You’ve Got a Friend in BIZZY.
Nashville-based indie pop/rock songstress BIZZY transforms diary entries into your heavy rotation’s next hits. At 24 years old, the Maryland native — who scored TikTok virality with a snippet of her song “Anybody” (2022) — is not afraid to get real and personal in her autobiographical music. Penning lyrics with a confessional and utmost relatable quality, BIZZY hopes to be the soundtrack to your most emotionally vulnerable moments. Such is evident in her latest double single release, where the explosive “Out Loud” and introspective “I’d Never Tell You” reveal two sides to love inherently tied to each other. Just before the drop, BIZZY spoke with me about her switch from aspiring Olympic swimmer to dedicated musician, the intricacies of songwriting, and connecting through music.
This interview has been lightly edited for context and clarity.
Evi: Would you like to give a brief introduction to yourself and talk a little bit about your background?
BIZZY: Hi, I'm BIZZY! I'm 24 and I'm originally from Maryland — just outside DC. I came to Nashville about six years ago for college, and then just stayed because I fell in love with it and it was awesome. It's a perfect place to do music. I started doing music probably around the age [of] 12, but didn't take it seriously ‘till 17 or 18.
Evi: How did “taking it seriously” come about?
BIZZY: It’s funny, actually, I was totally not a music person growing up. It was always in my family — my sister played guitar, and that's how I learned. But I was the sports kid of the family. My goal was, “I want to be in the Olympics and I want to be a swimmer,” which is so freaking funny, looking back now. So that was all I cared about up until 17. [Then] two things coincidently happened. One, I injured my back so I couldn't compete at the level I was competing at. And then, two, honestly, my mind just started to shift and really fall in love with music more. So it was such a blessing in disguise to injure my back and really take swimming out of the game, because it made me realize what [I would want to do] and [how that] would be music. So music kind of was the obvious option after that. I started playing a lot, taking voice lessons and just diving into it. But it's funny because my whole family was so used to me being the sports kid of the family, so when I started [doing] music, they were like, “What are you doing? What is going on?” They couldn’t figure out how to wrap their heads around it! Also, I was terrified to sing in front of people, like the thought of [it] would just make me want to vomit. Now we're good! But back then it was like, “no.” And so my whole family was like “You can't sing in front of anybody! You've literally never sung a show in your entire life and you want to be a singer?” It was just this mind-boggling thing. So I started really getting into it [towards the] end of high school — writing songs.
Evi: So do you believe in fate?
BIZZY: Totally, 100%. That was a God thing [or] a universe thing — whatever you want to call it. That was meant to be.
Evi: Sometimes, seemingly negative events that happen in our lives tend to open up doors we wouldn't have thought of opening ourselves.
BIZZY: Right. It would’ve been such a different life if I hadn’t continued on that path. Probably [not] a bad life, just a totally different life. With music, I feel like I opened up a whole other side of who I am, which I never realized when I was doing swimming, just because it's music and this whole culture breeds you to figure out more about yourself, which I think is the coolest thing. Yes, I totally believe in fate.
Evi: We often see so many artists talk about other paths they may have taken if they weren’t musicians and it’s like, “what would the world look like if that person wasn't doing their thing right now?”
BIZZY: Totally! I saw an interview with Taylor Swift and someone was like, “What would you have been doing if you weren't in music?” And she was like, “Oh, I’d probably be a hairdresser.” Can you imagine? The amount of lives she's changed with her music... It's so crazy.
Evi: At the mention of Taylor Swift — you've also cited her and Julia Michaels as your big inspirations. What are aspects of the artists you look up to’s musicianship or personhood that really resonate with you?
BIZZY: Taylor Swift has just grown up with us, which is so awesome to see. I love [her music] because it's so unique to her and her experiences, and I really try [to] do that with mine. Every single song I've released and probably will release is like a journal entry — that's what's happened in my life and I'm putting it out. I feel listening to her music is just like reading her diary, which is awesome, and you can learn so much from it. You get older sister vibes in that sense. And then with Julia Michaels, her songwriting is just mind-boggling — she's so talented. Way before she even started her artist project, she was writing hits! Her lyrics are so earwormy, catchy, and clever in the way that she says them. So I really try and pull from that vibe when I'm writing.
Evi: Have you written for other artists as well?
BIZZY: Yeah. I didn't actually start putting out music ‘till last year. I went to college for music at Belmont. In my heart, I knew I wanted to be an artist, but it was such a jump from “this is what I want to do” [to] “this is where I need to be.” There was all this middle ground that I needed to cover, and I had no idea what to do. So I went to college and I was like, “Oh my God, everyone's so freaking good here!” I [needed] to figure out how to function in this world. So I went in and was like, “I'm just going to be a pure writer,” which [means] writing for other artists — “I'm just gonna figure out how to do that.” So I did that for almost all of college and [it] was amazing. I still love writing for other artists, because I feel like sometimes I've run out of things I'm going through, or just getting out of my own head is fun. But I look back on those three or four years of writing for other artists and I'm like, “There's no way I would be where I am in my writing stage of my artistry without that,” because it allowed me to learn how to kind of fail in a room, and throw out really bad ideas, and write bad songs and be okay with it, and listen to how other artists found their voice. It allowed me little boundaries to bump into but not fall off a cliff, you know?
Evi: What does the process of writing for other musicians require, and how does it differ from that of writing your own material?
