Georgia Webster on Music, Breakups, and Lyricism

INTERVIEW

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INTERVIEW ✦

Adept singer-songwriter Georgia Webster, (a next-gen artist who’s currently known for her introspective lyrics and a captivating vocal range), delves into the complex realm of situationships in her latest offering, titled "This Ain't A Breakup (feat. Nightly).”

Built on the recurring notion of undefined relationships lacking concrete commitment, the singer’s impactful theme of situationships highlights the sting of confusion and heartbreak — an experience Webster masterfully explores through her own impression of melancholy pop. And having drawn inspiration from esteemed artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Kacey Musgraves, who all share a common thread of empowering female perspectives on love and heartbreak, Webster celebrates some of the stylistic choices of her favorite artists and infuses her own experiences to create something in line with a sound she’s organically drawn to.

Now, with the release of her new somber pop song and an EP on the horizon, Webster is breaking down her newly developed mature sound and more.

Georgia Webster

Congratulations on your upcoming release! Can you share more about the theme of situationships and how they influenced your upcoming project, SIGNS?

Georgia Webster: Thank you! This whole project is pretty much based on a situationship breakup I went through last year — basically a situationship is a relationship without the commitment, usually one-sided, where one person really wants to make it official and the other just isn’t willing to put a label on it. 

How did artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Kelsea Ballerini, Kacey Musgraves, and Lennon Stella inspire your new sound and perspective on relationships?

Georgia Webster: I am a multi-genre lover and I think this new project and sound really shows that. I love the storytelling behind country music and Kacey and Kelsea were some of the first country artists that made me feel something when I was younger. I’m also a huge pop girlie and Lennon’s project Three. Two. One. was one of my favorites in high school and still is to this day. Her sound just inspires me so much. Same with Olivia who I’ve been a huge fan of recently. 

Working with producer King Henry, how did you navigate the process of developing a more mature sound for this project?

Georgia Webster: I think a huge part of it was being confident in my voice and letting myself express the emotion that I’m trying to get across in the song. Working with Henry really allowed me to open myself up and feel safe and comfortable enough to let out my emotions and sometimes start crying during the process of recording. Being in a really comfortable space definitely made it easier to let myself go all in with the vocals and I think that’s a big thing when it comes to achieving a more “mature” sound. 

Georgia Webster

As a writer on most tracks, how do you approach blending storytelling and lyricism in your music?

Georgia Webster: Writing has always been my therapy and there is no better feeling than writing a song about something real that’s happening in your life and just letting your emotions out and expressing them through the music. I love a good, clever lyric and I think Nashville has helped me grow exponentially in my lyricism. But, I also want to share my stories and I have things to say and I always want to put that before a clever hook because I just feel like writing from a real place always gets the best stuff. 

With your recent track "This Ain’t A Breakup,” you’ve shared that you were in the midst of a complicated situationship — what were some of the main messages or emotions that you hoped to convey through the lyrics?

Georgia Webster: The situationship breakup I went through really took a toll on me—I always felt like it sounded so stupid because it was not long-lasting, but I think this song really conveys the level of emotion I felt towards this person, even though it wasn’t a real “relationship.” It’s easy to feel invalidated with situationships I think, because it’s so easy for people to say “You guys never even dated..” or “It was literally a month long” but when you’re in something where you feel so strongly for someone, the amount of time or label that’s on it really doesn’t matter. So I hope people feel seen listening to the song and realize they’re not crazy for being heartbroken over someone you never dated! 

What was the creative process like when working on "This Ain’t A Breakup," especially with the addition of Jonny [Nightly]?

Georgia Webster: The song itself was written with my friends Conner Moye and Spencer Rabin, and we wrote it at Spencer’s studio at like, 12 am. It was our first write for the 3 of us and now we call ourselves the Night Shift! The song just flowed right out and when we finished writing it, Conner put his vocal on the demo. I absolutely loved how his vocals sounded on the song — and so I ended up meeting Jonny at this Spotify event, got his number and asked him if he wanted to be on it. I’ve been a fan of Nightly for a while now so it was so cool to get to have them feature.

Now that you’re on the tail end of curating this eight-track collection — do you already have an idea of what you’d like to do next, or is that something that you’re currently taking day by day?

Georgia Webster: I do! I have the next project pretty much all written and am in the process of hopefully going to record that soon… Definitely have things in the works and I’m so excited to share them at some point this year hopefully!