When you think about Nashville, you're likely to think about country music and the Grand Ole Opry, hot chicken, or the Titans and Predators - wants you to add pop music to that list.
The Connecticut native has been in Nashville at Belmont University studying songwriting, and will soon graduate. In her time in Music City, she says she's seen the pop music scene grow, with more opportunities to write with other like-minded artists, and take the next steps in her young career. We caught up on a video call with Zoe to talk about her latest pop single, Last One Standing, her musical influences, writing pop music in Nashville, and more. And we played a round of 5 Quick Questions that you can find later on in this post.
In 2020, Zoe released her Lovers Mark EP and it was branded as country-pop. Almost a year later, Last One Standing is straight pop, with no country in the description. I asked her about that and the change. She said that she understood where that label came from as she listens to those songs. There was a more country sound in the background maybe, or the Nashville connection might have had something to do with it - but this new music, it's different.
Zoe Clark - Last One Standing
When we talked about her influences, it's easy to see where a country sound might have come to her. In previous interviews, Zoe has talked about Taylor Swift's Teardrops On My Guitar being the song that started her musical awakening, and in learning that wrote her songs and that writing songs was a thing people could do, made her want to do the same. She also mentions Carole King and James Taylor as major influences on her musically, and the more I think about those artists, the more you can see the country and folk to go with the pop - and set in Nashville, a little country bleeding in makes sense.
Now though, the country is gone, Zoe is jumping all the way into pop, and it works for her. Last One Standing is a witty look at love and life and being alone in a world that seems packed with people in love or looking for it. The twang is gone, the beat is peppy, it's hooky and bouncy and there are going to be folks that connect with it and blast it and we can already imagine them singing along loudly when she plays it live. And like we said in the New Music Spotlight when the song was first released, "if there's more to come from her like this, there are going to be more listeners and opportunities to follow."
We asked her, to help new listeners put her new music in the company of other artists they may already know and love, which artists she thinks her music would fit well with on a playlist. She named five artists for us: John Mayer, Shawn Mendes, Olivia Rodrigo, , and Tate McRae - we're into that playlist.
Note: We also gave Zoe some love for naming three Canadian artists on her list (whether she did it on purpose or not only she knows), with Mendes, JESSIA, and McRae all representing the maple leaf up north.
We talked about songwriting with Zoe, and what she's doing. With her Belmont University songwriting education, plus her personal feel, and getting in writing rooms with collaborators all playing a part, she's finding her way. I asked about it, because pop does still have this foreign feel when we think of Nashville, and she was cool about it because she knows that too. What she told me though, is that the writers in Nashville who are ready to write pop, are able to keep the country out while they focus. But that doesn't mean they can't do both. Heck, even Zoe herself says she's happy to sit down and work on country songs for her friends and other artists in the genre. And that is perfect to me because a good song is a good song, no matter what label or instrumental or twang (or lack thereof) you put on it.
When I asked about her goals as a songwriter and what she wants people to know about her writing and what she's trying to do, Zoe said, "One of the things that I've always strived for as a songwriter is I want to get to people's hearts and I want to connect to them. The reason I write songs about my experiences is because I grew up to some of my favourite songs being from those artists that are just vulnerable and raw and write about their own personal life because that's what connects the listeners to the song." She added, "I think for me, one of the biggest things that I want to do, is I want to continue to write music that resonates with people and makes them feel like 'Oh my gosh that song was written just for me.', and that's what I really wanna do and I hope that when people listen to my music they can connect..."
Songwriters are storytellers, and I love storytellers who want to tell full, real, honest stories that might make me smile and might make me cry - and it feels like Zoe is ready to make either one of those things happen if she stays on this path.
Now, hit play to watch Zoe Clark's round of 5 Quick Questions and find out which albums she's playing for a full listen, who she would love to duet with, and more!
5 Quick Questions with Zoe Clark
Thank you to Zoe Clark for taking the time to have a great long chat and for playing 5 Quick Questions. We asked what's coming next and while we didn't get any specific details, Zoe said there is new music coming, so we should all be paying attention and ready for that.
Hit play to check out Last One Standing one more time, and enjoy!
