Sienna Spiro is opening up about her career.
The 20-year-old “Die on This Hill” singer got candid in a new cover story for Variety.
During the conversation, Sienna spoke out about her musical influences, her ’60s aesthetic, insecurities, dealing with vocal nodules, being neurodivergent, and being in the industry as a 20-year-old.
See the highlights from the conversation inside…
On wanting to emulate Frank Sinatra:
“You know, one of the reasons I signed to Capitol was because I wanted their logo on my vinyl to match Frank’s.”
On being inspired by Twiggy and the 1960s aesthetic:
“You’re drawn to what you’re drawn to, but I love the ’60s. I just loved all her magazine covers, and the way her eyes look was so fascinating to me. When I was figuring out my identity growing up, I loved her, so I wanted to try it.”
On her insecurities growing up:
“I grew up really insecure, and much bigger in weight to all of my peers and family, so I’ve always had issues with the way I dress. But my dad always showed me the music and the films of women like Barbra Streisand and Ava Gardner. When I started releasing music, I still didn’t want anyone to see my body, so I would wear huge clothes so that no one would get to make any comments. Then you grow into yourself more. I tried the hair for the first time, and it made me feel like such an elevated version of myself.”
On writing as herself and performing as someone else:
“I have no filter, which is a good thing and a bad thing. But I have no choice but to write honestly, and no choice other than to show up as myself. I’m just a 20-year-old, and sometimes I wake up and I’m on my period and I have to go and perform onstage. And sometimes having hair that’s different from my everyday hair, or when I put my boots on, allows me to kind of step into something and have a level of confidence and separation from the way I felt writing those songs. I’d never wear heels in everyday life.”
On having vocal nodules:
“I was really husky growing up. I only officially found out [about the nodules] two years ago. But I’ve always had a super raspy voice. I do feel like I’ve probably always had them, or from a young age at least.” . . . “They’re such a blessing and a curse. I love the texture they give my voice, and sometimes they stop your voice from doing something, which I actually think sounds good. But I was nearly mute for a year — like, I barely spoke the year before last. It was really tricky. Very isolating.”
On feeling like a singer:
“I didn’t grow up thinking I was a singer, ever. My dad always was like, ‘Oh, you sound shit,’ and I was like, ‘OK, great — so I’ve got to be a really good songwriter if I wanna do this as a job.’ But then I started doing sessions, and people started being very complimentary of my voice, so then I fed off that validation, and so I would do the most. Every riff, every run, every moment to belt, I would take it. But the way Sinatra sings is like a painter.”
On being inspired by Roberta Flack’s vocals:
“The way she approaches each line is with so much care. When I listen to it, I just feel like melting. You’d think a favorite vocal performance would be something like Whitney Houston, which obviously is up there for me. But that is a dream of mine, to be able to sing like [Flack]. Sometimes holding back and being quiet is the most powerful thing you can do.”
On feeling existential during all ages:
“I’m neurodivergent, and I think that’s a really big part of the hyper-fixating and overanalyzing. If I feel something, I will sit there for hours, days, weeks and years trying to understand why it is I feel that way. It took nine tries for me to write [the song] ‘The Visitor,’ because it was years of ‘Why do I feel like this? What causes it?’ My grandma feels these feelings, and you can feel it when you’re 10 years old in a playground, feeling like you’re not getting chosen. You feel it when you’re in your early 20s and going through your first heartbreak, or seeing how your old friends aren’t really your friends anymore. Or finding your identity while knowing how fragile your existence is. My grandpa died, and you have people leave your life in that way. We are all visitors in life in some way, shape or form. And this whole album is me grappling with coming to terms with that.”
On wanting to keep physical media:
“I really related to the idea of magazines ceasing getting printed as everything becomes digital with social media. I’m 20 years old, and that’s very much apparent in my generation, and I hate it. I especially hate how it translates across to music. I really believe in having tangible, real, physical things everywhere in life, but music is the thing I’m the closest to. I love these old hi-fi and analog adverts, and I set up that whole shoot inspired by it. Holding your music in physical form is just a really crazy feeling. Music comes out of nowhere — it comes out of your head — and you’re like, ‘I don’t even know how this even came to be.’ But then when you get to hold it in a physical format, it makes it feel real.”
On being in the music industry as a 20-year-old:
“Being 20 is just tricky, period. Everyone struggles. But in the industry, for some reason, it’s really been great to be super young. But you’re put in these really trying situations where you have to be mature and make decisions about your life and do sessions with people that are twice your age. And so it’s a really weird balance of ‘Oh, I’m super young’ yet needing to be mature to make good decisions… while also making sure I’m still being youthful and having life experience so I can continue to write songs and grow as a human… while also making sure I’m not damaging anything for my life being in these situations. There’s a balance you have to figure out — which I’ve definitely not figured out! So that’s my experience with my age.”
Sienna Spiro sadly just had to cancel a performance – find out why.
The post Sienna Spiro Reveals She Was Nearly Mute for a Year, Opens Up About Being Neurodivergent & Childhood Insecurities appeared first on Just Jared - Celebrity News and Gossip | Entertainment.