Join us as we get to know fresh Darwin artist Phoebe Olivia, who recently dropped her first ever single ‘Waiting For You’.
Big props to producer James Mangohig for his work on the production of this single, which is super polished and provides a slick electronic pop bed over which Phoebe tells her story.
‘Waiting For You’ is just the first step on what’s bound to be an exciting future for the 19 year old Northern Territorian, with an EP due to drop later in the year.
In the meantime, however, get to know Phoebe Olivia and take a listen to her cool debut.
01. Name : Phoebe Olivia.
02. Where are you based? Darwin, NT.
03. How did you get your start in music? I stared guitar and singing lessons when I was about nine years old, which inspired me to start busking at the local markets. This really helped with my confidence when it came to doing gigs and other live shows.
I wrote my first complete song in grade nine at a music camp which I then submitted into the 2017 NT ‘Song Of The Year’ Awards. I was lucky enough to win the People’s Choice category that year which pushed me to keep song writing.
There’s so much talent in the NT and Darwin has a really supportive music scene. There’s lots of opportunities for artist of any age to perform live in front of a crowd.
04. Give us five words to best describe you as an artist. Sweet, fun, stylish, quirky and pop.
05. Tell us a little bit about your sound and how it developed. I’ve always loved pop/R&B but I didn’t know how to create that type of sound on my own. My producer James Mangohig and I love taking my basic piano chords and turning them into full pop dance tracks. I’ve only discovered my sound over the last year but now that I have, I’m obsessed with creating new songs and writing.
06. What’s your earliest musical memory? One of the first songs I learnt to sing was ‘I Still Call Australia Home’. I would get up in front of pre-school class and sing it for show and tell. Any chance throughout primary school that I could sing in front of people, I would take it.
07. Who have been your musical influences? Growing up I listened to a lot of Pink and Missy Higgins. They inspired me to start singing while playing guitar and I would only learn their songs. My main influences would be Jazmine Sullivan, HER and Dua Lipa. I’m really inspired by their vocal production and how they use their backing vocals.
08. What are your favourite songs of all time? ‘Need You Bad’ – Jazmine Sullivan, ‘Spotless Mind’ – Jhene Aiko, ‘Childs Play’ – Drake.
09. Where’s your favourite place to listen to music? In my car for sure!
10. Who are your go-to artists when you’re feeling :
Happy : Meghan Thee Stallion or Teyana Taylor.
Sad : Jazmine Sullivan or Giveon.
Exhausted : Daniel Caesar or HER.
11. What was the first album you ever bought? Either Missy Higgins or Ariana Grande’s first albums.
12. Give us a little fun fact about yourself that people might not know. I’m OBSESSED with anything beauty related. I love hair, make-up and fashion. I would love to have my own makeup/skin care line one day.
13. What would your chosen career be if music wasn’t an option? I’ve always wanted to be a school counsellor or a therapist. I’m still thinking of going to uni to study counselling but we’ll see what happens.
14. What’s the best advice you’ve been given in your career? Everything happens for a reason (I live by this quote).
15. What’s been the highlight of your musical journey so far? Last year I got to perform at Rain Dance 2020. This was one of Darwin’s biggest festivals last year. I got to play on the same stage as Mallrat, Chillinit and Timmy Trumpet. It was my first time playing a festival with all of my new music so it was a great experience!
16. What’s been the strangest experience you’ve had in the business? Random people in the business telling me, “I’m going to make you a star”… That’s not how the industry works ahah.
17. If you could trade places with any artist in the world right now, who would it be? Anyone…? Beyonce!
18. Tell us about your debut release. Song writing is a weird process that I can struggle with. I wish I could just sit and write songs everyday but it doesn’t work like that for me. I get frustrated when I come up with what I think is a really good verse or chorus but that’s where it ends. I have so many of these!
When I write I try to think of ways other people can relate to what my song is about and how they can interpret the lyrics in relation to what they are going through.
‘Waiting For You’ was a song that flowed so naturally based on a situation I was in with a boy I really liked. The words fell into place with ease and my original demo was a sad, slow love song. After playing around with the beat, I began to change the sound of the song and it gave the storyline a more positive energy, which then became the pop/dance vibe it is today.
Creating ‘Waiting For You’ with my friend/producer James Mangohig really opened up my eyes to how much work goes into making music. It was the first time I had really sat down in the studio and finished all aspects of a song. Working on the demos and figuring out what we wanted to do with the song is one of my favorite parts of the whole process.
After a few demos, we had Papertoy Music and Cam Parkin add the extra spice to the mix. You can still hear the original keys and vocal take from the first demo in the intro. By mid-May 2020, ‘Waiting For You’ was complete. A year later, it’s being released as my first single and I couldn’t be prouder.
19. What do your future plans involve? During 2021 I’ll be releasing another single and then an EP! I’d love to tour over the next few years and hopefully by then, the borders will open so I can work with some writers overseas.
20. Where can our audience catch you live? Make sure to check my socials for any upcoming gigs ;)
INSTAGRAM : instagram.com/phoebeoliviamusic
FACEBOOK : facebook.com/phoebeoliviamusic
TIKTOK : tiktok.com/phoebeolivia5
Australia's first stop for pop!