Alyssa Fouts, whose YouTube channel is scraping 25k subscribers, has released her first official single, and it sure is a sweet debut. If you were to combine the sound of Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Hayley Kiyoko, and Conan Gray, with a dazzling dash of primary colors, the outcome would probably be Alyssa’s new song “Nineteen.” So we decided to sit down and ask the primary princess about her initial tune.
Alt Col: Just want to start out with a seemingly primordial question: Who are your biggest musical influences? Lyrically, sonically, aesthetically, etc. Do you think listeners will be able to pick up on those inspirations in your new single?
Alyssa Fouts: To be quite honest with you, the artists that influenced this song in particular are not what I genuinely thought they’d be if that makes sense. Like, I feel that a lot of the artists that I usually listen to are more alternative and are branches off of rock music. And there are two reasons why the song kind of just sounds the way it does. First off, I was going through my first ever breakup so what I was listening to was all these female-led, empowering, slightly angry pop songs. Everything from Hailee Steinfeld and Sabrina Carpenter to Little Mix and Taylor Swift. These were all incredibly influential artists for the sound of “Nineteen.” and you can definitely hear their vibes in the track. But also, I think my sound has always been of this “pop princess” type. I’ve always thought I was more of an “edgier” girl, which is slightly cringey but very true. This is the first song I’ve ever written, and initially I thought it sounded the way it did because of all the music I had been listening to at the time. But as I started writing more, all the songs (all very much my own sound) were fitting into that pop realm. I think it’s pretty damn cool, but I think I really did just surprised myself.
Alt Col: Totally understand. Do you think in the future you might move into a more rock-infused sound or possibly incorporate some of that “edginess” into your current pop tone?
Alyssa Fouts: Here’s the thing with “Nineteen.” This song initially was only ever materialized for my own closure. From the beginning, I never really intended on having this be a launchpad for a music career. I wrote this as a poem at first. But then after messing around with it, it turned into a song, and I guess I was subconsciously thinking that if it were to become a full-blown thing then maybe I can get that final ending or good-bye or whatever it was that I felt I needed through that. So I did that. As far as it goes for future music, I would love to release more. One hundred percent. But I think for right now, I’m going to see how time treats me. And of course sound-wise, don’t let my pink hair and black ripped jeans fool you. I love alternative music, but there will always be a romantic idealist trapped in here with a love for Carly Rae Jepsen and tiaras. But who knows? One day, I’ll have evolved and decided to create the most edgy song I’ve ever made.
Alt Col: What was the experience like working on a song for the first time? The recording sessions, working with a producer, refining the lyrics, etc.
Alyssa Fouts: So when I reached out to my producer, the song was already completed. I think I had written the entire thing in about an hour, and when it came to polishing it, we had only changed one or two lines and a few words here and there. Something I’ve always been confident in is my writing. I remember, though, one of the first conversations we had was to make the song more relatable and interpretive for the listener. The song itself is very specific to me because everything I wrote actually happened, from the rain during the breakup to the guitar on the first date and his knife collection. Changing it around was something I was very against. Again, this song was for my healing. I was really lucky to have the people I had during this process because they understood and respected my exact vision. My friend Ann helped me record it to send over to my producer Jack. He lives in LA and I live in San Francisco so that was another struggle. We recorded it at the studio in our school, and it was really hard for me at first. It was a month after my birthday, and I had been pretty much over 
the whole situation for a while then. Digging up those emotions so I could sing it properly was really rough. But I did it! Then we sent it over to Jack, and nine months later, the world now has it. Literally my baby!
Alt Col: Did you record any live instrumentation on the track?
Alyssa Fouts: Oh, I tried! But you know, I’m not the best at guitar so that quickly fell through. My king Jack LaFrantz created the instrumental for it as well as produced it. He really is crazy talented.
Alt Col: So do you enjoy being an independent artist or would you be open to accepting a deal with a record label if you want to continue with a music career?
Alyssa Fouts: I’m not really sure yet. This is my first release ever so I’m not quite sure what to expect just yet. But if any labels do reach out, I am definitely down to chat! I think right now, I’m just really playing everything by ear.
Alt Col: Yeah, totally understand. So you’re a very creative individual. You study film and do YouTube and whatnot; what are your future plans in the area of film?
Alyssa Fouts: My major is screenwriting, so ideally I would love to end up in that field, but I’m still figuring my way around! I’ve got a little bit more time before I fully commit, and at the moment, I’m really just enjoying trying everything out. My friends and I shot the “Nineteen.” music video over the weekend, and it just reminded me how much I love the actual filming part of projects. At some point, I wanna do everything!
Alt Col: Definitely. I’m curious to know though: Did you have to scripted-ly record the phone call snippets in the song or were those from the actual phone call?
Alyssa Fouts: They were recorded by my friend Matt and I! In actuality, this kid was kind enough to not dump me over the phone but rather outside my house. Best gift ever!
Alt Col: Was writing “Nineteen.” a good way to process those emotions and work through them?
Alyssa Fouts: Writing it for sure! I’ve always been a person who felt she needed to be strong and couldn’t show her emotions. I was so in denial that I was genuinely sad about the whole situation because I didn’t want to look weak. I mean, breakups are a loss at the end of the day. Putting down the words helped me understand what I was feeling and validate it. I was so used to suppressing how I felt, I forgot what it was like to actually experience and sit in your sadness. Emotions are so powerful, and something I definitely learned from this experience is that even a broken heart can become something really cool.
You can stream/download “Nineteen.” online and check out the music video on YouTube! Give Alyssa a follow on Twitter and Instagram, and subscribe to her YouTube channel to keep up with her content.
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