Speaker 1: Hey guys, and welcome back to this week's episode of
Speaker 1: the Let's Be Real Podcast. As always, I'm your host,
Speaker 1: Sammy Jay, and welcome. Thank you so much for taking
Speaker 1: the time to listen. This week, I got to chat
Speaker 1: with the incredibly talented Cassidy Pope. Now you may know
Speaker 1: her from the band Hey Monday, or from winning Season
Speaker 1: three of The Boys, which I actually voted for her,
Speaker 1: so glad you won, um, and she actually came out
Speaker 1: with an album called Thrive and it is quite incredible. UM.
Speaker 1: We have a really down to earth chat about what
Speaker 1: it's like being a female artist, especially in country music,
Speaker 1: what it was like winning the Voice. She goes into
Speaker 1: some stories that I haven't heard her talk about anywhere else,
Speaker 1: mental health, the importance of therapy, and she shares a
Speaker 1: lot about her personal dreaming, which I'm so grateful she did.
Speaker 1: I hope you guys enjoyed this episode. Cassidy, I am
Speaker 1: so excited that you are on my podcast. I'm excited
Speaker 1: to Before we start, I have a quick story to
Speaker 1: tell you. Okay, when you were on the Voice, I
Speaker 1: was what I remember so clearly, it was my obsession
Speaker 1: with a voice, and I remember I voted for you.
Speaker 1: I was when you first auditioned and you performed torn.
Speaker 1: I was like, oh my goodness, and I just remember
Speaker 1: watching the show so vividly. So this is very full
Speaker 1: circle for me that you're on my podcast now. Thank you.
Speaker 1: Thanks for voting. I appreciate that. It's like, that's level.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think things worked out pretty well. It's
Speaker 1: because of you, because of your vote. That vote, man,
Speaker 1: that that one vote, that one vote me and my
Speaker 1: brother did when we called in sent me over. It's amazing.
Speaker 1: Thank you. It feels like a I mean, I was
Speaker 1: a different person, Like it was just a whole other
Speaker 1: life was insane. I mean, before the pandemic feels like
Speaker 1: a different life. I agree, like nine lives. I feel
Speaker 1: like it's kind of like a cat it is. It is. Yeah,
Speaker 1: last year was like I don't I think it was
Speaker 1: just a blur. You know, we got through it, but
Speaker 1: it was a blur, right. I That's the thing. I'm
Speaker 1: like randomly remembering these weird little memories. I'm like, oh wait,
Speaker 1: that wasn't that long ago, but it feels like ten
Speaker 1: years ago. Yeah, it's And this year I feel like
Speaker 1: has flown by because things have opened back up and
Speaker 1: It's like, my endurance isn't what it used to be.
Speaker 1: So if I have like one thing to do on
Speaker 1: it on a day, I'm like, all right, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: get on the couch and rest after that one thing
Speaker 1: I had to do today. Oh yeah, I'm I'm a
Speaker 1: freshman in college and I'm living on campus, and my
Speaker 1: social battery I'm already like an introvert. But when you
Speaker 1: add a pandemic onto that, my oh my, yeah, my
Speaker 1: social battery is like negative zero right all the time.
Speaker 1: It's weird socializing with people in person. Yeah, I actually
Speaker 1: found that I think I might prefer the internet, UM
Speaker 1: that thing with people like I think it's I think
Speaker 1: when we embrace it, it can be really amazing. Like
Speaker 1: last year getting to UM, I did a bunch of
Speaker 1: meet and greets, FaceTime meet and greets with my fans,
Speaker 1: and I was able to have UM writing sessions with
Speaker 1: people in l A and New York and not have
Speaker 1: to travel, And I actually felt like my world in
Speaker 1: a weird way opened up more because I embraced the
Speaker 1: WiFi and the interwebs like what it could offer us.
Speaker 1: So you know, it's sometimes you just have to lean
Speaker 1: into it. Oh absolutely, And I think it's also it's
Speaker 1: really weird because I'll be watching a movie and I'll
Speaker 1: be like, there are so many people together, they should
Speaker 1: be wearing masks. Why aren't they social distancing And the
Speaker 1: fact that my brain is wired that way now, I'm like,
Speaker 1: it's bizarre. Oh my goodness, very bizarre. What is this.
Speaker 1: There's something about being in person and having that connection.
Speaker 1: It's it's so different like traveling doing something. It's it
Speaker 1: was a whole to do and I kind of missed that.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think like in doses, both things are great,
Speaker 1: like being able to be remote when it's convenient and
Speaker 1: being able to travel when you want to. It's like,
Speaker 1: that's that's ideal. But when you're forced into one thing,
Speaker 1: it's that that it's not very fun. Oh absolutely. I
Speaker 1: have a morning class at eight thirty and there's a
Speaker 1: zoom option, and it has been so fantastic embracing that
Speaker 1: zoom option because I don't I who wants to walk
Speaker 1: across campus at like it in the morning. Not me. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Now you can stay in your pjs and sip that coffee. Yeah,
Speaker 1: stay in bed, that's the way to do it. So
Speaker 1: much art has come out of this pandemic, and it's
Speaker 1: like for everybody, it's given us time to really reflect
Speaker 1: and just think about what we've done, where we want
Speaker 1: to go. And something that I've been struggling with and
Speaker 1: learning to cope with is not having your identity be
Speaker 1: around my career, around one thing, but having an identity
Speaker 1: outside of that. When the pandemic first hit, before we
Speaker 1: knew how long it be, zoom writing sessions started. What
Speaker 1: was that period like for you as an artist not
Speaker 1: being able to perform live and kind of being still
Speaker 1: with yourself. It was definitely a struggle. I mean I
Speaker 1: I do the same where I put a lot of
Speaker 1: my self worth and how busy I am? What what's
Speaker 1: going on for me? Are people paying attention? Is it
Speaker 1: a busy time or is it just like one off season?
