Interview with Sofia Claire
Belles and Gals is delighted to introduce you to rising country star, Sofia Claire. She’s definitely an artist you want on your radar. Keep reading on to learn about her story, new single, “Kickin’ Up Stardust,” and much more.
Sofia Claire’s Story
Sofia has been singing all her life and knew she had a talent from a very young age. She’s greatly inspired by incredible country stars, including Dolly Parton, who she considers to be the queen of country music, Cody Johnson, and Lainey Wilson. Growing up, she’s had many vocal coaches, and for her, it was all about discovering who she is as a singer: “I’ve always been trying to find my voice, you know, like my niche in music and what type of music I want to sing.”
She found a natural home in country music. It was constantly playing while she was growing up, and while for some artists, this would make them stray away from their childhood genre to explore something new, Sofia knew country music was where she’s meant to be. Even though she’s been a country music girl to heart all her life, she only made the jump into being an artist herself about two years ago: “I’ve been talking about it for a really long time. I asked my coach when I was about seventeen, like, hey, I really want to start recording, I wanna go for country music, and she was like, I don’t really know if you’re ready, yet. Let’s, you know, keep training and see where it goes, and about two years ago now, she was like, yeah, let’s do it, you’re ready.”
Once she got the encouraging greenlight from her vocal coach, Sofia taught herself how to play guitar as fast as she could. Though guitar isn’t a main instrument for her, she plays well enough to be able to write songs, which is so important to her as a rising country artist. For her, recording came first. She dove into songwriting a little later, being set up with songwriters to get pitched songs they wrote. This is how she got her first two songs. Then, she started setting up writing sessions with them to be more involved in the writing process of her music. Sofia is still learning and exploring songwriting, but she’s up for the adventure: “I’ve been learning a lot. It’s definitely, like, a learning process, you know? It’s something that I’ve had to take a little bit of time to grasp because I’ve always loved to write but I’ve never quite understood how to put words to music and fit it in and finish up a whole song. So, yeah, that was something I had to see and be in the room for to really understand.”
Sofia Claire Sparkles with “Kickin’ Up Stardust”
Sofia’s dazzling new single, “Kickin’ Up Stardust, is out, and she shares all of the details about this stunning track.
This song was Sofia’s first co-write, written alongside Michael Wilkes and Steve Bogard. When she walked into the session, Michael told her that after a conversation with her manager, the title, “Kickin’ Up Stardust,” came to him. This captured Sofia’s attention right away: “I just loved that. I thought it was so fun and, like, very on brand for me.” She started exploring the lyrics with Steve, and she was amazed by his talent, like he was a songwriting wizard. At first, Sofia was a little nervous because it was her first writing session with Michael and Steve, but she ended up getting comfortable and really enjoyed writing this song with them.
“Kickin’ Up Stardust” is about not letting yourself get knocked down and bringing yourself back up, not letting anything permanently hurt you.
Her favorite lyric from the song is, “I’m scattering glitter across this hardwood floor, like a honkytonk angel with a neon halo.” She loves this lyric because it’s so fun, and it reminds her of country disco vibes.
Sofia’s first co-writing session inspired her. Now, she wants to write more and improve her craft. Also, it was a fun process for her. It just felt like getting together with other musicians, jamming and having fun. Her collaborators made her feel comfortable, and it was a fantastic experience for her.
She hopes her listeners are inspired to find the beauty in being hurt. She wants this song to remind others that when you’re feeling hurt, you can pick yourself back up and become a better and stronger person. She says, “A lot of us go through something and only focus on the hurt when there are so many good things that come from failure and that come from being knocked down, and I think that that’s something that a lot of people don’t really talk about.”
Inspiration from Sofia Claire
Sofia has learned a lot about the music industry so far and has great thoughts to share. First, she says that it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s something everyone has to work for. Also, she says that it’s essential to be extremely organized. Organization is key to be able to accomplish anything in the music industry. Being organized has helped her in so many ways. She’s mindful to get things done right away and respond to emails quickly.
Also, Sofia gives advice to all of the country music dreamers out there:”Go for it if you’re willing to struggle.” Being willing to enjoy the struggle is huge for Sofia. She feels that it’s important to be ready for the reality of being an artist.
Belles and Gals loved introducing you to Sofia Claire. Be sure to check out “Kickin’ Up Stardust” and her website for her music and more.
Are you interested in reading more artist interviews? Click here and enjoy!
