Singer-Songwriter ANNIE O’MALLEY Opens Up About Her Latest Music and More!

Annie O’Malley is a prolific songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and a real talent. As a teenager, she tackles topics like loneliness, self-empowerment, and love. Through her music, she aims to be a positive influence and mentor for her generation.

Annie first garnered attention last year with her independently released single “Chase Me Down,” which has organically collected over 200,000 streams on Spotify and caught the attention of producer of Johnny K (Plain White T’s,) who produced the EP. At only nineteen years old, her music is already evolving into a more mature sound.

Check our her new songs here:

“Planet Golden” Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPyH92XKbGc

“Island” Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rays2w84uNQ

“Golden Doves” Video Link: https://youtu.be/XN_QG8SHfW8

Learn more about Annie O’Malley in the following All Access interview-

Happy New Year! When it comes to your music, what are you most excited about for 2020?

I have a new mindset for 2020. 

It’s the year for big things and to work as hard as I have ever worked. I want to learn to focus on the best parts and learn from the not best parts. I want to put out tons of music and I can’t wait for people to hear what I’m working on! 

Can you recall the moment when you thought you could be a musician? What do you think motivates you day in and day out?

I found a passion for it in little ways before I could even talk but I specifically remember at like 5 years old I found out what a record label was and how you record an album in a studio. I started begging my parents if I could go to one (a studio) and my dad was like “Yes, if you get enough songs.” I was so excited I remember the next day running to school and being like “Guys!!!!” and telling my friends all about it. The first time I really felt like I could make it was when I toured with Chicago, the band. After the first show, my mom was like, “Wow, this could really happen,” and we were just kinda of like “woah.” What motivates me is that it’s the only thing that has consistently been there for me and made me happy my whole life. Why would I let go of something like that? 

How do you think your hometown has influenced the kind of music that you make? If not, why is that?

I think my hometown has influenced my strength mentally more than anything particular with music. I had a very large group of people that were supportive but there were also a lot of me people who didn’t support it so much. Enough to where they had to verbalize it, or even just verbalize that they disagreed with my decisions of friends or boys. You learn very fast that if you don’t do what makes you happy you will spend the rest of your life trying to please people that can’t be pleased. That’s something I’m still trying to learn. 

Growing up, how important was music in your life? Was your family and friends supportive of this career choice? If you weren’t a musician today, what else could you see yourself doing?

When I was growing up, everyone around me was completely supportive. I had a cousin who would come to our house every weekend and take pictures of us for boutiques on Facebook and they would use the pictures on there for selling the accessories or clothing. My parents always had music on, and we have dance parties every night. I am the oldest of five and my family means so much to me, we have been through a lot but we always try to fix things. My parents are the most supportive and I’m not sure how I got so lucky there. My little brother who is 11 just recently admitted to me that he wishes every night for me to be “famous”. The support helps so much, and I am so thankful for that. 

What has been the biggest surprise so far about making music your career? What has been an unexpected or welcome challenge to it all? What has been the best part about it all?

I think the hardest parts have been dealing with the industry being a rollercoaster, one day everything is great, the next things are a mess, and then a week later something exciting happens. You have to try and not think about results or “making it” you have to force yourself to enjoy the ride because if I don’t when I look back, I’ll regret it. The best part is seeing how much of an impact it makes in people’s lives. When people text me saying that a song is their exact situation or that they needed one of my songs for a certain reason, it reminds me why I do this in the first place. It also gives me a sense of happiness that other things can only give me a small percentage of. 

Let’s talk about your upcoming EP. What was it like putting this collection together? Did anything surprise you about the process? How did you get together with your producer Johnny K?

The EP is a mix of new music I have written and old music that I still love. Working with Johnny is awesome. He respects my creative enthusiasm and totally responds well when I come into the studio with five new songs that I wanna record. He also respects how much I love my craft and how I am a little bit stubborn about changing anything in my songs, but at times he is right, and I will write something new or change up the order. He is so creative with sounds and production and loves his job so much. We work on music but also get distracted and talk about life and I will ask him questions about his career and other artists. It’s been such a fun ride! 

How would you say that your new EP compares to your previous tracks, “Chase Me Down” and your newest song “Golden Doves”?

The rest of the EP is more songs that are very raw, very honest, and tell a story. I have a happy love song, a not so happy love song, and a song about what you put out in the world is what you get back, good or bad. My music shows a big part of my life because it’s what I’m experiencing at this age. 

What was it like making the music video for “Golden Doves”? How creatively involved with the making of it were you?

For my music videos, I usually create the idea board right when I write the song if I know that I will be doing a video for it. For “Golden Doves,” I wanted it visually pleasing, but homemade. My friend Tristan Wallace is an awesome videographer and we work together on a lot of stuff, so he filmed it and edited it. Then I went in and changed a few scenes and I loved it. He did a great job at understanding the vibe and letting it come to life. 

Do you have any tour dates scheduled for this year?

As of now, I am doing shows all over, but no specific tour dates. Yet. Any show is a fun show and as long as I’m playing and connecting with an audience, that’s a success. But my goal is to tour so we will see! 

How do you think you have grown as a musician since you first started making music? What if anything has stayed the same about your music-making process?

When I first started music, I would do what my idols were doing, singing their songs, watching them live and copying it. When I got older, I start creating more of my own style and brand while still loving what I watched when I was younger. My music has also evolved because I see the other sounds and music that is out there and it’s very inspiring. 

How do you feel about social media? What do you think social media has done for your career so far?

I think social media is a great thing because it connects people and it spreads what you’re doing even farther. But I have also had times where I have to take a break because it’s a lot and it does get in our heads. As long as you don’t overuse or use it for the wrong purposes, I think it’s a great thing! 

What musicians would you absolutely love to work with in the future?

This is a hard question because I would work with anyone honestly. I would specifically love to work with people who are a bit different, so we bring different things to the table. I would love to work with Alt-j, Chance, Khalid, Tash Sultana, Seafret, Alessia Cara, Evan Giia, Lana Del Ray, Lorde, Foster the People, Melanie Martinez, Taylor swift, NOTD, U2, Fleet Foxes and Tove Lo. Any of those would be a dream.

If you could design your dream music video right now, what would it look like?

That’s a good question! It would probably be somewhere in Hawaii because that would be crazy to go all the way out there for a video, but amazing. Or a video with fun cameos in it. I have to think about that. 

Where would you love to hear a song of yours played?

Honestly, just the radio during a popular hour would be crazy. Or in a movie or YouTube video! 

At the end of the day, what do you hope people take away from your music?

I just hope people understand that everything is written for the listener to be able to relate to, my music is all from my head and my thoughts. It’s like you are asking me about something and the songs are my answers. Its 100% me.