Speaker 1: You know? And um, I think at first it was
Speaker 1: a jolt and it was like, oh my god, like
Speaker 1: what's going to happen? And I don't know what to
Speaker 1: do with myself? Um. And then because it was a
Speaker 1: worldwide situation and I was not the only artist who
Speaker 1: was having some quiet season, um, it kind of brought
Speaker 1: me comfort in a way that like, Okay, we're all
Speaker 1: in this together in very different levels. But um, we
Speaker 1: are all like losing our tours and not able to travel,
Speaker 1: not able to see our fans in person. So it
Speaker 1: was weird. And then I sort of, um, like I
Speaker 1: said before, kind of embraced the situation and was like, Okay,
Speaker 1: if I can't go anywhere and I can't tour and
Speaker 1: do what I love, I'm gonna do the second best
Speaker 1: thing and write on Zoom. And that's and I wrote
Speaker 1: the whole album on zoom um and wrote with people
Speaker 1: for the first time that I ended up just loving
Speaker 1: writing with actually found my producer through one of the
Speaker 1: writing sessions on zoom, So it ended up, you know,
Speaker 1: becoming a very positive experience. But it was very bitter
Speaker 1: sweet because I wasn't getting, you know, the aspect that
Speaker 1: I love the most in my career, which is playing live.
Speaker 1: That's what's so awesome. You wrote an entire album from
Speaker 1: your home, and I think we're at this place where,
Speaker 1: like you said, it's all about perspective and we can
Speaker 1: choose to look on the negative side of things or
Speaker 1: really turn something into a positive or make the best
Speaker 1: out of any situation. And yeah, I think something that's
Speaker 1: really special about this album Thrive is that you're not
Speaker 1: limiting yourself. You know, there are for a while, there's
Speaker 1: you did country, you did rock, you did punk, but
Speaker 1: you're really just merging all three creating your own lane,
Speaker 1: which is very hard to do as an artist, especially
Speaker 1: being a female artist. You're in in the country music industry,
Speaker 1: which is also a very male dominated industry, and I
Speaker 1: think paving your own lane is so special. What was
Speaker 1: that process like? Yeah, definitely, I mean I was going
Speaker 1: I was about to go in the studio in April
Speaker 1: um and and cut some songs that I loved that
Speaker 1: felt very country radio friendly, felt like a very safe
Speaker 1: UM route for me to take. And then once the
Speaker 1: pandemic hit and it sort of forced me to think
Speaker 1: about things a little bit deeper and and honestly, like
Speaker 1: talking to my management team about it, um I had
Speaker 1: just done a Hey Monday reunion show at the end
Speaker 1: of twenty nineteen, and they were like, we've never seen
Speaker 1: that side of you, so we're fans, uh. And then
Speaker 1: so once we started having those conversations, they were like,
Speaker 1: you know you you can do is authentically like you
Speaker 1: come from that pop punk world and you grew up
Speaker 1: singing country music. So they're both authentic to you. What
Speaker 1: if you just leaned in more into the pop punk
Speaker 1: thing and see where it takes you? UM, And it
Speaker 1: was really an intentional thing going into each session. UM.
Speaker 1: You know, the songwriters that I was writing with, we're
Speaker 1: all briefed by my publisher on the direction I'm going
Speaker 1: forward and UM the vision I had and so, and
Speaker 1: just going in with songwriters that helped sort of aid
Speaker 1: me in that direction to UM was really great. But
Speaker 1: but just going into every session with you know these
Speaker 1: probably I guess nine years of UM songwriting experience in Nashville,
Speaker 1: but merging you know, my pop punk roots and it
Speaker 1: was just a really natural process. I didn't feel like
Speaker 1: I was compromising anything. I didn't feel like I was
Speaker 1: chasing anything. I had a goal in mind, but it
Speaker 1: felt like a goal that I I could achieve very easy, elite,
Speaker 1: you know. So I UM had a lot of fun
Speaker 1: making this record. And I went in the studio with
Speaker 1: the band and I was you know, my I was
Speaker 1: just right up there at the control board like constantly,
Speaker 1: you know, co producing with with Nick Wheeler, my producer,
Speaker 1: and Karen Fairchild, my co producer, and it just felt
Speaker 1: like a very from start to finish, a very hands on,
Speaker 1: precious kind of process. I want to read you something
Speaker 1: because I rewatched your audition for the Boys and Christina
Speaker 1: Aguilaric said something that kind of foreshadowed what's happening now.
Speaker 1: She said, you have a little country in there that
Speaker 1: you could do something with. You have something that's popped driven,
Speaker 1: something that's a little rock, and you can kind of
Speaker 1: do it all. Wow. I don't remember saying that. Jeez,
Speaker 1: that's cool. That's what you're doing now, you know what.
Speaker 1: And I that's that's actually crazy hearing that from her,
Speaker 1: because she's like the same she can. I feel like
Speaker 1: she could do it all too, So that's that's pretty cool.
