Interview: OSTON does a lot of shrugging these days

Sometimes, you just have to fucking shrug. People can be the worst, and rising pop sensation OSTON should know. Armed with her song “Shrug,” a frothy, somehow sticky, thumb-biter, she comes to terms with others’ perceptions of her, finally letting it slide off her back. “Living just to make it in the picture / Cool, call me what you want / Baby, all I can do is shrug,” she spits back. She also matches their gaze with an even icier one, letting them cower and step back.

Truth be told, it was a winding journey which continues to this day. “In this society, it’s hard not to care what others think of you. The reason I struggle so much with social media is because I do care so much,” she tells B-Sides & Badlands over email, “and if I start to let things get to me, I’ll overthink and let it ruin my whole day and night. So, when I get hit with a wave of anxiety, I’ve been learning to take a deep breath, shrug it off, and let things go.”

She’s got a contagious air about her, also quite evident on 2019’s Sitting at the Kids Table. She sews her quirky-girl vocal with a jabbing, jarring energy that lingers with you long after the songs have left only static on your eardrums. From “bad” to the plucking “last time,” she navigated slurpy R&B-flavored pop with a particular no-fucks attitude, even in her quieter, more muted moments. Her aesthetic is strong, her exterior tougher in deflecting but not without showcasing her innate vulnerability.

“Shrug,” co-produced with Nydge, Patrick Giguere, and Dino Zisis, is a double-tongued kiss-off with a volatility that gets the blood coursing. It signals a stylistic leveling-up, split with venom-spitting lyrics, marking considerable growth in less than a year. “I really feel like I’ve grown miles from when I released my debut EP. As timing would have it, the main production of that EP took place during my college finals,” she says. “I was sad to miss being in the studio all day with my team. After every exam, I would take the train straight to the studio, listen to what had been done that day, and give feedback on what I wanted to be changed. After that experience, I made a promise to myself that I would never be out of the room for production again.”

“Now, I’m much more hands-on with the production process than ever before. For my debut album, Am I Talking Too Much?, I took charge of the sonic direction and challenged myself to tackle the lyrics and melodies on my own as much as possible. Though many of my songs were written with some very talented co-writers, a lot of them are all me, which is something I’m extremely proud of,” she continues, then teasing the record is almost fully finished and promising to offer eve more explosive dynamics.

Below, OSTON gauges her personal growth, stepping out from others’ shadows, songwriting, her turn on NBC’s Songland, and studying songwriting.

The production then layers on a thick grittiness. Did you have a say in what choices Nydge ultimately made?

“Shrug” was actually born from an idea that Nydge created without me, and then quickly became our dual-custody song child. [laughs] Nydge and I are good friends and have sessions together all the time (before quarantine, at least). In an earlier session of ours, he played me a beat that he named “SHRUG.mp3,” and I thought, “Yes! I need to write to this the next time I see you.” I remember when I sat down with Nydge and Kim Vi, we instantly knew we wanted to keep the name, and the ideas just started flowing out. I then took the song to my Chicago team, where we cleaned things up a bit and added finishing touches. The production stayed mainly in Nydge’s direction while the topline was all me and Kim.

My experience working with Nydge is always nothing short of incredible because we have such great artistic chemistry. Although I’m not always able to articulate what I’m looking for in proper producer terms, I’ll say, “I want this sound shinier,” or make a “WUB WUB WUB” sound, and he’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. In this way, I’m able to really direct where I want the record to end up, sonically.

Being a relatively new artist, does the LA scene ever turn you off? Do you question your pursuit of music?

I just moved to LA after spending the last five years in Chicago, where a lot of my production team is based. I’m definitely still getting used to the scene in LA, but I’m really lucky to have already made a core group of amazing friends here. I’ve also been able to write with people I have a great connection with – a little community that supports and lifts each other up.

Like most artists, I’ve definitely questioned my chosen career path. Some days I’ll be like, “Yeah, I’m the shit, my songs are so good!,” and then literally the same night I’ll cry and think, “There’s no way in hell this could ever work out for me.” But I think a lot of artists feel that way, no matter where they’re in their career, or what they may have accomplished. None of this is a given, and we’re all striving to be better every day – I think it’s important to remember that.

What’s been the hardest thing or moment to navigate?

I’ve always had a hard time with the process of actually finishing records. I’m so in love with the writing and creation process, but as soon as that’s over, I’m ready for the song to be done. Contrary to my desire, I know there is so much more work to do, so I’ve had to find ways to make that process easier for myself.

That being said, the creation and production for my debut album has been challenging for me. Some of these songs have been sitting around for over a year now in demo form, waiting to be finished – but it takes so much time to get everything right. You always hear artists talking about the energy and dedication it takes to complete a full album, but man. It wasn’t until I went through it myself that I really understood it. In the end, though, I know all of the time and effort will be well worth it when I get to (finally) put this piece of my heart out in the world.

In terms of your debut album, did you have goals you set for yourself?

My goals always change, and given the current state of the world, I’ve had to adjust significantly (as has the rest of the world) from what I expected things to look like right now. We were on a timeline to finish the album a couple months ago, but with the production team being split between LA and Chicago, we’ve had to take a step back without being able to have everyone in the studio together.

We had also set a goal to book a headline tour planned around the album release, but it’s not looking hopeful that the world will be ready for live shows by then. It’s comforting, however, to know that the music industry is going through this together, and we’re constantly finding new ways to connect with our followers in this digital world. So, if I can’t play my new songs and hug people in person, at least I’ll be able to do it through a phone screen (for the time being).

