Gorgeous, wicked-talented, infectiously energetic, hardworking, and with huge rising momentum behind her: Courtney Paige Nelson makes for a fascinating listen of what’s truly at the forefront of electro-pop right now, and it’s only a matter of time before she enters the halls of royalty in the genre, as she’s got everything stacked in her favor to achieve huge stardom.
Another thing Courtney’s got going on for her is that she’s a great interviewee! She’s hella forthcoming and fun to talk to, and if you doubt our claims about how truly infectious her energy can be, I challenge you not to feel the hype bubbling up from this little interview we’ve cooked up for you today.
Courtney is just right now releasing “Bury It”, a song talking about the complexities of stagnating in a toxic relationship that’s seemingly impossible to leave. We took note of Courtney’s particularly “visual” narrative style for this song and we just had to ask her all about it and what her immediate plans for the future are. Check it out:
Courtney! It’s great to see you’re back at the studio again. A year may or may not be that long a time, but what do you feel has changed for you as a musician since your debut EP dropped?
Thank you! I’m excited to be putting out new music that I personally think is in the realm of my best work so far. I’ve taken a lot of space to observe and experience life this past year. It feels like 5 years in one, to be honest. A lot has happened and it’s been overwhelming but the best art comes out of the most critical points in your life.
Tell us a bit about “Bury It”. Sounds like it’s the kind of topic you “Had to get out of your chest”, so to speak.
Haaaa yeah.. it’s funny because I wrote this song about a relationship that is so toxic it rots you both from the inside out eventually turning you both into zombies. This is where the line “No beat in my chest, we’re already dead” came about. This song was about a relationship I had when I was 19 for 2 years that was very abusive. The toxicity of trying to leave and not being able to, constantly being pulled back together did in fact ‘rot me away’ so to speak. I think people confuse staying in things and fighting for a relationship that’s abusive, with staying in things and fighting for a relationship that’s going through a rough patch. A lot of people are worth fighting for, love is worth fighting for, but not when it’s abusive.. and I had to learn that.
You took great care to provoke a lot of visualization with the lyrics in this song. You wouldn’t be considering turning it into a music video, are you?
That’s why I love writing! I love the visuals I get when I write music. I play out whole ‘movies’ in my head and create a story. I definitely want to do a music video for this song. I’m doing one for my recently released song ‘Self Medicate’ first though! So keep an eye out.
Your image, your music videos, and your lyrics always have this very tangible darkness to them. Are you a fan of horror at all? if so, any favorite movies, books, or TV shows that come to mind?
I’m a HUGE horror fan. I love horror movies, Halloween as a holiday, I love Junji Ito who does horror anime books. I try to keep my visuals not too dark so that I can keep a commercial appeal still. I don’t want to overwhelm people, I just want people to feel what I’m feeling. I have a lot of feelings and a lot of things to write about!
What about goth music? I wouldn’t describe you as goth-pop quite yet but the vibes are there.
I’m very much into Pop-Rock-R&B-EDM-Hardcore music. I don’t listen to anything goth or heavy metal. I feel like I’m more electro-pop! That’s where my music goes when you think of similar artists, I’ve gotten Billie Eilish, Charlie XCX a lot. This personally makes me happy because those are both very important artists I look up to. They have a very influential presence in their music.
)What can we expect of your upcoming EP in terms of sound and themes? How do you think it’ll “fit” in the ongoing narrative arc of Courtney Paige Nelson the artist?
My new EP is a lot more ‘experimental’ with sounds. It has that same commercially viable vibe to it, but very much different. I’d say a lot more electro-pop. I used a lot of trap music style influences in some songs. The lyrics are also a lot more raw. Very much straight to the point rip your heart outlook at how I’m feeling type lyrics. I want to be more transparent than ever and give people a taste of who I am not just as an artist, but as a person who’s been through some shit the past few years.
The lockdown was a big hamper for a lot of artists. Do you think you’ll be able to do some live shows this year?
Absolutely! I’ve played twice so far in 2022, right now I’m focusing on getting this music together and finishing up some Sync projects. I’ll start playing shows again in late March/early April!
Where are you at mentally right now?
Trick question? Haha. I’m currently processing a breakup from someone I cared very much for. This comes at a funny time, 2 days before this release and 2 days after Valentine’s Day. Talk about the universe picking comedic timing lol. I’ve been working on myself and trying to acquire more self-love than ever. Love with other people is an interesting thing, and I think connections are hard to come by, that includes friendships. When people end things, it’s a very introspective time to see what you need to fix about yourself and what you want to accomplish. I’d say besides a half-empty heart, in my own space I’m doing VERY well. I’m more okay and happy than I’ve ever been. I’m working on a lot of stuff that I’ve very excited to share!
Story: Samuel Aponte Photos: Joyce Charat •Styling: Renee Makeup: Kelsey
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