Speaker 1: And and like the fans that I've all kind of
Speaker 1: coined the genre, um calling it the alternative, which is
Speaker 1: really fun. So I'm kind of taking it and running
Speaker 1: with it and makeing merch and stuff. Absolutely you should, yeah, absolutely,
Speaker 1: And I think that's one of the things, like doing
Speaker 1: something that's not what everyone else is doing can be
Speaker 1: really difficult, especially being an artist, being a young female artist,
Speaker 1: there are so many pressures of what you should be
Speaker 1: or what you should look like. Um, was there a
Speaker 1: certain moment besides the Hey Monday reunion, where you're like, man,
Speaker 1: I really miss this side to me that I haven't
Speaker 1: been fully letting UM show through my music. Oh that's
Speaker 1: a good question. Um. I think when I'm on stage
Speaker 1: and I am playing either Hey Monday song or just
Speaker 1: like one of my UM newer songs that leans a
Speaker 1: little bit more rock, or covering a rock song or something,
Speaker 1: I do have that like I get that itch, or
Speaker 1: I used to, and now that I have this album,
Speaker 1: I'm not really feeling that way anymore, but I would
Speaker 1: get that itch like gosh, like how fun would it
Speaker 1: be to just kind of go back to that and
Speaker 1: and like go crazy on stage and not worry about
Speaker 1: being to this or to that, not being country enough,
Speaker 1: or even in the rock realm. You know, I never
Speaker 1: felt weird enough or tortured enough or anything like you know,
Speaker 1: all of our favorite rock stars were always these, uh,
Speaker 1: tortured soulds, you don't fit the mold of what they say. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And I I never felt that way in any any
Speaker 1: platform I've been in UM, which is really led me
Speaker 1: to this point of like, oh, I think I just
Speaker 1: I'm a bunch of things and I don't know where
Speaker 1: that's gonna land me. I don't know if that's going
Speaker 1: to bring me all the awards in the world or
Speaker 1: it's gonna get me a Grammy, But I I know
Speaker 1: that it's me, and I know if people like it,
Speaker 1: then they like me for who I am. So that's
Speaker 1: kind of that was why I was like, Okay, I
Speaker 1: think I'm down to just kind of see where this goes. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, you were just being Cassidy, and that's all
Speaker 1: we can all do at the end of the day
Speaker 1: is just be ourselves because there's only one of you
Speaker 1: and there's a reason for that. And I think something
Speaker 1: that's really interesting with your writing. It's just very authentic
Speaker 1: and it's use a storytelling, which I feel like in
Speaker 1: a lot of songs nowadays, it's very it's meaningless, you know,
Speaker 1: they're just words together that sound nice with the pop
Speaker 1: feed and no shape to anyone that does that sometimes
Speaker 1: like that that's a great vibe to be in, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. Yeah, it's super catchy. Yeah, but
Speaker 1: it's having those lyrics and being able to tell a
Speaker 1: story with your music can relate to more people. What
Speaker 1: do you love about storytelling? Because that's what music is. Essentially,
Speaker 1: I'm always really surprised at the songs that I feel
Speaker 1: are really specifically personal to me, how they connect with
Speaker 1: so many people. Um, I've put out songs that I'm like,
Speaker 1: this is a very very specific situation that maybe not
Speaker 1: many other people have been through, and then I put
Speaker 1: it out and it's like, oh, well, like obviously I'm
Speaker 1: not alone here, and it's like a very you know,
Speaker 1: therapeutic process. Because while I really appreciate fans who say
Speaker 1: this has helped me through this or that, they're also
Speaker 1: helping me to not feel so crazy and alone in
Speaker 1: my feelings. So, um, that's always been surprising to me.
Speaker 1: With like storytelling is is as a songwriter, we're kind
Speaker 1: of taught to make it appeal to everybody. Don't make
Speaker 1: it super gender specific or like a cultural culturally specific song,
Speaker 1: or you know, the people and a small town aren't
Speaker 1: going to relate to this like city song or whatever
Speaker 1: the reasons are. We're always told as songwriters to try
Speaker 1: and make things connect with everyone, and that's why we
Speaker 1: get the super water down lyrics and the really catchy songs,
Speaker 1: but they don't really say much because that is it,
Speaker 1: and it works that is that is something that works.
Speaker 1: But it also works when people get specific like Taylor
Speaker 1: Swift and Adele and Harry Styles and you know, I
Speaker 1: think that that that's uh, if it's done right, that
Speaker 1: that blows up just as big as the very um
Speaker 1: safe songs. Absolutely, And I think something that I love
Speaker 1: your title Thrive because I feel like we've been surviving,
Speaker 1: but we should all we should all aim to thrive.
Speaker 1: What was the process? What is your writing process generally?
Speaker 1: Do you have a concept of mind? Do you start
Speaker 1: with the lyrics, the melodies, the title. It's different every time.
Speaker 1: I mean the biggest difference writing this album, of course,
Speaker 1: was it was on Zoom. But um, it didn't really
Speaker 1: change as far as the process of Like for Thrive,
Speaker 1: for instance, I brought in UM the first verse, and
Speaker 1: I brought in the what I wanted the hook to be, like,
Speaker 1: I didn't just survive without you know, I thrive and
Speaker 1: we went from there. Um And some sessions are like
Speaker 1: I have a whole chorus, Uh, some sessions I have
Speaker 1: just a melody. There were a few that I just
Speaker 1: brought a concept in. I didn't have any lyrics or
Speaker 1: any melodies to it. I just had the concept so
Speaker 1: it just depends. And the thing that I think is
Speaker 1: really great about when you have a publisher who really
Speaker 1: knows your strengths and your weaknesses is they will put
Speaker 1: you in a room with people who catered to where
Speaker 1: your weaknesses are. And that's something that I really appreciated
Speaker 1: through this process because I I did want to really
Speaker 1: focus on storytelling and being honest and and kind of
Speaker 1: staying the course and not getting too distracted about other things,
Speaker 1: UM like who it would appeal to. And once that
Speaker 1: sort of like solidified itself and that was the process,
Speaker 1: it really just was like just flowing and every session, UM,
Speaker 1: something I'll amazing would come out, and but I always
Speaker 1: I always brought in something UM, so that I think
Speaker 1: that was a good like launching pad for all the sessions.
Speaker 1: What would you say the biggest thing you've learned about
Speaker 1: yourself writing this album has been I've learned that I
Speaker 1: I carried a lot of shame about a lot of things, UM,
Speaker 1: from like breaking someone's heart to UM feeling spiteful to
Speaker 1: um you know, something happening when I was younger that
Speaker 1: I look back on and as an adult and I'm like,
Speaker 1: I actually didn't know better because I was really young, um,
Speaker 1: whereas before I had a lot of shame about these things.
Speaker 1: And so the writing process was was again therapeutic because
Speaker 1: I kind of let myself, I let myself kind of
Speaker 1: feel like like a victim a little bit. And I've
Speaker 1: never really been into that, Like I've always taken a
Speaker 1: acountability for my decisions and um never wanted, never wanted
Speaker 1: to people to feel bad for me. So I tried
Speaker 1: to sound stronger in my songs, and this time around,
Speaker 1: I just leaned into the real feelings of shame and disappointment,
Speaker 1: embarrassment and hurt and feeling like a victim and all
Speaker 1: those things. So like, yeah, I just I guess the
Speaker 1: thing I learned about myself was that I was almost
Speaker 1: um trying to protect myself for a very long time,
Speaker 1: but in reality, I was just UM keeping everybody at
Speaker 1: arm's length. I think that's so interesting that you say that,
Speaker 1: because we go through things through life and we have
Speaker 1: shame towards and a lot of things we shouldn't because,
Speaker 1: like you said, we're all on a journey and we're
Speaker 1: all growing and it's part of the experience. And I
Speaker 1: think being able to turn something that you were shameful of,
Speaker 1: but vocalize it really takes that shame away from it.
