Willa James

My name is Yvonka DeBarr, and I’ve been writing long before Willa James had a voice.

I started writing songs in middle school and never stopped. Over the years, that turned into shelves of journals, poems, and unfinished lyrics. Writing has always been my emotional outlet, the place I go to make sense of hard things. While my professional life led me into business leadership and psychology, creativity never left. It just went quiet for a while.

Willa’s songs come from those pages.

They’re shaped from journal entries, poems, and songs written during some of the most challenging moments of my life. My process always starts with reflection and a title.,something to anchor the story. From there, I shape the narrative, tighten syllables, and rewrite until the song sounds the way it feels.

My songwriting and music producing process is very intentional and deeply personal.

There’s also a more vulnerable reason Willa exists.

I used to love singing, but somewhere along the way I decided I wasn’t good enough. That belief turned into fear and embarrassment, and it kept me silent. Willa gave my songs a voice when I couldn’t give them one myself and, unexpectedly, the courage to try again. I want to own every part of my music one day, but I also welcome other artists who want to sing or license my songs.

The first album, Hope This Story Ends…, explores what happens when trust is strained, the weight of uncertainty, the effort it takes to rebuild, and the choice to keep showing up anyway. These songs come from moments of doubt, reflection, and the slow work of learning how to move forward together.

Music found its way back into my life through my partner. His encouragement, patience, and belief in my creativity helped reopen a door I thought had closed. He invited me to play again, to experiment, to create without pressure and through that support, the spark returned. This project exists in large part because someone else believed in my music before I fully believed in myself again.

My dream is simple: to create albums I can play on repeat, music that reflects the life I’ve lived, what I’ve learned, and how I’ve grown. If others connect with it, that’s a gift. If artists want to collaborate or sing these songs, I’d love that.

Willa James exists so the stories could be heard mostly by me and of course anyone willing to listen and feel.