BIZZY: I think the biggest thing is — say if I'm writing for you — a lot of empathy, and a lot of putting myself in your shoes. So if you come in and you're like, “I went through this horrible breakup,” I can pull from that and I can be like, “Okay, I've been through shitty breakups and this is how it felt for me.” But then also, when I write I see a little movie in my head and I'll play it through. I try and put myself as the main character in that moment so that I can help you pull your emotions out. And, also, I think the biggest thing that differs is [that] when you're writing for someone else, you're the therapist. Whereas when you're writing for you, [your collaborators] are the therapist. When I'm writing for myself, I'm bringing in whatever I'm going through, and hoping that they'll do the same thing for me that I would do for them.
Evi: I love that you mentioned movies, because I find your music to be very cinematic. For me, it brings that coming-of-age moviescape to mind. Would you like to hear one of your songs in a movie or TV show one day?
BIZZY: For sure! Because I'm such a visual person in my head. Like I said, if I'm writing a song, I'm basically writing what I see in my head. So yeah, I would absolutely love one of my songs to be in a movie one day — I would freak out, for sure! Because it just feels like that's what I'm constantly writing to.
Evi: Who would play you in a movie?
BIZZY: I've always heard other people get this question asked, and I've never been asked, and I'm so excited that you just asked it now — I really have to think... Actually, Jennifer Lawrence! She's one of my favorite actors and I feel like we're very similar in the sense we'll just spit whatever comes out of our mouths. She's just a little quirky, which is fun, and I feel like she would actually do well playing me in a movie.
Evi: Tell me about your new singles! Starting with “Out Loud…”
BIZZY: It was so funny to write. At the time, I was seeing this guy that I've actually known since middle school. We've been friends forever and I had the biggest crush on him in middle school. We went to different high schools, but we stayed really good friends and were definitely flirty. Then I got a serious boyfriend and he got a serious girlfriend, so we were both in different situations. And then, we went to college and we'd see each other over Christmas and Thanksgiving break, but we were both still in relationships. It wasn't ‘till halfway through college that we both ended our relationships around the same time, and would still see each other and things would always be flirty, but it was also so new after my breakup that I was like “I need to take time.” It felt like this ongoing thing of yes, no, yes, no, yes.
Finally, about a year ago, we really started hanging out and connecting [because] he came up to Nashville for a wedding. And that was kind of the first night where we were like, “Oh shit, maybe this is the timing.” It was probably like six months into hanging out — I guess we weren't officially dating — that my friend came over and [asked] “How's it going?” And I don't know where these words came from, but immediately I was like, “I think I'm in love with him.” It was one of those moments where I had no idea until I literally said it out loud. So the next day I went into a writers session. That song was actually one of the longest writes I've been in — I feel like a lot of my other songs usually just kind of fall out. That one took us a hot minute because with this guy, there's been so much history. So it was like condensing what I was feeling into that moment, versus the massive amount of history we had to get that song to be where it was, because I really wanted [it] to emulate a feeling — I want it to feel like those butterflies you have when you're getting a crush.
Evi: And what about the other track, “I’d Never Tell You?” That one's much quieter. How did you make the decision to put the two together?
BIZZY: Yes, definitely. A lot of people have asked me why I put two completely different songs on the same release date. It just feels like they coincide so well — they go hand in hand with love because, at least in my experiences, you never know what you're gonna get when you're in a relationship or falling for someone. They're both extremes in my head and I was like, “Why not put them together?” because it's never one or the other. Even if you're in a study relationship [there’s] still going to be ups and downs, so I just wanted to really emulate that in those two releases.
“I’d Never Tell You” is about another relationship I was in and this one was very short — maybe three months. [It felt] like an adult relationship and I was like, “Okay, I'm on board with this,” but also wasn't sure where I stood with the guy. And then one day, [I’m] at my waitressing job and I get this text from the guy that I'm actually about to go hang out with. It's this long-winded text of, “It's been so fun, but [I] can't keep hanging out.” And I'm carrying a little tray of nachos, and I put it down at the table and [sprint] into my boss's office, bawling. Literally five seconds after that, I'm trying to get myself together and I'm bringing another tray of food out, and I freaking spill it all over the people! I was like, “My day can't get any worse.” So that was horrible, and basically in that moment, I think it was this embarrassment of, “Oh my God, this guy literally doesn't feel the same way about me.” And there's no control — you can't force someone to like you. You just have to deal with someone being like, “I don't want to hang out with you anymore.” My response to that text was, “Hey, it's all good. I totally get it.” But what the fuck do you do with all those emotions? So everything I wanted to say I didn't say, because I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of me being sad. “I’d Never Tell You” is basically everything I wanted to say but didn’t, in a song. He doesn’t know this song is about him so that'll be interesting really.
Evi: Do you want him to get it sometime, or…?
BIZZY: I don't know. I haven't really decided, because I still have my pride in that situation and, wanting to keep my pride, I don't want him to know. But after this interview he probably knows so…
Evi: Alright, I guess I'm taking that upon myself then… So are there any plans for a full-length project in the future? What are you thinking about for your next steps as an artist?
BIZZY: There’s definitely plans for more. I can’t quite tell you everything yet, but definitely a chunk of songs in the future — relatively soon.
Evi: I’ll take that! What is it that you’d like to transmit to your listeners through your music?
BIZZY: “You’ve got a friend.” I’m not trying to give off this vibe of, “I write songs and I’m so cool.” I’m literally just putting my diary out and hoping that someone’s like “I’ve been through that too!” It’s a way to connect with other people. It’s almost for me, rather than them — when other people connect to it I’m like “I’m not alone!” Basically it’s just a way for community to come about. That’s so awesome to me. It’s all about connection! Music is such a cool way to do that.
Evi: Anything else that you’d like to share?
BIZZY: In “I’d Never Tell You,” if you listen closely to the intro, there’s a little message on the relationship…
