Artist Spotlight: Baby Nova

Baby Nova: I'm good! Of course.

BN: It's something I never thought would happen. I was in full studio rat mode for so long, and I've been writing [music] for 12 years. I just never wanted to put any of it out in the world. Honestly, I'm in the wrong business for my personality. I hate being seen, but I love making music. That’s been a challenge, but I’ve overcome a lot of those fears. People have been so supportive and amazing, minus a few hate comments here and there. I’ve actually grown to love my hate comments!

BN: Thank you! Yeah, it just makes this all feel more real.

BN: Yes, I think it really did. It’s so funny because I actually rejected a lot of my folk and country influences in my early 20s and when I moved away for school. I thought I needed to be more of a “city girl” or whatever, and a part of me rejected my singer-songwriter background. Luckily, I actually circled back to it in my late 20s. It became very obvious that this was just authentically me. Even when I'm doing pop, there's always going to be that element of storytelling in it. I think that that's really paid off for me, leaning into that. When you accept what's authentically you, that's when things start to work. I feel like that's happened for me, it just clicked.

BN: Honestly, it's always different. Sometimes I'll write from a poem, because I do write quite a bit of poetry. Oftentimes you can tell which songs I wrote from poems, because they won't be super melodic. “Great White Sharks” is a great example of that. At other times, though, I'll go to a session and work with one of my producers, either Wyatt or Gus, and they'll play something and I'll start riffing on it. It always happens in a different way for me.

BN: Oh my God, I've been writing poetry since I was a kid, probably around age 11. I have a folder in my house, and my mom actually put those old poems in little laminated containers for me to keep. They’re all in a school binder, and there are probably 200 poems from before I was around age 15. Obviously, they're terrible, but they're so cute and pure.

BN: They're so funny.

BN: It's been amazing. It's brought a lot of confidence out in me because I feel really comfortable around the people I work with right now. I don't think I had that in the past; I was always doing speed dating. I would go to this person's house and then that person's place for sessions. Now, though, I've really found my creative family. My producers probably know more about me than some of my closest friends. You're spilling everything. But yeah, I think working with Lowell, Gus, Wyatt, and Austin has, in a way, cultivated a space for me where I feel so comfortable that I'm able to say things in songs that I couldn't previously. I trust them, and I trust them enough to be able to fuck up in front of them.

BN: The story behind that song is actually quite tragic and traumatic for me, but I can talk about it now. It's been almost 18 months since it all went down. The situation happened within a community of people I was involved with. Someone I was very close to had some sort of vendetta against me. I'm not exactly sure why; I think maybe there was a feeling of competition there. Anyway, there were some rumors started that I was showing signs of schizophrenia, and then that snowballed into all these other rumors that I had done things that I didn't do. Nobody would tell me what was going on, because it was all under this veil of concern for my well-being. It ended up driving me a little crazy. I was so confused about why everyone was acting so weird around me. Then I got really freaked out and anxious, because people I was so close to started suddenly acting very distant from me.

So, I wrote “Killed For Sport” specifically about the person who started that. It was a super healing song. I actually had to leave Toronto because the situation was so bad. That’s just how rumors go, you know? Bullying, too.

BN: Exactly. After everything, I left for Los Angeles for months, and nobody knew I was here. I wasn't talking to anybody. I was just going to the studio with Gus and Lowell, because they kind of knew what had happened. They really lifted me out of that. Through that whole process, one of the hardest parts was that I was not allowed to get emotional, because it would feed into this whole thing. So I had to be so together. But bullying makes you emotional, right? So being able to express all of this anger and frustration in “Killed For Sport” was a really, really healing moment for me. I think that when other people heard it, they felt how real that was. The authenticity of my feelings really translated.

BN: I'm honestly grateful for everything that happened now, retrospectively, which is weird to say, but it changed my life. I never would have left Toronto, and I never would have made this album.

BN: It was so fun! I've been working with a new guitar player out here named Liam Jaeger, and he’s my favorite person ever. We have so much fun doing these acoustic sets. We also just started rehearsing with a full band for sets like All Things Go. The experience at Live Nation was great, though. Everyone was so lovely, and I got to see a lot of people from the city that I knew.

BN: I’m feeling absolutely terrified. I found out just randomly one day when my manager called me and told me, and I really still don't know how it happened. I'm having major imposter syndrome, to be honest with you. I look at the lineup and I'm like, me? Why? It almost feels like a mistake. I'm just so, so excited. I've never played a show for such a big crowd. I'm on at noon, first up, which is great because I get to watch everyone else after.

BN: There's so many. I mean, there's of course the people close to me. For example, Lowell is a huge mentor of mine. Not only is she one of my songwriting partners, but she's also one of the most talented people I've ever met, and she teaches me every day how to be more of a strong businesswoman. I just adore her. I could cry talking about Lowell, because she's really helped me in the last few years.

Outside of my immediate circle, I would say Raye is a huge inspiration for me. I think she's the most incredible songwriter. I went to see her live by myself in Toronto, and I swear to God, I didn't blink. It was the best thing I've ever seen in my life. I've never been so captivated.

BN: Another answer would be Cher. Just to be acknowledged by her would be such a blessing, honestly. I love Miley Cyrus too. She constantly reinvents herself, and it's very inspiring to me. I also think she's such an underrated performer.

BN: Wait, someone shouted me out?! That's crazy. Oh my God, that actually melts my heart. That’s just so bizarre to me. I have good people to shout out. Carter Faith in Nashville, first of all. I'm obsessed with her! She knows it too because I DM her all the time and tell her how much I love her. I wear her merch to all of my meetings. I think she's so talented, and I think she's going to be insanely successful.

Another Nova Scotia girlie is Goldie Boutilier. I love her; to me she is one of those fully rounded creatives. Her visual aesthetic is so beautiful, and I can't imagine singing the way she does. Laci Kaye Booth is another one. I remember when she auditioned for American Idol, which she's way past now, obviously. I just remember hearing her voice and thinking how beautiful it was. Her lyrics are so smart, too. I actually saw Lana Del Rey put her song on a post the other day!

BN: I hope that it's as healing for everyone else as it was for me to write it. I think it really does go through a few feelings: sadness, anger, full-blown rage, acceptance, and a bit of fun, too. It really has everything. I hope that people listen to it and go through that same journey, because I know how much it helped me in writing it. If it does anything like that for anyone else, that would be the coolest thing.

BN: Thank you, girly. Thanks for having me!