Catch up with pop singer-songwriter Olivia and listen to her new single, "Outshine The Stars", from her forthcoming EP.
What got you interested in music?
Olivia: What got me interested in music was, I think, at a young age, I just loved listening to music and the idea of being on stage and performing for other people; yet, when I first did it, I was very nervous and I was almost going to back out of doing it but then, after I did it, I felt exactly how I thought I would feel. I think that just listening to other people following their dreams got me to want to do something like that and follow my own dream.
Do you remember the first song you wrote that you were happy with?
The first song that I wrote that I was super happy with would probably be my Christmas song, "Christmas For Two". Before that, I wrote all my own songs by myself and they weren't bad for when I was young - I was probably twelve when I wrote all of them - and they're not your typical kind that relates to everyone, some of them were kind of random, and then I grew into myself, as an artist, and came up with much better songs that suited me and that I loved. When I wrote "Christmas For Two", I think that was the moment I realized, like, 'ooh, I'm getting better at this,' and I wrote it with two other people, so we all got to help each other out. It was really fun.
Which bands or artists have you been influenced by?
I really love Ed Sheeran. I love the way he writes his songs because it's a story from start to end and that's how I wanted to start writing my music, it's a story and it's a whole path from start to ending, and I really love how he does that. Vocally, I also love Sam Smith; I think he's amazing. And Norah Jones, because she was one of the first people that I would listen to and sing her music - at shows and stuff - and she is awesome and I love all her songs; I like the whole jazziness of them.
Who do you have in your playlist now?
I love listening to Justin Bieber right now, I actually think his new album is really awesome. I still listen to Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith except, right now, I'm trying to sway myself out of more sad music because I used to listen to a lot more mellow music [laughs] but I'm getting into Spring break spirit and listening to some upbeat songs by Hailee Steinfeld and stuff like that.
What words would you use to describe your sound?
My own sound, I think, would be more of a singer-songwriter/pop, because of course I'm a pop musician and now I consider myself one - before I didn't really - but I still like to have those singer-songwriter aspects in my music.
What was the inspiration behind your single, "Outshine The Stars"?
So, for "Outshine The Stars" I wanted to write a song that was to let people know that there is hope and that they're okay in the world and not every bad thing that happens is going to make or break them; it's just one bad thing. Of course there'll be plenty of obstacles in your life, but if you look past them then you can see that - like I said in the song - you can outshine the stars, and that's what I wanted the message to be, to let people know that they can outshine the stars if they put their minds to it.
Is that single indicative of what we can expect to hear on your upcoming EP?
Yes, it's going to be on the EP and I'm really excited about that too because it's probably my favorite song out of all of them, but I love my other songs and I'm really excited to hear all of them together on one EP; it's going to be really cool.
What do you hope your listeners and fans can take away from your music?
I hope that they can love it as much as I do and that my songs inspire them and make them feel something, because I know - like "Outshine The Stars" that things can get rough in life but I want to have a song out there that reminds those people that there are brighter days. I have another sad song on there, but it's a hopeful sad song and I want people to listen to those songs and see that life is good and that it's not always bad and I want them to listen to those songs and leaving them remembering that they heard those songs and that's what I hope. I hope that they love them like I do and that they feel good about it.
Is there anything you'd like to add?
My single, "Outshine The Stars", just came on pre-order on March 16th, so if you wanna get your hands on that you can and it'll officially be out around the 26th of March and my EP is coming after that so, yeah, stay tuned and be excited.