- December 13, 2025
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When Mill Creek's Tommie Simone pictures his now 33-year-old daughter Ilana Simone, he flashes back to when she was 3 years old.
In her dance costume and tap shoes, she would shuffle around in their kitchen in Massachusetts, singing the song “You Are So Beautiful” that was made famous by Joe Cocker.
“She would almost fall over, because her head was so big,” Tommie Simone said. “Even back then, she loved being on stage.”
Tommie Simone remembered her singing on top of his desk at a real estate office when she was 6 years old, and she had no fear of performing in front of all of his coworkers.
Tommie and Kim Simone put their daughter in the Manatee Players when she was 7 because, as Ilana puts it, "I wouldn't stop singing and dancing."
Illana Simone was just getting started.
Tommie Simone said his daughter both “inspires and intimidates” him with how she goes after what she wants.
Ilana Simone has followed her dream of becoming a songwriter, artist and producer, under the stage name of Ilana Armida. As an independent artist, she has written songs for other artists as well as for herself. She co-wrote the song "Ride" with three other artists that appeared on Doja Cat's album "Planet Her," which was nominated for a Grammy in 2022.
Music has been a key part of her whole life, from performing in musical theater to writing poetry that would eventually turn into songs in her journal. It wasn’t until college that she realized she could combine the two.
“I come up with the melodies first and I kind of mumble some words here and there,” Simone said. “Usually something comes to me and gives me a feeling of some sort. The words just kind of appear.”
Simone said it is not uncommon for her to wake up with major parts of a song, if not all of it, just waiting to be put down on paper and recorded. She does most of her writing solo, but loves a good “meeting of the minds” when she collaborates with other writers and producers. Simone said she will often record little voice memos with a song idea and return to it later.
She described her music using the terms “genre bending” and “pop experimentalist.” A lot of her music is focused on women's empowerment, especially because of what she has faced in the music industry.
She is often the only girl in the room when collaborating with music industry executives.
“(My music) focuses on the duality — you can be masculine and you can be feminine, you can be light and dark. You can be sexy but also be taken seriously,” Ilana Simone said. “You can be powerful and soft. I think it's been very healing for me in this process, and I hope that it can be healing for the people who hear the music and watch the visuals, too.”
Ilana Simone said she loves being an independent artist, owning all of her masters and having creative control. She also said that although she appreciates the freedom, there is only so much she can do on her own. She said if the right deal comes along from a record label, she would take it, but her goal is to build a fanbase and connect with people.
Ilana Simone’s first bar gig in 2015 was at Ed’s Tavern in Lakewood Ranch and she finds herself continually returning to play there due to the nostalgia and atmosphere. She moved back to Mill Creek from Los Angeles in 2024.
“I don't always find my audience locally, but Ed’s is always so supportive of whatever I play. I play everything from 70s to today's covers, pop rock, R&B stuff, and then I actually get to sing some of my original stuff. My original stuff always gets the reaction from people here.”
Right now, she is playing gigs for three hours at restaurants, clubs and hotels but is preparing to build a production to go on tour, which would include theatrics, a band and dancers.
“I want people to come to see Ilana Armida live and hear my songs and see my band, and get the full picture,” she said. “That's what next year's focus will be.”
She currently is performing in the role of Mimi in "Rent" which is presented by the The Sarasota Players from Dec. 3-14 (shows daily except for Dec. 8).
“It's kind of a full circle moment, because I'm doing a musical again after all of this time,” Simone said. “I’m back to my roots.”
Tommie Simone gets nervous for his daughter every time she's on stage, but has to remind himself that she is there because she loves it and wants to do it. He hopes that she gets recognized on a national and international level.
“She'll sing a rock and roll song or hip hop song, then all of a sudden, she'll start doing dances,” Tommie Simone said. “She’ll sing opera and then do hip hop dancing. It's the full, complete package. She just needs an audience.”