Speaker 1: Would you say you felt that way through writing? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think talking about it definitely does. I mean, anytime
Speaker 1: you're talking about a trauma or something that that hurt
Speaker 1: you in the past, every time you talk about it,
Speaker 1: you're releasing it more and more each conversation. So I
Speaker 1: definitely feel like this album is is heavily rooted in
Speaker 1: my journey with mental health to like just being very
Speaker 1: vocal about things that are really uncomfortable to talk about,
Speaker 1: that people stigmatize and make us feel weird when we
Speaker 1: express things, and and just kind of like throwing that
Speaker 1: all away and just um, you know, I hope I
Speaker 1: made people uncomfortable with some of these songs. I hope
Speaker 1: it made people think be comfortable with the uncomfortable. Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And that's like that's what my favorite artists do for me,
Speaker 1: is like they make me uncomfortable in a good way.
Speaker 1: So we're growing. If we're uncomfortable, I think we have
Speaker 1: to take one quick break, but when we come back,
Speaker 1: I want to talk more about the topic of mental health.
Speaker 1: The best advice you've received in therapy pushing ourselves to
Speaker 1: be more uncome triable and to grow your experience on
Speaker 1: the voice and so much more. We'll be right back,
Speaker 1: and we're back. Julian michaels a song called Anxiety, and
Speaker 1: it was the first time I ever listened to where
Speaker 1: I was like, I feel attacked. This is too accurate
Speaker 1: to my entire life, Like she put words to a
Speaker 1: feeling I couldn't even describe, which was truly that's what's
Speaker 1: the power of music, I feel like, and um for
Speaker 1: people who have listened before, I've been so honest. I've
Speaker 1: struggled with anxiety and o c D my entire life
Speaker 1: and I used to be so scared, but no, it's
Speaker 1: working on yourself and being a better person. By having
Speaker 1: these open conversations. We're not giving it the power, right, Yeah.
Speaker 1: And I feel like people do see therapy as this
Speaker 1: last resort. You gotta hit rock bottom before you go.
Speaker 1: We have to wait for a crisis, and it's like, man,
Speaker 1: I did that and it was awful, and so I
Speaker 1: wish I had done some work because I had plenty
Speaker 1: of things that I knew would mess me up, like
Speaker 1: my parents divorce and my dad leaving us, and you know,
Speaker 1: being in the industry since I was like twelve. Um,
Speaker 1: a lot of weird people in and out of my life,
Speaker 1: taking advantage and stuff, and just being a young kid
Speaker 1: around a bunch of older people in the industry. And
Speaker 1: I if I had just seeked some help and started
Speaker 1: sort of confronting some of the things I was feeling
Speaker 1: at an early age, I mean, I wouldn't be here
Speaker 1: right now, so I would be I'm not going to
Speaker 1: say like I want things. I wished things turned out differently,
Speaker 1: but it would have been it would have been really
Speaker 1: helpful to have some tools being eighteen on the road
Speaker 1: just mayhem, like be like a tornado traveling eighteen year
Speaker 1: old tornado girl traveling the world, Like, yeah, that would
Speaker 1: have been useful. And it's a lot putting yourself out
Speaker 1: there and your song in in the spotlight and touring
Speaker 1: when you're eighteen and meeting all these people, what would
Speaker 1: you say the best tool you've learned is in your
Speaker 1: journey in therapy? Because I have quite some tools in
Speaker 1: my toolblocks. I'm just curious. I always love asking people
Speaker 1: what they've learned. Yeah, totally. I mean, there's there's so
Speaker 1: many things I learned. Um, I A big thing was
Speaker 1: not taking everything personally, UM, because I was always so
Speaker 1: concerned with what people thought about me. If they canceled,
Speaker 1: I feel you right, Like, if they canceled on me
Speaker 1: last minute to hang, I'd be like, oh, it's because
Speaker 1: I said this one time and they're mad at me
Speaker 1: and and like and then I sort of once I
Speaker 1: started therapy, I realized how like borderline narcissistic that is
Speaker 1: of like, you know, obviously it's it's insecurities too, but
Speaker 1: why would my first thought be that them canceling on
Speaker 1: me is about me. It's it's usually not, and it's
Speaker 1: usually because something came up or maybe they just don't
Speaker 1: feel like it's not about me. It's that it's something
Speaker 1: they're going through. And so that was really helpful because, Um,
Speaker 1: once you feel that, and once you really like accept
Speaker 1: that don't take things personally, you aren't as affected by
Speaker 1: other people's decisions. And that's power. That's like where you
Speaker 1: take it back, um, which is which is really nice.
Speaker 1: And then I think to just, um, seeing how things
Speaker 1: from my childhood affected me as an adult, that stuff,
Speaker 1: even though it can't it can't change anything that's happened,
Speaker 1: it still is like seeing it through the lens of
Speaker 1: you know, the reason you dated these people or the
Speaker 1: reason you made these bad decisions. Like think about that
Speaker 1: that stuff that happened as a kid and your parents
Speaker 1: fighting or your parents divorce or whatever it may be.
Speaker 1: Um that that directly affects you now as what you're
Speaker 1: making your decisions, and it's like internalized trauma that you
Speaker 1: haven't let go of yet. And so that while it
Speaker 1: again it doesn't like cure me, it's it is to
Speaker 1: be self aware is it's so important. It's so powerful,
Speaker 1: and to be able to know that, Okay, this is
Speaker 1: why I did this, and how can I move forward
Speaker 1: to not repeat those same actions? It's huge. I'm actually
Speaker 1: reading a book by Oprah and Dr Perry called What
Speaker 1: Happened to You, which I'm trying to get more into reading.
Speaker 1: I'm really trying to better myself all around. I'm trying
Speaker 1: to meditate and just everything, and I'm really enjoying this
Speaker 1: book and it kind of goes into what we're talking about,
Speaker 1: what has happened in our past, how our brain stores it,
Speaker 1: and how that reflects in the actions we do, which
Speaker 1: is super interesting. Our brains are crazy. Yeah, I I um,
Speaker 1: I started trauma therapy like four months ago, and I, um,
Speaker 1: there were so many moments where I'm like, I don't
Speaker 1: know why I'm so triggered by when somebody says this
Speaker 1: to me, or when my boyfriend does this, or you know,
Speaker 1: when my mom says this. And doing trauma therapy is
Speaker 1: the most bizarre process because it will literally pop into
Speaker 1: your brain something that was said or done to you
Speaker 1: as a kid, and you're like, that's why I don't
Speaker 1: handle this phrase well, or I don't handle it well
Speaker 1: when somebody, you know, if my boyfriend walks ahead of
Speaker 1: me in a social setting and I feel abandoned like that,
Speaker 1: that kind of those small moments that really trigger me
Speaker 1: and just to know where they come from is so great.
