INTERVIEW: Sofia Carson on living LOUD: "Being loud doesn't mean that we have to scream, it just means that we are unafraid to voice our opinions, unafraid to make change."
Interview: Jett Tattersall
Sofia Carson is the type of artist that you can only look at in awe. The American is not only a multi-award nominated singer-songwriter with over two billion streams to her name, she is also an actor (she has starred in all three Descendants film) a film producer, model, and a UNICEF ambassador to boot.
She recently released her latest single ‘Loud’ which she worked on with songwriters Alida Garpestad Peck (Kylie Minogue) and Paris Carney (Bea Miller, Adam Lambert). The song is a passionate female empowerment anthem which celebrates a once silenced voice breaking free. “Are you getting uncomfortable now? / I'm a little too loud for you now / Don't try to calm me down / I was made to be loud” she sings.
“From the bottom of my heart, this song is dedicated to YOU. The women of the world and all the LOUD voices of change. Because we were all: Made to Be LOUD,” Carson says.
A mix of pop and R&B, ‘Loud’ is fiery, moody, moving and with Carson’s remarkably flexible and emotive vocal moving from gentle and fragile to a full-blooded force of nature, it is utterly compelling. We recently sat down with Sofia to talk more about her music, career and living LOUD.
Sofia, hello! We are such fans of your work here at Women In Pop and everything you're shouting about. Thank you for taking the time to chat today.
Thank you for having me. I think your magazine is really beautiful and I love what you guys do.
We've got the same thing going on! “Are you getting uncomfortable now?'“ Even when I read this lyric just as text, I got chills. It’s my favourite lyric. ‘Loud’ obviously is so important with the current state of the world and the discussions that are finally getting room to air. Can you talk me through your intention going in with this single?
This single is precisely like you said, it is birthed from the movement that we are feeling in the world, dedicated to and inspired by young women and the fearless voices of change who are at the forefront of history right now. Amplifying their voices, amplifying each other's voices and fearlessly making change. I feel so honoured to be able to be some sort of a vessel for this message through the song and to see that it's already, just in a couple of days since it's been released, having an impact on young men, young women or however you identify, all over the world in fearlessly telling their stories as to why they were made to be loud. It's been really beautiful to see that.
It's so gorgeous. Musically, it has this very subtle and thrilling energy to it which encapsulate the lyrics, you sing it with such fierce restraint in order to be heard. It's that whole notion that shouting changes nothing. There’s a line where you say ‘if I was a man, then you would understand / You wouldn't say I'm causing all this drama’. Have you ever found that in your own life, this notion that if I'm shouting or if I'm owning my sexuality, then it's a problem, whereas if a man insists upon it, I'm beautiful, and I'm a singer, and I'm an actress, it's all okay.
Absolutely. I think women around the world have always been in this position, where us being assertive and expressing our opinions and perhaps being loud, isn't as acceptable, or it's seen as being difficult rather than just being assertive, rather than just being a man knowing what he wants. There's always been that double standard in life, and we're seeing that change because of women around the world who are saying ‘no, I am loud’. Being loud doesn't mean that we have to scream, it just means that we are unafraid to voice our opinions, unafraid to make change. I was very lucky to be raised by a loud woman who always taught my sister and I to be unapologetically loud, and that loud didn't have to mean being the loudest voice in the room but to be fearlessly yourself and to be unafraid to speak your mind. [It] is something that unfortunately so many women have struggled with because of how society has raised us or how society has been framed. It's a beautiful thing to be able to celebrate our loudness and the beauty of that.
Was that always something that you kept at the forefront when going in to record, or even perform, this track? That essence of yes, the song is called ‘Loud’ but our idea of what loud is isn't necessarily how it's perceived. Like I said, you've got this beautiful restraint in the song, was that always your decision to go in with ‘I'm just going to speak this with tranquillity’?
It's funny because I just shot a movie with Netflix that I co-produced and my director Liz Allen is this incredible female director. I wrote the music for it and I starred in it, and when [Allen] heard ‘Loud’, she said that she's always believed that I've been the softest loud that she's ever worked with because I have a way of expressing my opinions and what I feel and what I want without being physically loud and that there's a strength in that. I was raised by my mom to do that. So yes, the beauty of the song is that there are different ways of being loud. I transition from soft spoken, almost conversationally speaking the verses because I was essentially having a conversation with the world, stating all the things that we experienced as women, and then to this explosion in the chorus of emotion and frustration and freedom, which are all the colours and shades of what it means to be a woman and what it means to be loud in this world.
