I think we have all been through the love cycle, filled with highs and lows and lessons learned. It all starts when you find that amazing person you feel a special bond with. There is no better feeling than going through all your "firsts", whether it's a brand new feeling or one that is very familiar to you. Think of "the first date", "the first kiss" and the moment you think you see a future with this person. You feel invincible, nothing can go wrong... until it does. Maybe you are lucky and find your soulmate in high school or with your first relationship, but more often than not, we aren't so lucky. You start with the all-time high and then as the hourglass turns, it goes down hill and you are left wondering what happened. No matter if it's your doing or not, it hurts. Then whether it's a few months or hell, a few years, you are filled with reminiscing and moving on and looking at starting the cycle all over. Kaylin Roberson paints each emotion to a tee on her new EP "Break Up Proof" which was released on November 20th.
Get To Know Kaylin
"Yeah, sweet... so I started playing music when I was 15 years old back in Raleigh, North Carolina; that's where I'm originally from. I call it the “little big city of Raleigh” because it's big, but very spread out. I started writing songs and playing in bars when I was 15. Had my own band and played there until I moved here (Nashville) 2 years ago. I do the whole co-writing thing. Taking it way back before that, I was homeschooled in high school so I could talk to kids about bullying and use my music to spread a positive message and to be a voice. I toured San Antonio, Texas, Las Vegas... I went all over. I worked with a company that hired a bunch of artists to be involved. We all shared our own personal stories and experiences and used our music to empower them. I did that for 3 years and that's how I got my following. Talking about buying followers, I know a lot of people think I did that. But at these schools we visited, I'm not even kidding, the students treated me like Beyonce. It was really cool. I figured out why I wanted to do music and it was to bring a positive light into the community, especially in places like schools. So I started to really think and was asking myself "it's one thing to be a voice, but is it a voice that people want to listen to?". From that point forward, I really focused on writing my own songs and I knew they had to get better. I put out my debut single "Out of My Town" right after the main part of quarantine in May. I wrote it with Bryce Mauldin and Clayton Mann. That was my first song out and it made it on two Spotify editorial playlists. That was really cool for me because I thought I was only going to get like 100 streams. It did really well so I decided to put out my second single "Know You Like That" in July, just as a summer feel good song. And now we are here with my latest project, a 3-song EP "Break Up Proof" which came out November 20th.
I almost forgot, but there is a huge reason why I got into music. I started music and wanted to be a voice for people and not be ignored. When I was 9 years old I was a dog bite victim. My grandparent’s dog literally attacked me and ripped open my right lip and the left side of my eye. It has been my biggest part of my musical journey. I'm 22 years old and not someone that likes to relive my past. But this experience made me look at music not just as something that was just fun to do, but I also saw the impact music had on me. Music has the power to heal you, I was home for two weeks and my parents were trying to figure out if they wanted to homeschool me. because They were worried I'd get bullied for the scars on my face. When I was home my dad put up a video camera and told me to do what I wanted. That led to doing stupid videos of me singing Hannah Montana. This really illustrated to me the impact music can have and so I try to give that back with my music."
A Familiar Love Story Start to Finish...
It's one thing to be able to belt out meaningful lyrics and it's another to write deep and heartfelt words that everyone can relate to. Kaylin Roberson has had a busy 2020 and making the best of a shitty year. Releasing her debut single "Out of My Town" followed by "Know You Like That", Kaylin has combined for over 155,640 streams on Spotify. Kaylin Roberson is fairly new to Music City, yet she has already found a home. Her soothing and calming sound, being able to translate both past heartbreaks and best moments onto paper, and having the ability to connect with listeners is second to none. As her base continues to grow, keep Kaylin Roberson on your radar 'cause GOD DAMN this girl is going places.
Inspiration Behind "Break Up Proof"
"It consists of three songs and the title track is called "Break Up Proof" which creates the whole visual around the EP. I decided to put the other two songs around "Break Up Proof" to create this almost love story. Each song is about a different phase of being in love - the really high points at the beginning, the peak of a relationship where you're thinking about buying a house, babies, white picket fences and other cheesy images you want to picture, and then "Break Up Proof" is the extreme blow from when you fall really hard for somebody that brings a lot of pain. That is what we tried to capture on that one. The third song "Right About Now" is about that kind of grey area of trying to move on and learning that a part of love is knowing when to let that person go."
