Finding Happiness In My Independence With OSTON

Interview by Lindsey V. Britt

The 27-year-old pop singer-songwriter OSTON known for her hits “leading me on”, “Whatshisface”, and “Burton St.” is hitting the road on her first headline tour performing songs off her latest EP Saint Rich.

How excited are you for your first headline tour?

I’m literally beaming! Touring for my own artist project is something I’ve dreamed about my whole life.

Which tour stop are you most looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to each and every one of them. The fact that there are people in each of these 7 cities who care enough about the music to come see me play live is just so incredible to me. I can’t wait to meet everyone in each city!!

You recently released your latest EP Saint Rich., what was it like making this project compared to your previous ones?

I had to get super vulnerable and dig deeper than I have ever before with a project. My past two projects were primarily made with my boyfriend, so it seemed easier to open up to somebody that I had already established a close relationship with. I think writing the ‘Saint Rich.’ EP with a new set of collaborators forced me to push myself lyrically and to come to terms with talking about my experiences openly, which is something I had not been able to do previously. Because of this, I think the project has much more depth than anything I’ve released before.

What is your songwriting process like with making such a wide range of pop music?

My songwriting process varies from song to song, depending on who I’m working with. We will commonly listen to a reference or two that I bring in and try to create a vibe similar to that before diving into a lyrical concept and melody to fit the top line. Other times will grab an acoustic guitar or sit down at the piano and come up with the meat and potatoes to the song before creating the sonic world around it. It really just depends on how my collaborators and I are feeling in that moment on that particular day.

I love your song “Burton St.” what is the story behind the song?

Thank you so much! I’m really glad it spoke to you. ‘Burton St.’ is a special song because depending on who’s listening to it, you can interpret it in the exact way that you want to hear it. Whether it’s coming to terms with the toxic nature of a relationship, moving on from somebody who was wrong for you, standing your ground for real this time after backsliding, whatever it might be - it seems like there really is something there for everyone to grab on to.

This song was written with my friends Michael Blum and JT Foley. The EP was missing a song about finding happiness in my independence and letting go of this person that once had such a hold on me. We wrote the majority of the song in the first session, but after coming back to finish the production, I knew there was something lacking. I wrote the entire bridge out in my notes app while Michael was working on production, and when I finally sang it out to him, he just smiled and nodded. We knew we had just found the last piece of the song that had been missing.

How do you think you’ve changed and progressed since your days being a contestant on American Idol?

Lollll well I auditioned for Idol when I was 15 and I had no prior knowledge about the music industry whatsoever. I was a junior in high school and just knew that I wanted to be a singer some day. I’m now 27 and doing music full-time so I feel like I have grown in every single way possible since those days. Shout out to 15-year-old me though she had guts.

What is your next career goal that you want to achieve?

I can’t lie, going on a headline tour of my own has been my biggest career goal for as long as I can remember. Playing shows of my own to people who showed up to see me is something I always dreamed of. So the next goal would have to be another headline tour to bigger rooms and even more cities. And opening for another artist at bigger venues that I’ve ever played! Making a living off writing songs and playing shows is all I’ve ever wanted.

I’ve heard that you’re a huge fan of Julia Michaels, what about her inspires you?

Julia Michaels was one of the first writers who showed me that pop writing didn’t have to fit into such a specific mold. There’s so many kinds of pop music, and not everything has to be so clean cut and polished like a lot of the music I grew up on. I realized I could still write in singer/songwriter-esque run on sentences and fit them over pop production. I really started pushing the boundaries of what a pop song looked like to me, and I can credit so much of that exploration back to hearing Julia’s ‘Nervous System’ EP for the first time.

Since you have a double major in music and marketing, how have the two helpfully coincided with each other?

Marketing is something that we all have to know how to do in this day and age, so I feel really grateful that I decided to go for the double major in school. At first it was something that I considered as a back up plan, but now I very much see it as another asset towards becoming a self-sufficient artist.

asset towards becoming a self-sufficient artist.

When researching I read that you watched Harry Potter marathons during quarantine, now I have to ask which of the Harry Potter films is your favorite?

Am I crazy or did everyone not watch the Harry Potter series during quarantine? And Tiger King? I feel like it was all there was to do at one point other than spiral. But if I had to pick a fav it would probably the Goblet of Fire.

Finally, do you have a recommendation? It can be anything, TV series, book, place, advice, anything you want.

Yes! Everyone needs to listen to RAYE’s album. Go do it now. Seriously do it!

Make sure to check out Saint Rich. on steaming platforms now and catch OSTON on the road this summer.

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