Speaker 1: And then like targeting those memories and reprocessing them to
Speaker 1: not affect you as badly is a game changer like that,
Speaker 1: That kind of therapy has been amazing for me. And
Speaker 1: it's not even like, Okay, this happened in the past,
Speaker 1: but then you can work on how to because you're
Speaker 1: aware of it, how to make that not trigger you
Speaker 1: so much in the future. Yeah, it's taking the power back,
Speaker 1: which is so powerful, and I feel like I don't know,
Speaker 1: I could go on about therapy for hours. I highly
Speaker 1: recommend it. It's it's just if you want to be
Speaker 1: grow as a human, you don't have to have issues
Speaker 1: to go to therapy, which is a weird stigma with it.
Speaker 1: Obviously you want to go into therapy for yourself to
Speaker 1: feel better and um improve and and just know yourself better.
Speaker 1: But the collateral, like the positive collateral from that is
Speaker 1: so amazing, Like your your relationships to get better. Um,
Speaker 1: you might you might lose some relationships. The more you grow,
Speaker 1: the more you might grow away from people. And that's okay,
Speaker 1: that's not a bad thing though, it's not a bad thing.
Speaker 1: It's actually really great because you're the more you step
Speaker 1: into yourself and who you really want to be, the
Speaker 1: more you become aligned with people that will help you
Speaker 1: with that, you know. So it's it's just all around,
Speaker 1: like it helps everybody around involved, like you and the
Speaker 1: people that are that you're in relationship with. And I
Speaker 1: know you said you you're in Hey Monday before the voice,
Speaker 1: but you said you've been in the industry since you
Speaker 1: were twelve. Yeah, what were you doing at twelve? I know,
Speaker 1: it's it's been a long journey. Um, I was. I
Speaker 1: took voice lessons from four years old, and then my
Speaker 1: voice coach would get all of her students together to
Speaker 1: go play at fairs and festivals and really got us
Speaker 1: on stage young, which is great. And I think I
Speaker 1: was playing some fair or festival in West Palm Beach
Speaker 1: for Radio Disney and um, a couple of sorry continuing,
Speaker 1: and we have talked about Radio Disney for a second, Okay,
Speaker 1: I mean it was like put on by Radio Disney.
Speaker 1: I wasn't exactly like a Radio Disney artist, you know,
Speaker 1: but there were there was this couple who were managers
Speaker 1: who worked for Radio Disney who liked me, and we're like,
Speaker 1: I think I was like twelve or thirteen at the time,
Speaker 1: and they wanted to help me with my career. And
Speaker 1: so from that day forward, I had managers and I had, um,
Speaker 1: you know, gone to different music conferences and sang acapella
Speaker 1: for people and trying to get record deals. And by
Speaker 1: fifteen I had my first record deal with Drive Through
Speaker 1: Records and yeah, and I was on there for a year.
Speaker 1: Didn't work out because I was writing pop punk songs
Speaker 1: and they wanted like really obscure indie music. Um, and
Speaker 1: so I just got off that and then just kept
Speaker 1: kept that process, basically going, oh my goodness. So I
Speaker 1: worked for Radio Disney for four years. Oh I love
Speaker 1: Radio Disney, but I just I feel like I didn't
Speaker 1: quite make it fully into the Radio Disney realm. It
Speaker 1: was more of like these managers worked for Ray Disney
Speaker 1: and then they left Rady Disney to just be managers.
Speaker 1: I see. So, but you've been in it for a
Speaker 1: long time. Yeah, I relate to that. I've been. I started.
Speaker 1: My first interview was when I was thirteen. Oh my god,
Speaker 1: that's amazing. So I've been Yeah, five and a half years.
Speaker 1: I've been working and I've loved every second of it.
Speaker 1: But it's really interesting. I'm sure you can really late
Speaker 1: like when you're working at it at a young age,
Speaker 1: I always gravitated towards people that were older than me,
Speaker 1: and I had trouble kind of finding my group with
Speaker 1: people that were my own age because I was always
Speaker 1: focusing on my career and like what's next. You said
Speaker 1: you were touring eighteen. Do you think you missed out
Speaker 1: on anything? Or are you like me? And that's just
Speaker 1: kind of the path that we were given, and you
Speaker 1: were kind of like mentally older than the age you
Speaker 1: always were. Yeah, I agree, that's I The more I
Speaker 1: talked to my friends who went to college and stuff,
Speaker 1: the more I felt. I feel like I I got
Speaker 1: some insane life experience very quickly at a very young
Speaker 1: age that you know. And I'm not saying college is bad.
Speaker 1: I think it's great. Um, it's different for everybody. It's
Speaker 1: different for everybody, though not everyone is meant to go. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I and it's always there. I got my high
Speaker 1: school diplolmost I could always go back. But um, but yeah,
Speaker 1: I definitely feel like it was the right path for me.
Speaker 1: It was I all I wanted was to get on
Speaker 1: the road, and I my parents were really supportive. I
Speaker 1: mean my mom was the most supportive. And um, I
Speaker 1: just had this opportunity staring me in the face and
Speaker 1: it wasn't even a question. I was like, I'm not
Speaker 1: going to college when I've got a follow up boy
Speaker 1: tour to go on, Like I'm going to do that
Speaker 1: and think about school later. But I was in a
Speaker 1: very rare position where I had a record deal and
Speaker 1: I had big tours lined up, Like I totally get
Speaker 1: the the sort of um conflicting feelings of do I
Speaker 1: go to school or do I pursue this when there
Speaker 1: isn't a deal and there aren't tours already lined up
Speaker 1: and stuff, So I do I do. See how unique
Speaker 1: my experience was. And then the Voice came along. Okay,
Speaker 1: a few questions, how is that? How do you deal
Speaker 1: with that kind of pressure on live TV? People literally
Speaker 1: voting to determine your fate, Because when you think of
Speaker 1: it like that, it's really weird. It is. And and and
Speaker 1: you know, I came off the road touring and competition
Speaker 1: was not in my vocabulary. I've never been competitive as
Speaker 1: far as my music goes. Maybe when I was a
Speaker 1: kid and like before i'd like matured, I'd be like,
Speaker 1: that doesn't count. Yeah, I want to beat here and whatever.
