LOS ANGELES, CA- The first thing I noticed about Carlie when I met her was her sense of humor. Walking around the The Greek taking pictures, she always took a moment to crack a joke or make a face into the camera. I loved the spirit that she had. Not taking things too seriously, and just having a good time rolling with the punches. Just like any other 18 year old.
Carlie Hanson has had one-hell of a break out year. With Taylor Swift adding her single “Only One” to her “Songs Taylor Loves” Spotify playlist, and getting to open for global pop star Troye Sivan on tour, Carlie is well on her way to establishing a firm footing in the pop music scene. She recently announced that she’ll be touring Europe with Yungblud, so that will be another huge opportunity for her to broaden her audience.
There are a lot of promising young musicians on the scene these days, but there’s something special with this one. First of all, the six songs that she has released so far are superb. Each track is an extremely well produced pop gem with catchy hooks, and have collectively amassed over 55 million listens on Spotify. Her most recent single, “Toxins” (released in October), has over 800,000 listens.
Second, despite her playfully goofy nature, there’s a real maturity in Carlie’s vocal performance that commands attention. Her ballad “Goodbye” that was included in the soundtrack for Netflix’s “Sarah Burgess Is A Loser” was an eye opener for me. The emotions layered in the vocals of that huge ballad is a true testament of the potential that Carlie’s got.
Carlie is also fantastic on stage. Her performance at The Greek opening for Troye Sivan was filled with a youthful fearlessness and a bright eyed ambition to garner the attention of potential fans that I thoroughly enjoyed watching. Ah, the exuberance of youth.
I was able to spend a few minutes with Carlie to talk about how her 2018 has been and what we can expect from her in the future. Peep it below and stay tuned for more from this young talent.
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You’ve had a really busy year. While all your friends are busy finishing up their first year of college, you’re out touring the world.
It’s very wild. Very, very wild. I just went home for Thanksgiving. My friends have seen me post pictures on tour, and I actually brought some of my friends out on the Bloom Tour when I was near my hometown. They’re all super supportive. I just feel bad for them. They all have to wake up and go to class everyday.
Laughter
Your 2018 has been kind of a whirlwind for you, right? I mean, all this attention all of a sudden.
I think when my song “Only One” started doing really well on Spotify … I think that’s when I realized I was like, “Oh okay, I might be able to play a lot more shows,” […] but I never expected to go on the f**king Bloom Tour. And now I’m going on this Europe Tour in a couple months! I never expected all this to happen so quickly. Yeah, it’s been super super crazy.
I’m assuming that you’ve got a really tight support team around you while you’re on tour. Do you have any family members or anyone who travels with you?
I just have my band, who I actually have grown really close with. Thankfully they’re just great guys. Super good people. And then my manager Dani will come out every once in a while and she’s like my mother, so she basically is family. But no, I haven’t really been able to have family out yet with me, but that’s the goal for the future. Just have my mom come out on tour with me every show ‘cause I f**king miss her out there.
Have there been any particular events or instances this year where you took a step back and just said, “Holy s**t. This is it.”
Definitely [when I’m] playing. I was on a tour with Jeremy Zucker before I was out with Troye Sivan, and I played in this venue in Michigan. Ann Arbor, Michigan. I remember seeing the wall in the dressing room and I remember reading the wall and seeing Kurt’s name on it. I’m a huge fan of Nirvana, of Kurt Cobain, and I saw that and was like, wait, what the hell. And it said “’91”, so I googled whatever and saw that Nirvana had played the same exact venue back in ’91! And that right there, I was like, “Holy s**t, I’m really playing this venue where one of my idols has played before.” That and playing Milwaukee, in my home state, Wisconsin. That was a “moment” too, ‘cause my whole family got to come out and that show was just super hype, and I just had a surreal moment of like, “Whoa… I’m really doing this right now.”
Yeah it must’ve been a pretty packed and crazy show, haha.
Yeah, nah, it was super super, super packed. It was really really fun.
How’s L.A. treating you? Are you finding yourself more at home these days?
I just love the weather. When I went home for Thanksgiving, it made me realize how depressing Wisconsin is in the wintertime and when it’s cold out. So I love the weather. My apartment, I’ve made it very cozy and homey so I like just love chilling in my apartment […] But yeah there’s a lot of things I love about LA, and there’s a lot of things I struggle to like, haha, like traffic.
Hey, you’re not the only one. Everyone hates traffic.
Yeah, haha.
Laughter
What are you hoping for in 2019? What can your fans look forward to?
In 2019 I’m praying that I can stage dive at an upcoming show and do that and — all I want for 2019 is to a big stage dive. Like I just wanna feel what that feels like, haha.
And music?
Yes! I’m putting out an EP in 2019, so, be prepared. It’ll be like 5 or 6 new songs.
Who was it produced by?
It’s produced by a number of certain people […] different people, different vibes. It’s gonna be cool. I’m excited. I’m gonna be put it out, and it’s gonna have more rock vibes. We’re using real drums, more guitar sounding. But also I still have my trap and urban vibe too, so it’s gonna be cool to hear what people say about it, ‘cause it’s gonna be not only rock, kind of, but with a twist of pop and urban, this EP.
Follow Carlie Hanson on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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