Since a very young age, Ronnie Watts (she/her) has been singing, writing original songs, and recording music in the basement studio of her childhood home. She’s definitely a pop artist you need to have on your radar.

Following last year’s release of her debut EP, I DON’T TRUST U AT ALL, Ronnie released her new single, “car ride home” on May 21. Read about the car ride that inspired Ronnie’s latest bittersweet ballad, her career trajectory, and her summertime songwriting adventures. Ronnie hopes that listeners relate to and take comfort in her songs, even those that are a bit more emotional. Be sure to check out the newly released music video for “car ride home” here, and listen to Ronnie’s music on any preferred streaming platform.

When people ask you, “What do you do?,” what do you share with them?

That's a good question. I usually just say I'm a singer, a songwriter, and an artist. The biggest thing for me is the songwriting aspect. I think singing would just be a hobby if I didn't have the songwriting aspect. I really love being able to write songs. I guess the goal from that is to be able to connect and help other people through my songs and music.

Yeah, that's great. I love that. What first got you interested in singing and making your own music?

I grew up in a super creative household, and my dad does music, so we have a studio in our basement. I grew up playing down there. It's so fun, just to have all these instruments and be able to record music. We have these little time capsules from when I was a little baby, to now recording music. It’s so cool.

And then I really fell in love with songwriting. I think that was when I was like, okay, I definitely want to make this into a career because I just love it so much. Whatever I was doing in my life, the only thing that would bring me back from all the craziness, was songwriting. I knew that was something I really wanted to do.

Do you ever find yourself going back and listening to those little time capsules?

Yes! It’s so weird because I have songs from when I was literally a baby, singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” I don’t really write in a diary. I just have my songs. I was actually looking back at my songs from a couple of years ago, and it’s so weird because they’re so detailed and specific. I know who they’re about and I know what I was going through then.

Tell me about the overall meaning behind your new single, “car ride home.” I listened to it, and it seems to be such a bittersweet ballad. What inspired this song?

What do you hope listeners take away from the single?

I hope that people can find comfort in it. I do write a lot of sad music, but I hope they listen to the song and feel all the feels and whatever. Then, when they turn it off, they might feel a little bit better. Maybe if people relate to the song, they can feel like they got that feeling out of the way a bit and now they’ve gotten in touch with it. Whatever it is, I hope at the end of the song they feel better.

What has been your favorite project in your career, to date?

Honestly, I think releasing “Famous In California,” which was at the beginning of last year. Time feels so weird right now, but that was a really fun one because it was my first big release. There wasn't really any pressure with it. It was just kind of like: I really like this song and I can't wait to get it out there.

A great part about that song and the release was my friends. My friends helped me make the music video and the cover art. It was all super DIY and with people that I love, so that was a super fun project to work on.

Before we hopped on this call, you were saying that you just wrote a song this morning. If possible, could you give me a little more insight into your typical day-to-day, hands-on creative process, particularly when it comes to songwriting? Where do you pull inspiration from?

Who are your biggest musical influences?

I love Taylor Swift so much. She's been at the top of the music industry forever, so that's amazing. I'm a huge fan of Lorde. I saw her in concert once and she's probably my favorite artist of all time. I think she's amazing. I love The 1975 as well. I think they're super cool. Something that all those artists have in common is that their lyricism is super specific, yet so universal. I love that and I strive for that. I like those details they put in songs that sound so personal, but somehow it just resonates with you anyway. I find that super inspiring.

Along with that, would any of the artists you just mentioned be dream collaborators for you? Or is there someone else you could think of that you would love to collaborate with eventually?

I mean, I would gladly pay them. I think most people would be like, “All right! I quit.” No, but that would be amazing to work with any of those people. I think it's so important to be around people that are way better than you. I think all those artists are so much better than me. It just helps you so much when you're really intimidated by something or someone because it means you're going to grow from that.

Getting a little bit more personal and deeper here...have you ever personally experienced any disrespect within your industry? If that was the case, how were you able to navigate that?

I've been pretty lucky, and I've been surrounded by a lot of great people in the music industry. I know it's not always that way. For any industry, it's not always that way. It’s super unfortunate. As a woman, you have to stand up for yourself a lot more. It's this weird thing of like, you can't be a boss without being just bossy or something like that. You know what I mean? You have to walk this line for some reason.

Navigating that has been really interesting and empowering for me because it's something that I'm still learning how to do. There's stuff that seems easy when you think about it, but then you’re actually doing it and having to be tough and put your foot down. Obviously, I want to be like, yes, that's what I'm doing, but then you're in those situations and it becomes harder to do that sometimes. I'm definitely learning. It’s been a good experience, growing in that sense.

Obviously, you started really young with singing, but I want to hear a bit more about any major twists and turns that have happened throughout your journey.

Any advice you might give to peers that want to be in the music industry?

Do whatever your gut is telling you. I got signed when I was 17, and one thing I learned is that everyone is going to be telling you what to do and there's going to be different opinions on everything you’re doing. The thing is— there's no right way to do it anyway, so you just have to go with your gut. I think that's the best advice I could give. You will know better than anybody else. That's how to carry your career.

What is bringing you joy at the moment?

We're going to do some light-hearted speed-round questions! To start off, what’s the last thing you watched?

Oh, no. I forgot the name. The one with Leonardo DiCaprio from 2010 where he goes on to this island and is in a mental hospital.

Yes. Wow. Now I'm forgetting the name. It's not Inception. It's something else. Oh, my gosh, I actually watched the movie you're talking about for the first time last year, so I should know. Something Island. It'll come to me. Did you like it?

I loved it. It stayed with me for a couple of days after. I was so freaked out by it. The ending was so good.

*EDIT: The name of the film Ronnie mentioned is called Shutter Island :)

What's the last book you read?

I've been reading the Harry Potter series on and off. I’ll read every chapter, every couple of weeks. I've been doing that since I was 14 years old. I like Goblet of Fire a lot because I love The Hunger Games. It kind of gives me The Hunger Games vibes.

Finally, what's one thing you would tell your younger self?

I would tell myself that I'm on the right track, and I should just believe in myself because I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do.

That's so great. I love it! That's a wrap for my questions. Thank you so much for sharing your journey with me, Ronnie. I can’t wait to keep listening to “car ride home” and enjoying it!

Stream “car ride home” on any preferred streaming platform. Find Ronnie on Instagram here.

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