Speaker 1: I want to be the best karaoke singer. I don't know,
Speaker 1: but I but in my adulthood going on tour and
Speaker 1: being being on tour with your friends, it's like a party.
Speaker 1: It's so much fun and it's not competitive. You go
Speaker 1: up and you sing during each other's sets, and you
Speaker 1: sleep on each other's buses, have sleepovers, and it's just
Speaker 1: really fun and not competitive at all. So going into
Speaker 1: the Voice was terrifying, and I could see how other
Speaker 1: people were super competitive, and they were walking up and
Speaker 1: down the halls doing their crazy runs and stuff just
Speaker 1: to kind of intimidate each other. And and the pressure
Speaker 1: was so stide, like, oh yeah, since the voice. I
Speaker 1: I have a hard time with live television. To be
Speaker 1: completely honest, I I do it and I think I
Speaker 1: do a great job, but inside I am a complete
Speaker 1: and total mess. I am a mess. I remember when
Speaker 1: it was like when they were like about to announce,
Speaker 1: like who is the winner? And I remember I was
Speaker 1: like me and my brother were like a boat to there, like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, what's what's gonna like they build it
Speaker 1: up and Carson was like it was just I was like,
Speaker 1: just say it already. And I know they do that
Speaker 1: on purpose, but like, what is it like actually being there?
Speaker 1: And then you're like, I don't my goodness, Yeah did
Speaker 1: it feel like hours? It did? It felt so long,
Speaker 1: and it was like I didn't feel like I had
Speaker 1: it in the bag at all. Because Terry McDermott, who
Speaker 1: was the runner up, he he just like stole everybody's
Speaker 1: heart and I loved him so much. He's he's a
Speaker 1: great guy and Scottish and sings eighties classic songs like
Speaker 1: What's not to Love? You Know, has a cute little family,
Speaker 1: and I just I just was like, I almost at
Speaker 1: that point, was like, I hope he wins, because I
Speaker 1: really well, I thought that he had the better voice,
Speaker 1: and I thought that he deserved it more or something
Speaker 1: because he's been in the industry way longer, and like,
Speaker 1: I don't know, I just I'm a self sabotage person.
Speaker 1: So I was like, yeah, give it to him, and um,
Speaker 1: so yeah, it was really really awful. And now I
Speaker 1: I watch it here and there, but I have a
Speaker 1: hard time like keeping my heart right down and and
Speaker 1: feeling normal. Okay, Cassidy, we have to take one final break,
Speaker 1: but when we come back, let's talk a bit more
Speaker 1: about some of the crazy experiences on the Voice. I
Speaker 1: also want to talk about your own music and your
Speaker 1: perspective on social media and so much more. We'll be
Speaker 1: right back, and we're back. I would say after your season,
Speaker 1: only watched like one other season because it was just
Speaker 1: too much for my anxiety. I was like, I can't
Speaker 1: do this. By the way, this is a side note,
Speaker 1: your outfit and your audition was iconic. Ah where was
Speaker 1: that blue dress from? And those red and those red
Speaker 1: boots those I remember seeing that when I was telling,
Speaker 1: I was like, I want that. Oh my god. I
Speaker 1: couldn't believe they let me wear that. I was like,
Speaker 1: here's the weird outfit that I like. And I was great.
Speaker 1: And the dress was I think from um Forever twenty one,
Speaker 1: and then the shoes were, Oh my god, I think
Speaker 1: Shoe Dazzle or one of those like online shoes places.
Speaker 1: I was super broke, so I the dress I had
Speaker 1: in my closet for forever. The shoes I remember like
Speaker 1: getting them and like calling whatever the company was to
Speaker 1: cancel my membership because I couldn't afford another month of it.
Speaker 1: And they kept me on the phone for an hour
Speaker 1: and we're like, are you sure you want to kid?
Speaker 1: I'm like, I just I broke, can't afford this. I
Speaker 1: just I can't afford this. I just wanted these pairs
Speaker 1: of shoes. Yeah, And so it was kind of hilarious
Speaker 1: that that those that was the outfit that I wore
Speaker 1: to audition for the point. Do you still have the
Speaker 1: dress and the shoes? Yeah, oh yeah, I've kept it
Speaker 1: all good as you should. And that audition song, What
Speaker 1: was it like getting the four chair turn? Because how
Speaker 1: do you keep singing during that? I know, I know
Speaker 1: we're going back memory lane, but why not? No, It's
Speaker 1: it's a good question because it is actually something that
Speaker 1: the producers talked to all of us about before the
Speaker 1: blind auditions. They were like, we understand the pressure and anxiety,
Speaker 1: and if you have a chair turn, we understand like
Speaker 1: the relief you're going to feel. But if you stop
Speaker 1: singing and you like dropped the floor, you drop your mic, whatever,
Speaker 1: and you just get so excited that you made it through,
Speaker 1: We're probably not going to air your audition because that's
Speaker 1: that's not going to be good TV to like see
Speaker 1: somebody just oh, I got a chair turn, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: stop singing. So that was motivation for me because like
Speaker 1: I did not for the I did not for one
Speaker 1: second think I was going to win this show. So
Speaker 1: I was like, I got to make sure they air
Speaker 1: my blind audition because I'm not gonna last very long
Speaker 1: and I just need all the exposure I can get.
Speaker 1: So that's what I was thinking. When they turned, I
Speaker 1: was like, you gotta keep singing, you gotta get this
Speaker 1: to be aired. I don't know how you do that,
Speaker 1: Like that's something so incredible, and you have all these
Speaker 1: like incredible, like iconic artists. That's you really think about
Speaker 1: the whole show. It's so intimidating. It is the most
Speaker 1: intimidating part is when their backs are turned to you.
Speaker 1: And then once they're turned around and you see them
Speaker 1: interacting and like reacting to your your voice, then it's easier.
