ONE TO WATCH: TIA TIA
Tia Tia is the hit-maker behind many of your favorite artist’s biggest tracks. Justin Bieber and Ava Max are some of the artists under Tia’s writing credentials. The Grammy-nominated artist is busier than ever with weekly tracks dropping on her Tiktok with commenters saying “We need an Album!!” (we agree!), we chat with Tia Tia on her Musical Journey, her newest single “Bad Together” and more! Read our full Interview below. More of Tia Tia HERE.
Featured Interview:
Tell us about your musical journey as a songwriter.
I’m a Jersey girl, and I grew up playing the guitar and piano. Every day after school, I would come home and write songs on my guitar that I would then post on YouTube immediately afterward. When I was 17, I moved to Nashville where I was surrounded by other songwriters for the first time and I learned to craft really compelling lyrics and concepts, which are at the heart of songwriting. Shortly after, I landed my first publishing deal and moved to LA, where I’ve been fortunate enough to write songs with artists like Justin Bieber, Ava Max, Becky G, John Legend, and Saweetie.
How was the transition between writing songs for top artists like Justin Bieber / Ava Max to now putting out your own music?
It’s been so much fun!! I am so blessed to work with incredible artists and help them tell their stories. My process of writing doesn’t change much whether I’m writing for others vs myself – I’m still aiming to make the best song I can possibly make. But when I’m the one singing and performing it, I have the freedom to say whatever I want and make it sound like me.
A lot of my ideas come from riffing on the mic, which is where I basically sing gibberish words and random melodies over a beat until I find something special. I make everything with my producer, Ryan McMahon, and we’ve worked together so much at this point that we know when to push each other to make the song better and we don’t settle until we both feel like it’s really great.
You are currently killing it on TikTok and you’re dropping a song every week. Where did this strategy come from?
Wow, I appreciate that, thank you so much!! Yeah, it’s been really cool to see a few of my songs go viral on TikTok this year and it’s been wild to see so many people make their own videos to my music. For one of my songs “Do It Better,” there have been about a million videos created across TikTok and Instagram Reels, and 200,000 videos for my other song “Ur Everything,” which is insane. Getting to see the actual people interact with my music through their own videos is so cool, and makes me feel so connected to them even though we’ve never met!
Dropping 50 songs this year kind of came from a moment at the end of last year actually, where I thought “ummmm why am I not everybody’s favorite new artist yet??” LOLOL. At the end of 2022, I’d only dropped like 5 songs… ever. That’s just not enough to break through the noise. I thought, well I’m writing and making so much music every day, what if I just dropped a new single every Friday of 2023? Fifty songs. It’s been an insane amount of work but it’s been so rewarding at the same time.
What can fans expect on these weekly drops and how would you describe this new single “BAD TOGETHER”?
Dropping a song every week this year has been really cool because I’m making the music as I’m going. Literally, we will finish a song only one week before it drops globally. I think it’s a unique experience because the fans can grow with me. I’m taking them along for the ride – how I’m feeling and what I’m experiencing throughout the whole year in real time. Plus who doesn’t love a bop to look forward to every Friday?
“BAD TOGETHER” is one of my favorite releases this year – it’s just a vibe from top to bottom. It exudes confidence and swag and I just love that from a song. I collaborated with my insanely talented friends Ammo and Lunchmoney Lewis on this one (as well as Ryan McMahon obvs), which was so fun because I love making music with my friends and we had a blast making this in a studio in the hills of LA.
Who are your SHEROES in music
Ugh, there are so many badass women in music that I look up to!! I’d say Gwen Stefani is one of the most incredible, sweetest humans I’ve ever met and been lucky enough to work with. Besides being an absolute icon across the music and fashion worlds, she is really genuine, thoughtful, and inspiring. Not to mention her insane work ethic and drive. Other queens I look up to are Rihanna (DUH), Madonna, and Taylor Swift.
What makes a hit song and why do some songs flop in your opinion?
It’s hard to say what exactly makes a hit song because there are so many variations of a “hit” song. But when writing, there is definitely a feeling you get in the room when you know you’ve stumbled across something really special. It feels like magic. From my experience, no matter how well the song does afterward, the feeling right after you make something really special… THAT is THE feeling you want to bottle up forever!!!!
But there is so much more that goes into a “hit song” than just having a song sound like a hit. Even after the song is written, it really needs a perfect storm of things that need to go right: the right artist, the right timing, everyone on the team believing in it unwaveringly, etc.
How is your creativity disrupting the culture?
Music is changing in a big way with people being able to blend all different genres together to make something totally unique and fresh, and the way people consume music is also ever-changing. Dropping 50 songs in a year has definitely been an eye-opening experience, and I think dropping an insane amount of music every year is the future. I’m independent, which gives me so much freedom to move fast. Everything moves so quickly these days that the idea of saving up the 12 best songs from 2 years worth of writing for an album seems a bit outdated. I always am a believer in quality over quantity, but when you’re just starting out at least, I think giving people so many opportunities to discover you and your music can be your superpower. When you have high standards, you’ll always push yourself to meet those expectations no matter how demanding the deadlines may be. You’ll still try to make the best music you can possibly make.
We also hear you have a DJ duo called Beachcrimes. Where did this name come about and what’s your favorite song to play?
YESS! Beachcrimes is made up of Ryan McMahon and myself, and it started while we were traveling the world last summer making dance music in hotel rooms. One night on a beach in Italy, we were blasting the music we had just made so loud that someone actually called the cops on us hahhahaha. It all worked out though, because that night, the name Beachcrimes was born.
Our favorite song to play always changes, but I think “Do It Better” is so much fun to play because that’s where it all started. It’s just a high-energy ‘feel good” record. I also love DJing a song off our PM album called “Get Right.” It’s giving 90’s warehouse energy and I am here for it.
What is next for you on your superstar journey?
You can expect a new song every week till the end of the year! As for next year, there are some cool collabs lined up and I am always working to level up, so stay tuned 😉
Team Credits:
Photography/Editor-in-chief: Prince Chenoa @princechenoastudio
Make-up: Bethany Karlyn @bethanykarlyn
Hair-Stylist: Sean Fears @seanchristopherfears
Galore Features Editor/Cover Art: Perrin Johnson @Editsbyperry
