Talia Stewart Gives Us a Fresh Perspective on Pop Fusion

She is driven by empowering not only women, but everyone who feels different than the “norm” to embrace their uniqueness and push boundaries. With her edgy, sexy, high energy performances, she practices what she preaches and creates a space where people can forget about the world for a while to feel at home and free.

Originally from Southern California, Talia moved across the country to attend Belmont University and continue working on writing and releasing her music. Talia grew up as an avid reader, writing her own short stories and sharing them with her family.  She then combined her love for literature and music into songwriting. Her experiences on both the east and west coasts have inspired her to push the boundaries and capabilities of her writing, which is evident in her debut EP Vices and Virtues.

Inspired by the soulful, emotional performances of artists like Amy Winehouse, Halsey, and Post Malone, Talia Stewart has managed to blend the best of the pop trends with her own clever, inspirational, female-empowered songs and lyrics. Not only has Talia won over her fans with her amazing performances, she has also written and performed songs in Spanish, pulling from her main inspiration, Rosalia.

With a new year comes a new project, and Talia has hit the ground running using the success of Vices and Virtues to propel her into her next EP. With new music on the horizon and an overflowing creative spirit, Talia is ready to continue playing, producing and inspiring her fans through her unique music.

We sat down with Talia to talk with her about her new single, "It's Not Me, It's You.

How do you feel about the release of your upcoming single, “It’s Not Me, It’s You about to come out? What’s the biggest takeaway that you want your fans or people who are seeing you for the first time take away from its first initial listen?

I’m excited about this one as I feel it’s a good complement to my last single, “Look Ma No Hands”. “It’s Not Me, It’s You” is more vulnerable as it’s about a personal experience in love. All of my songs are written from personal experience so it’s always a hope of mine that people hear their own stories in my songs.  I found a quote from AGD Entertainment that I found particularly interesting. It says, “The title of the EP comes from the project’s vulnerability and confessional tone, but also because it keeps with the gothic, Catholicism-influenced branding that is so characteristic of much of Talia’s art.” Did you grow up in a Catholic household? Is religion or faith a big part of your life now? Yes, I was raised Catholic and, though I don’t practice the faith now, it’s left a lasting impact on so much of my life, especially the way I create.  Your voice is so unique. I hear Amy Winehouse on your voice with a lot of jazz influences and cadence, it’s unlike anything that is being heard in pop music right now. Growing up, did your parents play a lot of jazz records or various types of music? Who do you remember being the first artist that inspired you to sing? That made you say, “this is what I want to do for the rest of my life?” Thank you so much! I really had to find jazz for myself and much of it was exposed to me by my favorite contemporary singers like Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Jeff Buckley, and Amy Winehouse. Finding out who influenced them was a big part of finding my voice. Nina Simone in particular was a huge part of my journey as a vocalist and writer. Her jazz background definitely influenced me. What was the biggest challenge you learned about the music industry that college didn’t prepare you for? The actual act of doing it. I’ve just recently started touring for the first time and it’s amazing but exhausting. No one can get on the stage for you. No one can stay around after and network for you. It’s your brand, your image, your art. Being a solo artist means defending your art is solely your responsibility at the end of the day.  Can you elaborate on the imagery that you chose to portray for this EP? The crown, the heart, the Mystique reminiscent design? Where does that come on? I began ‘Confessional’ during a period of depression. I had just released ‘Vices and Virtues’ and was feeling empty after working on that project for two years. I view projects as children and after ‘birthing’ V&V I went into a sort of post-partum depression. I wanted the visuals for ‘Confessional’ to represent that time in my life. The blue character on the front is called “La Deprimida” which is Spanish for “The Depressed”. I wanted to personify depression as a temptress. The catholic imagery of the barbed wire crown and wound represent the crucifixion and how my depression felt like a self-crucifying, of sorts.  How does it feel having the influence that you do and seeing fellow girls resonate with your music? In the current shift of the music industry, how necessarily, in your opinion is it for independent artists to emerge? I’m grateful to be creating at a time when female artists are finally being given the recognition they deserve for their art. Coming up as an independent artist has been trying but necessary for my career as an artist. Independent artists are blessed in the sense that they have to figure out exactly what they want and how to get that. In my opinion, we’re less likely to sell out after having to work for our art so hard for so long.  What’s the biggest advice you would give to an upcoming artist wanting to move to Nashville? Do it. And when you do, don’t be overwhelmed by the amount of artists in the city, we’re all here to help each other...to come up together.  Talia Stewart: WEBSITE