Speaker 1: Like I've never sung to people's backs before, so it
Speaker 1: was weird. Yeah, it's it's a weird power dynamic too. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I will say maybe this is controversial. I don't know,
Speaker 1: but I think your season was probably one of the
Speaker 1: best seasons of the Voice Thanks. It was so new,
Speaker 1: it was still like it didn't feel like repetitive. It
Speaker 1: was so fresh. It wasn't people trying. It was just
Speaker 1: people who loved music, and everybody had a different vibe.
Speaker 1: Like I remember looking around and being like, I don't
Speaker 1: know who's gonna win because we're also different from each other,
Speaker 1: and that's that's what was special. And then they would
Speaker 1: have us all singing together for these numbers and it
Speaker 1: was like amazing because we all just sounded different but
Speaker 1: harmonized with each other. And it was. It was a
Speaker 1: really special season. Yeah, and then you released Wasting All
Speaker 1: These Tears, which I remember seeing that music video like
Speaker 1: because I was in middle school. I told you I
Speaker 1: I followed you for a minute and I was remember
Speaker 1: being in middle school. That's amazing remember seeing that video
Speaker 1: and I was like, whoa, this girl went off. Well.
Speaker 1: I one of my like dreams as a kid when
Speaker 1: I would like envision a career in music was like
Speaker 1: I get to be I get to act in music videos,
Speaker 1: like my own songs. Like I'm not an actress, but
Speaker 1: I get to like play one for like a day
Speaker 1: with the dresses and the lights and the whole vibe.
Speaker 1: That is one of my favorite parts of what I do, too,
Speaker 1: is is being in music videos and getting to like
Speaker 1: live out my childhood dreams. Absolutely. That one was definitely
Speaker 1: one of my favorites of just the there were so
Speaker 1: many different setups. It was like, you know, full day.
Speaker 1: It was so extra in the best way. Yeah, And
Speaker 1: and like the indoor swing with the with the rain
Speaker 1: was just crazy. I couldn't believe that they figured that out,
Speaker 1: and I just felt like this isn't this is a
Speaker 1: major label video shoot? Cool? Was that the moment where
Speaker 1: you felt like you made it or whatever whatever it
Speaker 1: quote made it means? Have you ever felt that or
Speaker 1: do you still feel like you're working on that? I
Speaker 1: still feel like I'm working on that. Yeah, really, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I've got a Grammy nomination. Girl. I am so I am.
Speaker 1: I'm proud of the things that I've accomplished. I am grateful,
Speaker 1: But I don't you know you're capable of more. I
Speaker 1: know I'm capable of And I also don't really know
Speaker 1: the I don't have the thing that I that. Once
Speaker 1: that happens, I'm I'm good. I feel like I've made it.
Speaker 1: I mean, a big bucket list moment is to host
Speaker 1: and be musical guest on SNL. But manifest, let's manifest
Speaker 1: Cassidy out there. I I it would be the coolest thing. Um,
Speaker 1: but I don't even then I'd be like, Okay, what's next?
Speaker 1: Like that was so awesome, I'm so happy? What else
Speaker 1: can I do? Maybe if I played a stadium and
Speaker 1: I sold it out and I headlined, maybe that would
Speaker 1: be like, oh, I made it, Because that's to me,
Speaker 1: the most tangible success that you could have is is
Speaker 1: like people coming out to see you play and that
Speaker 1: many people. So maybe maybe that maybe like a stadium
Speaker 1: tour would be like here we go, I'm good. I
Speaker 1: totally agree with that, and I totally understand that because
Speaker 1: you always want to work towards something better. But then
Speaker 1: I go because I struggle with him like okay, but
Speaker 1: then in my focus sing on what's to come? Or
Speaker 1: am I just not living in the moment, which is
Speaker 1: a really hard balance to do. Yeah, what advice do
Speaker 1: you have for me? Or you still going through that yourself? No,
Speaker 1: I it's a it's a journey. It's a journey, and
Speaker 1: I think I think everything is different, you know. I
Speaker 1: think like if you feel like a big weight it's
Speaker 1: been lifted and you've accomplished something and you want to
Speaker 1: sit in that for a minute, like, I think you
Speaker 1: should listen to that instinct and sit in it and
Speaker 1: and celebrate. And then I think, too, if there's like
Speaker 1: our gut tells us so much. So if you feel,
Speaker 1: oh yeah, if you feel like okay, great, I did that,
Speaker 1: But is it enough to really like take a few
Speaker 1: days off to just enjoy it um or can I
Speaker 1: enjoy it? Because while simultaneously continuing to work forward. That's
Speaker 1: usually where I land, it's like, Okay, I can I
Speaker 1: can enjoy this and celebrate while staying productive. We're also
Speaker 1: we're in a world where social media everything is defined
Speaker 1: and you're defined by that outward success of what other
Speaker 1: people say of your projects. But the end of the day,
Speaker 1: it just matters how you feel about it and if
Speaker 1: you're proud of it. That's so much easier said than done.
Speaker 1: But what has it been like because social media when
Speaker 1: you were like on the Voice was not nearly as
Speaker 1: prevalent as it is now, and it's I've struggled with
Speaker 1: a very uh toxic relationship with social media because it's
Speaker 1: so easy to compare yourself to people, how many followers
Speaker 1: you have, all this and that, um, And that's what
Speaker 1: a big part of the music business has become about
Speaker 1: how many followers you have. How have you dealt with
Speaker 1: navigating that when you're just an artist and you care
Speaker 1: about the art. I've um over the past year and
Speaker 1: a half really paid attention to what sets me apart
Speaker 1: instead of how can I be as popular as this person?
Speaker 1: I love that mindset, Yeah, because because I'm not, I
Speaker 1: don't I love I think it's beautiful when women show
Speaker 1: their bodies I think it's amazing when men show their bodies.
Speaker 1: I think it's like you're you know, you have agency
Speaker 1: over your body what you do with it. So I
Speaker 1: have no problem with that. I personally don't feel comfortable.
Speaker 1: I don't want to say ever, because I might tomorrow
Speaker 1: I'll be like, you know what fun I'm gonna wear
Speaker 1: a bathing suit on Instagram, but as of late, I don't.
Speaker 1: I'm not a bikini selfie poster. I feel that, and
Speaker 1: I think it's great when people do it, but I
Speaker 1: do see that gets way more engagement than anything I post.
