Since unveiling her spectacular debut EP First Love last week, haven’t stopped listening to the captivating pop-country sounds of Melbourne singer-songwriter Olivia Foy.
So fresh off the EP’s release, we caught up with Foy to chat about her influences, making music videos, and what the future will hold.
Fresh off the release of her incredible debut EP First Love, we caught up with Melbourne singer-songwriter Olivia Foy to chat influences, music videos, and future plans.
HAPPY: Hey Olivia, how’s it going? What are you up to at the moment?
OLIVIA: Hey! It’s going well. I’ve wrapped up my final year of uni and I’m excited to put all of my energy into my music for the rest of the year and then take a little bit of a breather.
HAPPY: We’re loving the new single… could you tell us a little about the song?
OLIVIA: Something ‘Bout You is a song along similar lines to Kiss Me. It’s about finding someone who captures your attention and you’re not sure what it is, but you know that you are falling for them. This song’s definitely more on the pop side of country for me. I wanted to write something that was really fun and uplifting with that modern sound, and this is the product! I wrote this song and I initially had no idea what I wanted to do with it. I produced my first single Kiss Me, but I was pretty much going crazy about trying to figure out what I wanted Something ‘Bout You to sound like. I enlisted the help of Sam Martinez, a producer based in Nashville and I think he did an absolutely fantastic job at bringing my vision to life.
HAPPY: How are you feeling about it now that it’s been out for a little while?
OLIVIA: I’m feeling pretty good now that it’s been out for a while. I think it can be really daunting to put out more music after your first release because you’re constantly wondering if it’s going to live up to its predecessor. I think the main thing is that I’m really proud of what I’ve put out, and I hope that people are enjoying it as much as I enjoyed creating it.
HAPPY: We’re loving the video too! It’s very well-made… you could tell us a little about the process of making this clip?
OLIVIA: Thanks! The music video was so much fun. Going along with the fun theme, I wanted the music video to be colourful and energetic. I asked my friend Nicole Pang if she would like to dance in the video. She went ahead and got her friend Nicole Li to join in, and Kaeden Trinh, an awesome choreographer to help out as well. As with Kiss Me, LP Creative were really helpful in bringing my ideas together – my name in lights, colourful lights, neon lights, wind machine etc. I’ve always dreamed of being a pop star, and this was definitely my popstar moment! I highly recommend checking out the ‘behind the scenes’ video to see what exactly went down at the shoot!
HAPPY: Do you feel like you approached the writing of Something ‘Bout You differently to Kiss Me?
OLIVIA: For sure! I wrote Kiss Me in about half an hour and it just flowed. Something ‘Bout You was the first good song that I wrote after being uninspired for a while. It took a little more effort and I think I was concerned that the sound that I was imagining in my head would be too dissimilar to Kiss Me. However, I think that these days anything really goes for music releases and your songs don’t all have to have the exact same style. On the First Love EP, Kiss Me is like your standard country-pop song, Something ‘Bout You is more on the pop production side, and then I have this one song called Want It Back which has a bit of rock and grunginess to it, but still within the country-pop umbrella.
HAPPY: When you arrived with Kiss Me, you arrived with this really fully-formed sound… how long had you been writing music for before you released that debut track?
OLIVIA: I’ve been writing music for about 13 years, but I would really call my pre-teen and teenage years a round of any meaningful songwriting haha. I got into it more maybe 5 years ago, and that’s what prompted me to apply for music school. However, at uni, I felt like there was a sort of expectation about the kind of music that we had to produce. I produced a lot of electronic pop style music, but I don’t think it was ever really my calling. I wrote Kiss Me in my second year of uni and that’s when I decided I was going to stick to country pop. Kiss Me existed for nearly two years before I released it into the world!
HAPPY: Are there any particular artists you’re currently drawing inspiration from?
OLIVIA: Kelsea Bellerini for sure. She’s absolutely killing it in the country scene. She’s even making waves in the pop scene with her collaboration with The Chainsmokers. I’m seeing a lot of country artists do collaborations with pop producers, and I’m living for it! I’d love to do the same thing if given the opportunity. There’s also a lesser-known artist named Taylor Acorn, but she’s incredible. I stumbled upon her by accident this year, and I instantly connected to her singing and songwriting style. Funnily enough, when I was driving my mates to a party, I had my playlist on shuffle and one of her songs came on. During the intro, one of my friends goes “Wait, is this you…? This sounds like one of your songs” which I thought was really funny.
HAPPY: What’s next for Olivia Foy beyond your new EP? Any other exciting plans in the works?
OLIVIA: So the plans are to play a show with my band to celebrate the launch of the EP and do some smaller gigs here and there to keep the momentum going. I’ve already started writing new songs to release next year, so you best keep your ears and eyes open for that!
HAPPY: Cheers for the chat!
OLIVIA: Thanks for having me! Always a pleasure.