Musically, how do the rest of the songs feel?

Something I love about pop music is that I don’t ever feel restricted in experimenting with new things. Some days, I might be feeling playful; some days, I’m sad and emotional; and some days I feel mischievous. It’s incredible to me that music can reflect each of those feelings and still technically fit into one “genre.” I was lucky enough to write this album with a handful of incredible songwriters and producers from entirely different musical and life backgrounds. The songs on AITTM? won’t necessarily be what people expect from me. However, there will be a song (or two, or three!) for everyone who listens.

You’ve said there are some “happy” love songs on the record. What is the emotional arc of the album?

With Am I Talking Too Much?, I challenged myself to write about things other than the topics listeners heard on my first EP – mainly boys, love, and lust. My goal was to have a cohesive project that touched on various topics going on in my life and the world around me. AITTM? talks about dealing with anxiety, discovering my self-worth, recognizing, and taking a stance on world issues, confronting negative and disrespectful behaviors of others…even the love songs are very self-reflective. Instead of writing solely about heartbreak, I wanted to focus on what goes through my own head when I’m falling in love, and credit my partners who were there for me and showed me that it’s okay to not be perfect – or to not have everything figured out.

As the writer, I believe there is a musical arc for me in the emotional journey that I went through this past year. However, I anticipate that this album will mean so many different things to each listener, and I don’t want to paint a picture for anyone before they have the chance to listen for themselves.

What do you think you learned about yourself, or songwriting, through the process?

I’ve learned so much about myself through songwriting and creating an album. For starters, I’ve learned that I can write about a lot more concepts and topics than I ever imagined. In creating a super self-reflective album, it made me really look inside myself and ask “why” I am the way I am and “why” I do the things I do.

As part of the album process, I’ve even had to play a “character” in some of my new songs – and this is the first time I’ve really done that in my music. I genuinely believe that nobody is just one-sided, and I think the album is a perfect example of that. Throughout the album, I showcase that I don’t have to be the same person every day; that it’s okay to be a weird and anxious goofball who has different moods. Most of all, I learned that becoming a better person (growth) starts within yourself – and I feel like I’ve finally been able to put that into action thanks to my music.

You’ve noted Julia Michaels’ Nervous System as groundbreaking for you. That quirky, offbeat way of lyrics to observe life is definitely evident. In defining your own singular voice, what has that journey been like over the last few years?

When I first started writing songs, I always wrote at the piano, and consequently, my songs ended up sounding very singer-songwriter. For a while I really wanted to sound like that of (early) Ed Sheeran, Sara Bareilles, and Adele – very adult contemporary. It wasn’t until I got to college, when I began working with my Chicago studio team, that I started really digging into pop music.

I began by writing and demoing songs for other artists for years before I even started writing for myself. Although I had been doing music my whole life – I’d started taking voice lessons at age six – I had no idea what it meant to be an actual artist. There’s a running joke with my team that I had to “unlearn” how to sing and learn how to let go. This is when I really started becoming comfortable behind the microphone and discovering my own character and sense of style.

Did you find yourself at any point specifically studying how other artists wrote lyrics and built structures – or was it a more organic evolution?

Absolutely! Just as I was starting to develop my own style with songwriting in college, three groundbreaking, female fronted records came into my life – Lorde’s Melodrama, Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman, and Julia Michaels’ Nervous System. I always note these three projects as what really showed me the true beauty in pop writing and production. Studying other artists as I go through my own creative evolution has always been an important part of my process – that’s what I’m used to, anyways. My Chicago studio was very structured, and studying and practicing was pretty much all we did. Nowadays, whether it’s watching lyric explanation videos and interviews or listening to New Music Friday and other curated playlists, there is always some form of studying that I find myself doing.

Is production something that might be on your radar to tackle next?

Honestly… I don’t think production is for me. I took a class on it in college and struggled very hard. My brain works too fast for my hands, which is why the songwriting process has always worked so well for me. I can just press record on my voice memos and let my brain do it’s thing.

I really like to collaborate with producers who can understand my articulations of what I want something to sound like. I’ve been learning the technical terms for things, but for the most part, I’ll just make some mouth noises and crazy hand movements for what I want and hope that the producer can decipher what the hell I’m trying to say. [laughs]

You recently appeared on Songland for a performance of Julia Michaels’ “Give It to You.” Walk us through that journey – from landing the gig, your approach to someone else’s song, working through your nerves, and afterward.

My experience with Songland was honestly such a whirlwind. The adrenaline and excitement kicked in as soon as I got to the studio to learn the song. To my surprise, I actually got to spend some time with Ryan Tedder while learning the song as quickly and cohesively as I could. Everyone on set was very welcoming and appreciative to have me there, which only made me more excited to participate in the show. I was lucky enough to perform Keegan Bost’s song “Give It To You,” for Julia Michaels, which she ended up choosing to record and put out. Obviously, with Julia being one of my all-time favorite writers, I was pretty taken aback when I saw her face right in front of me. But, I swallowed my nerves and did the best I could to bring the song to life the way that Keegan and Ryan were hoping to. Even though I wasn’t a part of the writing process, I felt honored to be asked to perform the song that ended up winning the episode.

What was your biggest takeaway from that experience?

Probably to jump on any opportunity that’s thrown at me, no matter how inconvenient or nerve-wracking it may be. You never know where a lead may take you.

Follow OSTON on her socials: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website