Speaker 1: But then I'm like, well, you know, people want to
Speaker 1: look at that kind of stuff. Maybe there's more people
Speaker 1: that want to look at women that look amazing in
Speaker 1: a bathing suit, are comfortable enough to show their bodies
Speaker 1: more than seeing me play like turning my chemical romance
Speaker 1: song into a country song acoustic. You know, I don't
Speaker 1: know what the mainstream audience wants, but I can't focus
Speaker 1: on that. You can't focus on that because social media,
Speaker 1: like as big as it is, it doesn't account for
Speaker 1: everybody in the world. It doesn't and it doesn't define
Speaker 1: your success or your talent. How many likes you have yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1: So I I've I see it. I pay attention to it.
Speaker 1: Sometimes it gets to me, but most of the time,
Speaker 1: I'll like be like, I'm want to look at my
Speaker 1: feed and just see how it looks. And I'm like,
Speaker 1: that looks like me. That looks like me. I'm a
Speaker 1: I'm goofy. I'm an artist. I I am a musician.
Speaker 1: I love my dogs, I love my boyfriend, I love
Speaker 1: my family, I love my friends. That's what you're getting
Speaker 1: on my page, You're not. I don't. Sometimes I'm like,
Speaker 1: I love my makeup today. I opposed to selfie as
Speaker 1: you should. That's completely self indulgent. And I lean into
Speaker 1: that when I feel like it, you know, But my
Speaker 1: page looks like me, and that's I have to I
Speaker 1: do intentionally, Like I have to stick with that, you know,
Speaker 1: because of the pressure. Oh absolutely. And I think something
Speaker 1: I'm realizing as I'm getting older, being a girl, being
Speaker 1: a young woman, being a woman, it's so hard. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you have the interesting perspective of like country music that's
Speaker 1: such a male dominated industry where so much of the
Speaker 1: songs are so sexist. What was that like being a
Speaker 1: woman in that industry and what was the biggest thing
Speaker 1: you've learned about someone you don't want to be and
Speaker 1: who you want to be moving forward. I think like
Speaker 1: aligning myself with there are people in Nashville that are
Speaker 1: like minded and like agree with a lot of the things.
Speaker 1: You know, Oh, of course it's not everybody, it's not everybody.
Speaker 1: So I've just aligned with the people that I know
Speaker 1: are are working for change, and they're advocating for artists
Speaker 1: of color, at anybody of color in the country realm. Like,
Speaker 1: there's so many producers and songwriters that just don't get
Speaker 1: the time of day. So like just just aligning with
Speaker 1: those initiatives, aligning with those people that really want to
Speaker 1: make that happen. Um no, and when to speak up
Speaker 1: and when to step back, you know, all that stuff.
Speaker 1: But like, I think the thing that I've struggled with
Speaker 1: more than you know, the dudes that sing the songs
Speaker 1: that objectify women, really was mainly just like my experience
Speaker 1: with a country label, because there is this pressure put
Speaker 1: on you to be digestible, to be um cute, um,
Speaker 1: you know, don't like roll off the plane at six
Speaker 1: am after you went on at four five am flight,
Speaker 1: roll into the radio station without makeup, on, like you
Speaker 1: better get ready in that airport bathroom, have the blonde
Speaker 1: hair with the extensions. Yeah, yeah, all of that, Like
Speaker 1: just you know, don't don't show your tattoos all the time,
Speaker 1: like cover them up sometimes. I remember one, like one
Speaker 1: promo shot, I caught them editing out my tattoo on
Speaker 1: my arm and I was like, what are you gonna
Speaker 1: how are how are you gonna explain it when I
Speaker 1: go to people in person and they see a tattoo
Speaker 1: and not in the picture. And also like I remember
Speaker 1: that too from your audition, Like it was like very distinctive.
Speaker 1: It's not like a little like little whatever, you know,
Speaker 1: it's it's what is it by the way? Um? Well,
Speaker 1: and and it's hand tattoo too, like you can't cover that.
Speaker 1: But yeah, it's all music related. There's like it's harder
Speaker 1: show I guess. Um there's a bird singing, which was
Speaker 1: my first tattoo. That was my first one the day
Speaker 1: after I turned eighteen. Um, this one is the This
Speaker 1: is from the follow up boy tour I was on
Speaker 1: where like when on on like a world tour for
Speaker 1: a year basically eighteen which was amazing. Um. And then
Speaker 1: this is from my great Grandpa. I would call him pappy,
Speaker 1: but when I was too young to pronounce it, i'd
Speaker 1: call him happy and Hey Monday. Well before we were
Speaker 1: Hey Monday, we were Blake Um Blake showcase for Columbia
Speaker 1: Records on my pappy's birthday and he had passed at
Speaker 1: that point, but we got signed, so I was like, oh,
Speaker 1: he's looking out for me, so like a happy face.
Speaker 1: That's Blake and you had Blake Shelton. I know it
Speaker 1: wasn't that weird. Blake's my middle name, so wait what,
Speaker 1: I know it's like a cosmic thing. If you have
Speaker 1: a kid, you should name it Blake, just to make
Speaker 1: it even more full circle. No, I know that would
Speaker 1: be that would make sense. Passity, thank you so much
Speaker 1: for coming on my podcast. I know you're so busy.
Speaker 1: I know you're writing, I know you're doing, but this
Speaker 1: conversation just means so much. Thank you. Thanks for having
Speaker 1: me and like being down to talk about some some
Speaker 1: deep stuff. It was awesome. I'm like, you're so wise
Speaker 1: for your age, Like I am still blown away that
Speaker 1: you're what are you eighteen nineteen? Just for nineteen? Oh
Speaker 1: my gosh, Yeah, You're gonna be just fine. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much, Cassidy again for coming on this week's episode
Speaker 1: of Let's Be Real Podcast. I hope you guys enjoyed it.
Speaker 1: Subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already, and follow
Speaker 1: me on Instagram and it's Sammy J. That's I T
Speaker 1: S S A M M Y J A y E.
Speaker 1: I love hearing your comments. DM me always if you
Speaker 1: have any questions or if you just want to chat.
Speaker 1: My d m s are open and I will see
Speaker 1: you guys next week with another very special episode. Bye guys.
Speaker 1: Yeah