Gracie Abrams

GINA SCARPINO - SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MARCH 2022

POUTYFACE IS CAPITALIZING ON EVERY OPPORTUNITY THAT COMES HER WAY

PHOTOS BY ARI BATTIS | WORDS BY BROOKE MADIGAN

The range of ways in which artists are discovered stretches vastly. A few decades ago, it might have been through being a street performer or word of mouth. Today, being discovered online or through a phone application is the epitome of the state of the industry. Every day, young singers and songwriters are uploading videos of themselves online that display their talent and musical abilities. Going viral is not easy, but when it works, it really works. Olivia Knight, otherwise known as poutyface, experienced this first-hand.

The young California native wrote her first song at the age of 13. At 18, she made the move to Los Angeles and her journey since has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. The artist got her start back in 2019 on the app Voisey. It is a platform for singers and songwriters to connect with one another through videos.

poutyface was one of the first artists to go viral on the app. Citing that her songwriting process has changed quite a bit over the years, poutyface elaborated that “I started writing songs by myself when I was 13 and a lot of that came from writing poetry first.” That poetry would then be converted into songs, but she said Moving to Los Angeles provided her with the opportunity to write with a lot of other people. Whoever she was with, they would constantly have songwriting sessions going on and it resulted in four or five songs a week, sometimes.

“The process is very collaborative,” poutyface said. “We’re all just typing in a Google Doc and dumping in a bunch of words, a bunch of phrases, and seeing what catches and what doesn’t. Being like, ‘Okay let’s build off of that, that’s super cool,’ or ‘Oh I really like that word let’s use that for the chorus.’”

poutyface is now signed to Island Records and has a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music. Part of what has contributed to the artist’s growing success is her ability to reach and appeal to a young audience. In addition to her music being liked, her online persona is one that generation Z can relate to and appreciate. It’s important for an artist to understand who their audience is and then cater to them. Because poutyface is the same age as many of her listeners, it works really well.

Although artists like Frank Ocean, Doja Cat, and Kendrick Lamar have been mentioned as inspirations in the past, she said that an album she keeps returning to is Parachutes by Coldplay.

“I grew up on a lot of Tom Petty, a lot of Rage Against The Machine, and a lot of Alanis Morissette from my mom,” poutyface said. “Those are probably my main memorable influences.”

Additionally, when asked who her favorite artist of all time was, Morissette and Cavetown were mentioned due to their ability “to like touch me with such incredible lyrics.” She is a massive fan of Cavetown’s entire catalog. It is clear based on all of these artists she appreciates most, that lyricism is a top priority for her and that is truly what she connects with. It is so nice to see an artist as passionate about this as poutyface is. She’s really in it for the music.

In February and March, poutyface joined YUNGBLUD on his 2022 tour across North America.

“It’s been very crazy just because there’s no way to know what it’s going to be like,” she said. “But generally, I feel very good and at peace and comfortable when I’m up there [on stage.] So, it can only get better from here I think.”

When thinking about a dream venue to perform at someday, poutyface reflected on the tour with YUNGBLUD and knew that the Milwaukee show would be at a memorable place. It was at The Rave, an iconic venue home to a basement swimming pool signed by the late Mac Miller. She and a member of her team were very excited about that show and to check out the space.

An artist’s debut single is not always their biggest success. In the case of poutyface, it is. “DEATHWISH” debuted in April 2020 and has since amassed just under seven million streams on Spotify. The happyleaning music in this song is interestingly juxtaposed with lyrics like “smash your windows, key your car.”

poutyface’s music is filled with angst and raw emotion. She perfectly encapsulates what many young people are feeling and separates herself from other artists who sing somberly about heartbreak or other youthful experiences. Her sound feels reminiscent of something that we could have heard from Avril Lavigne in the early 2000s. It’s refreshing to see this again.

In “NEVER FUCKIN KNOW,” one of the first lines reads “The last thing I remember is watching a Dominic Fike video.” When asked about this, she said it refers to his video for “Chicken Tenders.” The video “had just come out and we were like ‘Oh my god let’s watch this Dominic Fike video’ and it was so sick, and that’s literally the last thing I can recall.” poutyface also threw in that she loved Fike’s recent performance in the HBO television series, “Euphoria.”

The artist has several songs out, but no album or EP just yet. While reflecting on her favorite song that she has written thus far, an unreleased piece came to mind. It is unknown when “Ragdoll” will be released, but her excitement about the song speaks volumes.

As for the future, “nothing is set in stone yet, but, a couple more singles and then next step probably will be an EP. I’ve got a lot of music, but I want to give every song its own space and not just dump three albums out at once, which I could theoretically, because we have enough music for that, but yeah, EP will probably be next.”

Exciting is an understatement when describing poutyface’s growth and potential as an artist. She has already achieved so much at such a young age, signifying that even more is bound to come her way. With more concert and festival appearances to come in 2022, poutyface will garner a lot more recognition and attention this year. Watching a young female artist succeed is invigorating and we cannot wait to see where this current path that she is on leads to in the future.