Gorgeous. You're kicking ass musically on so many levels, but the public knew you as an actress to begin with, because you started out young. That love of music, has that always been part of your life? What role did music have in your childhood?
I don't remember a moment when I wasn't in love with music. I believe that it was something that was born inside of me and runs through my bloodstream and is the rhythm of my heartbeat. I genuinely don't recall not knowing that this is who I was, and it's what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I've always been in love with storytelling, I wrote my first song when I was 10. I love every aspect of storytelling, whether it's lyrics, a visual story, whatever it may be. It became very clear to me at a young age that music is also a vessel, a vessel to connect us all universally, despite the language and that I had a responsibility if ever I was lucky enough to have this platform to use that vessel for good, especially for young women. This song feels like the culmination of who I am as an artist and who I am as a person in my heart.
That's incredible. Apart from your acting, your songwriting, your singing and your animated ponies - yes I’m a huge fan - you've been at the forefront of philanthropy, particularly with regards to human rights and giving voice to the voiceless. There's been a very big shift from what I imagine the music you were growing up listening to, and your accessibility to the artists that performed those, to today where you are able to connect directly with your fans, with your own words, not just in the song but also on social media. That's a big weight to bear. How imperative is that platform for you?
It is a beautiful responsibility that I take very seriously, that I cherish and I consider myself privileged to have the platform that I do have, and the voice that I'm lucky to have as well. I carry that young girl in some corner of the world with me in every decision that I make, whether it is the song that I released, the song that I write, the role that I play. I work with UNICEF and with the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation and it has been the honour of my life to be able to make an impact on that one girl in one corner of the world. I do everything that I do for her and I feel so privileged that I am in the position that I am and that I can be loud in a way that can make a true and genuine change. I was raised by a woman who taught me to believe that giving back is the most important thing that we can do with our lives, and that's what I promised myself that I would do and to me to give means to be loud. It makes me very emotional, I feel so, so lucky to be in this position.
It makes us emotional to have you doing it, it's so exciting. On that note, you've got so many strings to your bows, but you seem to be going at it with such an amazing, very clear integrity. Obviously the only way is up, have you got desires for the future with regards to linking all three - your philanthropy, your music and your film?
Yes, I've always wanted to lead with honesty and integrity and ‘Loud’ feels like the beautiful culmination of all of that - of my work as an artist and musician and as a philanthropist, all culminating in this beautiful song in this beautiful moment and I hope to lead with that. Every decision that I make, and every role that I play, and even the roles that I've played, I've been lucky to be able to tell the stories of really empowered, incredible young women. The story that I will be telling very soon, when you guys meet her you will know, is very much in line with who I am and speaking up about human rights and immigrant rights. It is very much in line with the story of Purple Hearts, which is the Netflix movie that I just worked on and produced. I'm really excited and leading with honesty and integrity is first and foremost for me.
Gorgeous. You are clearly a shero for a lot of young girls and young people out there. Who was that for you when you were growing up?
I don't think there was just one. I was always inspired by the trailblazers of our industry. I remember when I was young and my mom introduced me to Cher and to Barbra Streisand, and to Audrey Hepburn. I would come back from school and I would watch Cher’s concerts and I would say, ‘I want to put on performances like that, I want to be like her’. I love that she also trailblazed for women to not only be pop stars, but to also be actors and directors as well, as Barbara did, they were these iconic powerhouses that kind of broke the glass ceilings for women in the industry. Audrey [Hepburn] is someone that I've always held close to my heart because she's not only a beloved actor and a beloved fashion icon, but she dedicated her life to philanthropy. She was the first female UNICEF ambassador. Those were always my examples growing up.
What a collection of women, imagine a dinner with those three!
It would be remarkable! I’m still holding on to hope that I'll meet Cher and Barbara one day, I may be completely speechless!
I think you could make it work! Lastly, before I have to leave you, what's coming up for you?
A lot of music will be coming up, ‘Loud’ is the continuation of a story that I have been writing and releasing since last year, it's the third chapter of the story and there's more to come. As I mentioned earlier I’ve just finished shooting my movie with Netflix Purple Hearts, which will be coming out at the end of the year. And more work with UNICEF and Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation as well.
‘Loud’ is out now via Hollywood Records. You can buy and stream here.
To keep up with all things Sofia Carson you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
