Exclusive Interview with Canadian Pop Artist Olivia Lunny

In just over a year’s time, Olivia Lunny went from being crowned a winner on CTV’s singing competition The Launch and scoring her first Top 40 hit, to capturing international attention with her velvety vocals and relatable songwriting. That incredible momentum culminated in the release of her heartfelt debut EP, To The Ones I Loved, which just released on August 28th.

I got the chance to talk with Olivia about how she first got into making and performing music, when she knew she had the right songs for her new EP To The Ones I Loved, what song of hers best represents who she is, and so much more. Keep reading to see what she had to say! 

Tell me a little bit about how you first got into making and performing music. 

Growing up, music was always playing in my house. My dad would always play guitar and when I turned 12 I asked him to teach me a few chords! As I kept up playing the guitar I began to write and perform at local coffee shops. As I matured, I leaned more on writing as a tool to navigate my emotions through high school.

Was there a specific moment or person that made you realize that music is what you wanted to pursue professionally?

By grade 11, I knew what I didn’t want to do and music had evolved into a larger passion that was taking up lots of my time. My brother took the non traditional route of skipping post secondary and becoming an entrepreneur so he inspired me to chase my dreams!

I’m always genuinely curious about what artists want to convey to listeners with their music so if you had to describe the music you make without using genre names, how would you describe it? 

Great question! I’d say nostalgic, chill waves with a sprinkle of indie pop!

Kind of going off of that, who are some of your musical influences?

I have always been a big Coldplay fan. I love how interesting their writing style is, and their ability to constantly evolve through the years!

You just released your new EP, To The Ones I Loved. What was the recording process like for this album? How long did it take to come together from start to finish? 

I started working on this project exactly a year ago. It’s always so wild to look back on the journey of creating the songs, artwork etc as it’s so satisfying to have everything presented in a little package. 

Let’s talk about your song  “Something New”, which I really love! What’s the song about? so glad to hear! 

“Something New” explores the excitement and euphoric feeling of falling in love again post heartbreak. It adds an optimistic perspective to the project that primarily explores saying goodbye. “Something New” is a poppy/synth based song that’s perfect for dancing and carrying summertime vibes into the fall.

Something I’ve always been curious with songwriting is how topics come to mind. Did you know what you wanted to write about going into the song session that birthed your single ”Something New” or did the idea just come about organically once you were in the session? 

This idea organically came to life in a session I had with a good friend of mine Roman Clarke. We chatted about past experiences and by going down memory lane, this some came to being!

Were there any major changes made to “Something New” once you got into the recording studio, whether it be in the lyrics or something sonically? 

Yes actually! This song was originally very slow and more of a ballad. When we hit the studio it ended up lending itself very well as a poppier tune so we rolled with it! It’s always so interesting getting different ears to listen to a song in its early phases!

How did you know when you had the right songs for this EP? 

Theme-wise, these 4 songs fit very nicely with each other. They all fit together like a puzzle piece and explore the different phases of love and heartbreak!

Is there a track of yours that you feel best represents who you are as an artist? 

Although all of these are special in different ways, “Bedsheets” is my favourite as it’s the most honest and reflective. This song feels like a diary entry to me so it is very close to my heart.

You are still relatively new to the music game. What are some music industry-related goals or benchmarks that you’re aiming to reach in the next couple of years? 

I would love to go on tour! I’ve played quite a few shows over the past few years but never consecutively so that would be a major goal of mine!

Last question — we’re called Talk Nerdy With Us because we all have an inner nerd so what is something that you’re currently nerding out about? 

I am very nerdy when it comes to health foods! I love trying different superfoods and supplements and seeing how they improve my body and mental clarity!

For more information, make sure you visit her website and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.