Sherry Cola: says this as she enlists Fifth Harmony’s female members to perform the Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits theme song. “It’s unjust that I’m sitting close to them.”
“They are goddesses,” she declares to the camera. Because to Cola’s hilarious timing, the interview outset for the BAE show on 97.1 AMP radio is funnier than most music journalism. Cola lends excitement and a comic edge to everything she does, from radio to comedy to acting.
Sherry Cola Views On Finding Meaning in Success
Claws, I Love Dick, Safeword, Transparent, and Life in Pieces have all included the 29-year-old actor and comedian. Currently, she can be seen in the Freeform sitcom Good Trouble. Her voice can be heard in the video game NBA 2K18. She was a regular on 97.1 AMP and she presented The BAE show.
Cola adds, “Entertaining was kind of in my blood from a young age.” In high school, Cola began filming hilarious movies and presenting events such as the school talent show. She was passionate about entertaining, but she had never considered turning it into a career.
“I’m not sure if it was the absence of Asian American representation [on television], but I felt like, ‘Oh, that’s not my job.'” I’m an immigrant myself, so I’ve always had that alien vibe. I recall thinking to myself as a kid while I watched TV and movies, ‘that’s for Americans.'”
Cola only intended to make it to college after graduating from high school with a poor GPA; she had no other ambitions. Thankfully, she was accepted to Cal State Fullerton, where she majored in communications with a focus on entertainment studies. Cola fell in love with radio while at Fullerton. She became a broadcaster after joining the campus radio station.
Cola got a work at 97.1 FM, often known as AMP, in Los Angeles after graduation. Despite the fact that Cola was born in Shanghai, she frequently speaks in a Southern Californian accent. “I busted my ass, you know what I mean?” she says of her start at 97.1 AMP. I really did.”
She started out on a promotional street team, then moved on to social media and weekend work. She spent a couple of years working her way up the corporate ladder while experimenting with standup comedy.
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Cola’s coworkers at the radio station were putting together a standup comedy show, and they thought she was amusing and encouraged her to attempt it. “I did it and kind of fell in love with it, and it was the first time I formally did standup in March of 2016,” she explains. Cola’s life became a comic whirlwind during the next few months. Cola debuted her character, Lil’ Tasty, an Asian female rapper who always wore an oversized Laker jersey, in the same month.
Cola launched the persona on a web series sponsored by her pals on Facebook. Drive Luber was a web series that mocked prominent ride-sharing apps. The episode in which she played the character became viral almost immediately, with millions of views. Cola’s enlightenment came when the video went viral at the same time she attempted standup for the first time.
Cola’s comedy was discovered by an old acquaintance from her college radio days, who came to see her perform. “I inquired what he did and he answered, ‘I’m a manager,'” Cola recalled conversing with him thereafter. And I mistook him for a Cheesecake Factory executive, but he was a talent manager, and we basically said, ‘Let’s make this happen.'”
Cola rapidly graduated from the UCB improv programme to perfect her abilities before auditioning for the Amazon show I Love Dick with the help of her new manager and some connections at ICM. Cola landed jobs on Claws, Safeword, and Good Trouble after I Love Dick.
That isn’t to say the journey was without bumps. Cola received a lot of rejection, especially between I Love Dick and Claws. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, When pilot season rolls around and you’re not booked, it’s frustrating, but getting auditions is a blessing,” she says. “It may be irritating to say, but I will always remain in this humble energy for the rest of my life.”
Cola’s character will be given an arch about pursuing standup comedy in the second season of Good Trouble, an instance of art mimicking life that Cola couldn’t be more enthusiastic about. “I’m quite aware of the opportunities that I’ve been given, but that’s not to suggest that I didn’t work hard,” she says of her recent series of wins.
The struggle has always been palpable. Even when I was working in radio, which was a minimum wage job, I would always show up in a way that was so out of the ordinary. ‘Why are you taking this so seriously?’ people would ask. But, well, I had a goal in mind.”
Even Cola’s radio ambitions came true as her career took off. Her Lil’ Tasty character drew the attention of AMP 97 morning show host Carson Daly, who arranged up a meeting with Cola after learning that she already worked for the station and was being underutilised. She ended up doing comic news bits on the air and talking to random strangers.
Later, she was given her own show on the station. “That was the dream,” says the narrator. She says, “I finally got my voice on the air.” Because CBS Radio transferred to Entercom, the show didn’t continue long, but Cola was undeterred. “It’s all right. “Life happens,” she says, “but the important is that I set a goal for myself from the beginning and I met it.”
Cola believes that success isn’t just about her; it’s about being seen. “The influence that we are having as an Asian American community right now, particularly in the entertainment industry, is tremendously inspiring to me.”
“I constantly talk about how we’ve reached a stage when competition is behind us and all we’re doing is empowering,” she continues, “and it’s really lovely because the community has never been stronger.” The world is finally waking up to the fact that we can achieve anything, and we are now being given greater opportunities.”
“However, we still have a lot of work to do,” she continues. It still surprises me to see more than two Asian Americans on the screen at the same time in a non-stereotypical way, especially when bad English isn’t exploited as the punchline. Seeing that motivated me to do more, to start my own ventures, and to push myself even harder.”
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