Sidney Bird – a true crossover act in the world of western pop
Sidney Bird takes her inspiration from artists like Kacey Musgraves and Maggie Rogers. Her 2020 debut album "Bad Timing" featuring singles like "Kisses" and "Wild" has garnered over 1.7 million streams on Spotify. Sidney’s background in acting and musical theater fuels a love for world-building and storytelling, which she uses to create new, detailed worlds for her songs. Her latest single “Brooklyn Baby” is inspired by her move to New York City and a new start in her adult life.
Maria: How did you get into music? When was the day when you woke up and decided that this is what you want to do now?
Sidney: So I have two different answers because I got into music when I was like five. I grew up doing musical theater, singing karaoke, getting really into pop music. I was always obsessed with music, but more liked acting when I was growing up. And then I actually went to university to study acting. And it was when I moved to New York, when I decided that I'm gonna give this a try. Because I've been writing songs kind of my whole life but more therapeutically. I never thought I would share them with anybody. They were very private and personal. Then I started sharing my songs because I was like, let's see what happens. I was about 23. And now it's been three years of me sharing songs and writing music.
Maria: How would you describe your genre of music?
Sidney: I would describe it as indie-pop with a very Western influence. So, not country music, but more like old time rock and roll. Like the Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter influence.
Maria: How would you describe your process of writing your latest single “Brooklyn Baby”?
Sidney: That one was just like a diary because I moved in to Brooklyn almost a year ago and I moved in with my boyfriend. And I was nervous. I was like, this is such a big step. I started second guessing myself, having anxiety. And I just kind of wrote this song about how I can just be a baby sometimes and about growing up, and that adulting can be very hard. And you obviously have to let yourself have those moments of “I'm scared of growing up”.
Maria: Do you think your process of writing your songs has changed in any way since you started and how?
Sidney: Definitely when I started it was super, super personal and very private. I would write about a lot of issues I was having mentally. It kind of started when I was my most depressed and it was the only way I could release my emotions and anxieties. And now I feel like I write more about stories that inspire me. So I read a lot about books, TV shows, and look at my friends' relationships. I've definitely written about my own issues or what's going on in my life. But I would say more of it is because I kind of like stories that I create in my head.
Maria: What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Sidney: My advice would be just to really try and write at least a new song every day, even if it's like a little hook. Just try and create a concept. I create these little worlds in my head. I try to think about what are these characters? Maybe they are parents or siblings or a boyfriend or girlfriend? Where are they from? That really helps me just write so much more.
And then my second piece of advice is, I feel like when I started, I was super, super overwhelmed all the time because it's such a big world and there's so many people trying to do exactly what I'm doing. So the more specific I got with what my brand is going to look like, how it's going to sound like, it's this Kasey Maggie world that really lessens a lot of my anxieties. You obviously want to be open to a lot of things, but the more clear and competent, specific to who you are, the easier things are going to be just creatively.
Maria: What is the message that you would like to share through your songs?
Sidney: I would say if someone was coming to my show, their characteristics would be like super daydreamy kind of people, like they have big goals. And big aspirations and they're energetic, and super personable. But they could still have bad days. I would rather make a fun song about a bad day than I'm going to cry alone. I want to be sad and happy with a lot of people.
Maria: If you can have your fans remember one thing about you, what would it be?
Sidney: I guess why I look up to Kasey Musgraves so much is because she's so dramatic with everything she does. Like what she wears, how her hair is, her lyrics, how she films her music videos. It's very specific. And I feel like I'm in this world when I'm with her and it's kind of like an escape from my own reality. So I guess I would really want to be remembered for being like her, when she helps me to escape from reality. I feel like sometimes I'm watching TV shows when I'm watching her music videos. Or when I’m listening to her music it’s like it's all a movie. It’s very theatrical.
Maria: Do you have any upcoming future projects?
Sidney: I am releasing my album. It's done. So I'm going to release the album this year. It's been done for a while, but I've decided I might add some more songs. But I'm really seeing it as some singles first and then I'll release the last four songs before the end of the year. So I'm releasing about 10 new songs by 2023.
Maria: What can we expect from your new music?
It's super fun. It's very singer-songwriter heavy but with this, it's pretty Poppy. The production was very inspired by John Mayer's new album and a little bit of Billie Eilish with that kind of heavy bass. But also it has this folk-pop kind of lyric vibe. That's kind of how I would describe it.
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