Through her new music, the 18-year-old Texas native is proving why she's one of the most exciting songwriters to follow in the industry right now.
The message behind your new single “rent free” is so cool, and definitely something that a lot of people can relate to. How was the process of bringing this song to life?
One of the writers I was working with named Casey Smith came into our session a little late and she had the idea to write a song called “rent free.” As we were writing, I shared a story about one of my friends who had been paying for her crush’s food, driving him everywhere, and paying for gas after taking him everywhere — just spending so much time on this guy that genuinely didn’t care for her. We kind of brought that whole entire story to life and brought my friend’s feelings into the story to really bring out the frustration of caring for somebody so deeply and giving them your all and getting nothing in return. We just really wanted to bring out that realization of “I’m going to let this person out of my life right now. I’m gonna let them go and I’m not gonna let them waste another second of mine.” Spending your time isn’t cheap!
This year you also released "Fumbled the Bag.” What was the inspiration behind this incredible song?
This song was inspired by one of my friends who had a break-up this past summer. I really wanted to write this song for her, because she is by far one of the best people I have ever known in my whole entire life, and this guy dropped her like it was absolutely nothing. I knew that one day he was going to come crawling back, and I wanted to empower her to feel that she could push him away when he does that, because he definitely will sometime soon.
Another one of your songs, "see you later," gained a lot of traction on TikTok. What was that experience like, and do you think it impacted you in a different way than your other work?
“see you later” is a song that I wrote on my own, on my piano, within 45 minutes. I did not expect it to do as well as it did, honestly. I had been waiting for a moment like this in my career for years. I don't think people realize this, but I've been in the industry since I was around 10 years old, and at this point, I was like, “Well, I’m just gonna start writing songs for myself and for other people and see how they resonate and see if anything happens.” I was planning on going to college for music business in Nashville and my life completely turned around — did a full 180. Now, I’m signed to a record label and I have had an experience of a lifetime because of this song. I'm just so grateful that this song has been able to heal so many lives and help people apply this story to what they're going through, which I think is the coolest thing out of it all.
Not everyone may know this, but you're also a talented actress. What made you want to start to pursue music?
Well, I actually started off in music, and I went into acting, so it was kind of a crossover thing. I wanted to be able to put my music ability into acting, that has always been my goal. I didn't really want to take focus off of my music career, I just really wanted both of them to compliment each other. I was very inspired by the film "La La Land" with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. I have always wanted to be in a film like "La La Land," and that is my overall goal in my acting career.
What are some things you’re excited for in the new year about your career? Are you working on anything new or planning on releasing any new music next year?
I am so excited for what 2023 has to hold involving my career and involving new releases. I will say, I have bigger projects coming out throughout the whole entire year next year. I spent all of 2022 preparing for 2023 and these releases, so I’m very excited for people to finally hear and see what I’ve been working on for the past 365 days. It's going to be an amazing experience for all of us, and I'm excited to release a chunk of music at the same time!