WHEN DID YOU START DEVELOPING A PASSION FOR MUSIC?
When I was 13 years old, Southlake’s School of Rock opened five minutes from my house. I could literally walk there. I started taking vocal and guitar lessons, and I started to find my own voice, write small songs and perform wherever I could. Southlake was pretty essential to my musical upbringing.
WHEN DID YOU GET YOUR BIG BREAK?
In March 2018, I auditioned for “American Idol.” I got in, and I was so surprised. I got to meet so many cool people. I ended up getting eliminated in the Hollywood Round, but it was still a pretty wild, weird, fun and crazy experience for me.
WHAT DID YOU DO AFTER THAT?
I kept auditioning, performing at open mic nights and really started going hard with my writing. Then last year, I met Ben Ruttner from The Knocks during one of his shows. We started messaging each other, and he said he wanted to fly me out to New York and work with me. He connected me with his record label, Neon Gold Records, and by the end of the year, I signed as one of their artists.
HOW DIFFERENT IS IT WORKING AS AN INDEPENDENT VERSUS A SIGNED ARTIST?
It’s so, so different! There’s so much money and effort that goes into mixing, mastering, recording and promoting your music. It takes about six months to a year just to fully release one song. I just feel so excited and lucky, and I can’t even express how grateful I am for all of the people who helped me get to this point. Without them, I would have a really hard time getting my music to where it is now.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW?
I’ve released three singles so far this year — “Madonna,” “Peppermint,” “Astronaut” and a new song called “Savior” just last month. I’ll be releasing my first self-titled EP this month.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT MUSIC?
Music is my therapy. It’s such an emotional thing for me. I’m just so bad at talking about my feelings, so to let it all out there in song feels so freeing to me. I love songwriting, I love performing and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.