuing to show up. Reaching more than 150,000 people, releasing original music and performing around the country are accomplishments I am incredibly proud of, but I am equally proud of the discipline and courage it took to get there.
What sets me apart is the combination of creativity and technical thinking I bring to everything I do. My background in music, technology and content creation allows me to approach being an artist from multiple angles. I can be deeply emotional in my songwriting and analytical about how I bring an idea to life. I think that balance has made me resourceful, adaptable and unafraid to try things differently. Most importantly, I want people to see that you do not have to fit into one box. You can be technical and creative, practical and ambitious, and you can build a life that makes room for every part of who you are.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
The most meaningful mentorship in my life began completely unexpectedly. During the pandemic, I was bored, isolated and honestly a little depressed in my college apartment. I spent a lot of time writing random songs on my ukulele purely for my own amusement. I had been writing songs since I was eight, but I never imagined I could release them or become a recording artist. I did not have the slightest idea where to begin.
As TikTok was starting to take off, I began posting videos with the assumption that no one would see them. One day, I wrote a parody of a popular song about being Asian, and it unexpectedly blew up. Unfortunately, a lot of the attention was negative. People called it cringey and left incredibly mean comments. I remember thinking, “Wow, my music career ended before it even began.” I put the camera down and stopped posting.
Then, a group of Asian American artists from Los Angeles reached out to me. They had taken the sound from my TikTok, turned it into the hook of an original song and created a full production around it. It was mixed, mastered and genuinely so good. They invited me to fly to Los Angeles and appear in the music video, which was the easiest yes ever.
I flew out with no expectations. I thought I would appear in the video and then go home, but instead, we all became great friends. They welcomed me into their creative world and taught me about music production, recording, mixing and mastering. More importantly, they helped me realize that becoming an independent recording artist was something I could actually do. Before meeting them, music was something I created privately for fun. After meeting them, I could finally picture a real path forward. That mentorship completely changed the direction of my life, and I still consider it such a blessing.
My advice for finding mentors and building a network is to put yourself out there before you feel completely ready. Let people see what you are creating, even when it feels imperfect. Say yes to opportunities that excite you, be genuinely curious and ask questions when you are around people doing what you hope to do. Networking has worked best for me when I have approached it as building real relationships rather than asking what someone can do for me. Put yourself in the right rooms, support other people’s work and be willing to learn. Sometimes the person who changes your life finds you simply because you were brave enough to share something.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beacons.ai/miinii
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialmiinii/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/DevilButterfly7892
- Soundcloud: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5LubMX0QZXsKMS7GxlWbuY?si=k8jzhAW4RSqSk98hvJsODg
