1) Hi Priscilla, can you tell me a little bit about yourself, before you became a country singer? I am 22 years old. I come from a big family of seven and fall second to youngest. My siblings are my best friends. I grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Cheerleaded throughout grade school.
2) How did you get into country and how did you know you wanted a career in it?Growing up I always loved singing. It started with elementary school talent shows, to leading worship with my mom at our church. I was always so moved by music. I wrote my first song when I was fifteen on the piano. At the time, Taylor Swift was just blowing up. I read just about every single article on her and was obsessed with her music, which kind of lead me to playing guitar and writing songs. When I was sixteen I wrote, “One More Kiss,” which is on my EP that I released this past August. After writing that song, I knew that I wanted to pursue music and felt confident that I could have a career as an artist. Throughout high school I traveled a lot to audition for all the music shows like American Idol, The Voice, X Factor, and Americas Got Talent. After finishing high school, I decided to make the move to Nashville and here I am.
3) Who are some of your musical icons? Gosh, I have so many music Icons. The ones that come time mind right of the bat would be Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, Dolly Parton, Hillary Scott, and Carly Pearce.I would say one of my biggest inspirations would be Miranda Lambert. I love her style and honesty in songwriting. Ashley Monroe is one of my favorite writers.
4) How did you come up with your name of your latest EP “Different Route” and was there any other names you were going to chose instead? Coming up with the name of the EP wasn’t very difficult for me. When I wrote “Different Route,” I immediately thought that it would be awesome album title. I thought about self titling the EP, but I felt that, “Different Route,” really described the album in two words. I tend to write a lot of songs about about going you own route, no matter what anyone else says. Collectively and cohesively all the songs on the EP created the story I wanted for “Different Route.”
5) What is your favorite song off your EP? My favorite song on the EP 100% is, “Over.” The second I finished writing that song I knew that I would put it on my first album.
6) Is there anything coming up with your music in 2018? I am really looking forward to what this year has in store. We are planning on hitting the road this summer/fall. I am playing my second “Whiskey Jam,” in Nashville on April 12th. We are pumped for that. I am also planning to do a college tour this fall. And obviously new music ❤
7) If you could sing a duet with a famous singer or group who would it be and why? That is also a tough question. I would probably say Chris Stapleton cause who the heck wouldn’t?
8) Where do you see yourself in the next 5 to 10 years with your music? In the next five years I see myself on tour opening for a big name and nominated for and ACM. The next 10 hopefully headlining my own tour.
9) What is one of your favorite quotes? “There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs.”
10) Is there anything else you would like to share? One cool thing I’ll share. When I first moved to Nashville-the first year was really tough. I was working full time and in school and found myself wondering why I moved here. I was having one of those meltdown days, and questioning everything. That same day I happened to be wearing a Taylor Swift shirt under my apron ( I was working at a frozen yogurt shop). As I was leaving work, Taylor swift was driving by. She pulled her car to the side of the road and hopped into her passenger seat and opened the door and yelled, ” I FREAKIN LOVE YOUR SHIRT.” We got to talk a little before fans started bombarding her, but It was one of those moments that I realized I’m where I need to be and one day it will all pay off.