Featured Photo Credit: Ford Fairchild
From the boardroom to the ballroom, Caroline Romano is empowering woman with her brand new single “Power Suit.”
Check out what the Nashville based artist had to say about her nod to the iconic power suit, her previous single, “I Still Remember,” and what fans can expect next!
What first got you interested in music?
For as long as I can remember, music has been my way of communicating. I was a really shy, reserved little kid, and I basically had trouble talking to anyone who wasn’t my mom or dad. My parents noticed pretty quickly that music sort of freed me of all my inhibitions. I knew I wanted to pursue a career in music from a very early age. I’d listen to the Taylor Swift “Fearless” record every day on the way to and from school, and that was a big inspiration for me to realize that I wanted to share my life through music. I wrote my first song at the age of twelve, and my parents took me to Nashville for the first time when I was thirteen, to play my original songs at open mic nights around the city. From there, I simply fell in love with performing and writing music, and I’ve been doing just that ever since. I think thirteen-year-old me would be very proud to see how far we’ve come!
Who did you listen to growing up, and do they have an influence on your sound today?
Growing up, I listened to a lot of Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, Bryan Adams, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, and Michael Jackson. It was kind of a mix of whatever I heard on the radio at 7 or 8 years old and whatever my parents liked to listen to. I think each of those artists definitely played a role in impacting my sound today. I find bits and pieces of similarities in the songs I write, as I think you just end up writing what you know. Their music definitely helped shape me as a person, so I think it’s only natural that it carries over into my sound and songwriting as well.
What inspired your new single, “Power Suit?
“Power Suit” was actually inspired by a K Pop song I was writing for a K Pop group. K Pop songs are often very upbeat and hooky, and as this was an all-girls group I was writing for, I wanted there to be an empowering message in the song as well. The line “clicking my heels on the concrete” just popped into my head one night, and I started writing bits and pieces of what would eventually turn into “Power Suit.” I ended up going with a different concept for the K Pop song, but I loved the “Power Suit” concept so much that I decided to finish the song out and cut it myself. I’ve never been someone who naturally writes super upbeat, empowering tracks for myself, so I thought “Power Suit” would be a needed change of pace for me. Plus, I think we could all use some self-confidence and empowerment in 2020!
What was the writing process like?
It all stemmed from the line “clicking my heels on the concrete,” that came to me one night when writing the K Pop track. When I revisited the “Power Suit” concept a bit later, I decided to bring it to an all-girls co-write I was having. Everyone loved the idea, and the producer came up with that awesome upbeat track almost immediately. I think we finished the song in less than an hour and a half, since we were all so into it!
You worked with R3HAB (The Chainsmokers, Zayn Malik, Halsey) on your previous single, “I Still Remember.” How did you get connected and what was it like to collaborate?
Working with R3HAB was truly a life-changing experience. R3HAB has been one of my favorite DJs/EDM producers for several years, so when I realized I wanted to do a remix of “I Still Remember,” he was the first person my team and I reached out to. I was beyond excited to hear that he liked the song and was down to remix it! I knew he’d know exactly what the song needed, so I just sent him the track and asked him to do whatever he wanted with it. I didn’t have any specific direction I wanted to go with the remix, and I was interested to see what he was hearing. I fell in love with the very first pass of the remix he sent back, and the final cut is extremely close to that very first pass. It was such an honor to get to work with R3HAB on this song, and I’m so proud of how it all turned out!
What was the inspiration for the “I Still Remember” music video?
Since the song is so upbeat and bright, I knew I wanted to video to contrast it with some really weird, almost twisted elements. I drew a lot of inspiration from music videos of artists like Conan Gray and Panic! At the Disco. I’m also obsessed with The Umbrella Academy and #5’s mannequin lover in the show. My video director and I got together and just talked about how we could make a weird, slightly twisted, retro, socially distanced video for this song, and this is what we came up with. I absolutely love the finished product, and I think it shows a side of me that a lot of people haven’t seen so far in my music.
If you could set fans up in the perfect environment to listen to your music, what do you imagine it looking like?
This is hard! I think, for me, I’d want them to hear my music in the space or time when they feel the most inspired, passionate, comfortable, or hopeful. I’d want to put them in the place where they’re able to “feel” the most. For me, that would be in the car on a really overcast and chilly day, driving down my favorite road in Nashville. If it’s in their bedroom at midnight, or in the park on a sunny day, I’d want fans to hear my music in the place where they absorb things the most. We all have our special spaces and places, and I’d be honored to have my music heard in anyone’s.
You’ve shared the stage with artists like Daya, Shawn Mendes, Why Don’t We and Kelsea Ballerini. Who would you love to share the stage with next?
Another tough one, as there are just so many artists I’m dying to share the stage with! I think, as of this moment, my top 3 would be YUNGBLUD, Taylor Swift, and Noah Kahan.
What can fans look forward to next?
I’ve got A LOT of new music planning to be released in 2021. It’s some of the most personal, exciting, and experimental music I’ve ever written, and I truly can’t wait to share it with everyone, along with all of the content I have to go along with it. There may even be some special collabs planned…. Stay tuned!
What is one quote that you have heard or that you go by that you would like to ECHO out to the world?
I am enamored by this quote by C.S. Lewis. “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” It’s applicable to so many things. For me, I pursue music because there are things inside of me, inside of my soul, that I want to share in the way that most closely compares with the splendor or pain or joy of whatever I’m feeling. We all have our “music.” We’re all looking for the “something” that can fulfill this unquenchable thirst or compare to the things we feel and we know, but can’t quite put into anything concrete. This quote is a reminder to me that I should chase my dreams and pursue them with all that I am. But I must never confuse my dreams, or this world, for the real thing. I’m in this world, but not of it. And no matter how bad, or how good things get, it is the ultimate reminder that God made us creatures who are more than just this world. It’s something I live by.