I wrote "Break Up Proof" first, actually during quarantine. Me and the writers agreed to be together six feet apart, but in the same room. My co-writers on that were Jeff Quigley and Ryan Brisotti. After "Break Up Proof", I actually went through a break up, which is weird. I tend to do that for some reason. Then I wrote "I See You" with Matt Gorman and Jack Hummel. The third one I wrote with the guys from The White Wolves. The White Wolves are kind of like an Alternative Rock band made up of Chuck Feltner and Todd Michael Burman. They came to me and told me they wanted to write a country song and that I would be a good fit. It just happened that "Right About Now", the song we wrote, really molded well with the other two. I guess the inspiration for the EP was breaking up with my hometown boyfriend. We were together for over three years and I broke it off. For me it was a life thing. But no matter what side of a breakup you are on, it's never easy. Even though I initiated it, it was still one of the hardest things I’ve done. I don't regret my decision at all, but it wasn't easy. I feel these songs really speak to all of those feelings. A really weird time to release music right now because of Corona, but on a positive note, I feel like music can be used to help people during all this bullshit."
Q & A With Kaylin
Q: Which songwriter and/ or artist made you really want to pursue music?
A: "Yeah, you're going to laugh at me. When I was younger my original influence - I kid you not - was Miley Cyrus. It's because some girl in third grade looked at me and told me I looked like Hannah Montana and I had no idea who that was. I kept being told I looked like her. Growing up I was a Nickelodeon kid and never watched Disney Channel, but one day I turned it on and finally saw Hannah Montana. Right then I was like "oh, I already love music, but now since people say I look like her I have to embody her". At the time, she was a great role model. Other than Miley, I listen to a lot of Lady A and Rascal Flatts. In terms of songwriting, I would say Shania Twain has impacted me. Those are the influences that really shape my music."
Q: What are a few things you've learned about the Music industry living in Nashville?
A: "The biggest thing that I've learned so far in Nashville is to be patient and persistent. There's a balance of being both. For instance, the most common word you're going to hear in town is "no". I can't tell you the amount of times I've gone to meetings and they won't come out and tell you that you suck, but they tell you "no". You have to learn how to take a closed door and open up another. I've seen people come here and think they are going to be handed everything. As soon as someone doesn’t like their style or, sometimes it's not even personal... they don’t handle it well. This is a business and as soon as you learn to be able to hear "no", you have to start doing your own thing to be successful. Another big thing is not only do you have to be patient with yourself, but those around you as well. There have been so many times that I've had co-writes go terribly and I will think it's all because of me. I think my dad said it best when he would say "well how many people were in the room?" I would say 3 or 4 and his response was "everyone contributes, it wasn't just you". On a more positive note, a lot of good things do happen. I think it was my second week in town and I was doing a writer's round at Live Oak. After I played, two girls who I still write with today came up and genuinely wanted to write with me. That was a really memorable moment for me because I had the mindset when I was moving to town that I had to find people to write with. That writer’s round gave me the confidence that I am good enough and other people do want to write with me. It was a very important moment for me."
Q: What is your favorite go to spot in Nashville for food?
A: "My “go to” is a Mexican restaurant - me and my roommate just call it "Cinco"- called "Cinco de Mayo". It's your typical Mexican restaurant, not some high end boujee place. I always get the ACP which is like beans, rice and chicken. That's my favorite dinner spot. I also love Frothy Monkey for coffee and breakfast. When people want to get coffee I always pick that. I get the "Turtle Latte" there."
Q: What is a song you wish you'd written?
A: "I wish I wrote "House That Built Me" because that song was like the biggest of its time and still is. I feel like nobody has written something like that and it's so relatable. Every time I go back to my house I think about this song and I'm like "damn, if only I was like 10 years older". I feel like people always beat me to good songs! I also wish I’d written "My Boy" by Elvie Shane. Because my mom isn't my biological mom, it really hit me and I wish I was able to take such an important experience in my life and write such a deep and meaningful song like this."
If you are just discovering Kaylin Roberson, make sure to follow her on Apple Music, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.