Aliyah Good – Ending of a First Love

By starrymag | March 2, 2023

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) I would describe my sound as a blend of everything I’ve listened to throughout the course of my musical journey. It’s definitely a blend of genres. I love that I come from a country music background, so I can have that Nashville songwriting element, but with some of my songs you can hear more pop production. I really like to just write what I know and do what sounds right when it comes to production.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) I, of course, grew up on Taylor Swift. She’s definitely been the biggest influence on my songwriting. I literally learned to play guitar because I saw Taylor play guitar at one of her concerts when I was a kid. But now I really take a lot of inspiration from Phoebe Bridgers. I love any artist who I feel like writes from a super personal place. Gracie Abrams is another artist whose songwriting inspires me because her songs are so introspective.

           

Q) Your parents are Grammy-nominated country artist Jamie O’Neal and veteran studio engineer Rodney Good. What advice did they offer you when you mentioned wanting to become a singer-songwriter?

 

A) My parents are honestly the reason I’m in this business at all. My mom started bringing me up onstage when I was like three years old and ever since I was a little kid all I’ve wanted to do was be a performer like my mom. They’re also both heavily involved in my career, and I like it that way. I trust both of their creative visions and I know they both know what they’re doing. My mom helps co-produce some of my songs, and my dad edited my music video that just premiered on CMT.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Ending of a First Love.”

 

A) “Ending of a First Love” is a song I wrote 100% by myself. I wrote it after going through what literally was the ending of my first experience being in love. I feel like it’s a super universal experience. Everyone has that first relationship or even “situationship” that kind of changes everything for them, and when it ends, it’s disastrous. Being in love for the first time is scary, and going through the end of it is even scarier.

 

Q) The song came out in October. What kind of fan feedback have you been receiving to the track so far?

 

A) It’s been really great! I’ve gotten super sweet messages about people relating to the song, adding it to their breakup playlists and things like that. I love hearing that.

 

Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?

 

A) The video shows the course of a relationship, but more importantly, the emotional impact that the ending of that relationship has on me. We tried to convey, with the video, how the song shows the emotional rollercoaster of one’s first breakup.

 

Q) The video was shot in East Nashville and features your old preschool pal. What made you decide to include them?

 

A) We had been brainstorming potential people we could ask to play the love interest in the video, and I think it was my mom’s idea. Timothy and I have been friends since we were super little and he’s such a sweet guy. He’s someone that I knew would be fun to have on set and he did a great job in the video. He was super open during the filming process and it was easy to work with one of my good friends. It honestly makes art better when it’s made with people you love. I like to keep my circle small, so having a family friend be in the video rather than just a random actor, it felt authentic and like the right choice.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) All of my songs begin with just me and my guitar. I do normally start by writing the music, but the process is super all over the place. It really just depends on the song. For “Ending of A First Love,” the song started with me writing the verse on my guitar and it kind of just flowed from there.

 

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A I definitely have a large hand in the process of the production. But, again, it depends on the song. With a song like “Ending of A First Love,” since I wrote that one by myself, we tracked it at Sound Stage with a live band and I really led the production. But with my second single “Human Background Noise,” that was all John Townsend as that song was more collaborative since I co-wrote it with John and Lydia Dall.

 

Q) Will there be a full album or EP coming in the near future?

 

A) Yes! We just finished tracking my debut EP in December at Sound Stage and we’re putting the finishing touches on it now. It’s set to come out in May. I’m super excited to continue sharing all of my music and the songs on the EP are my favorite that I’ve ever written.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

 

A) The Listening Room in Nashville is always an awesome place to perform. It’s super special for me because it’s one of the first places I played original music in my hometown. I also got to play a show at the Hotel Cafe in LA a little bit ago and it was my first headlining show outside of Nashville so that was really awesome. I’m hoping to play there again soon!

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) I, honestly, have so many dream collaborations so it would be hard for me to choose just one. Jack Antonoff is definitely someone I would love to work with at some point in my career. He’s just such a genius songwriter and producer, so he would be like my dream person to have produce one of my records. But, also, I’m a huge fan of Kelsea Ballerini and I’d love to collaborate with her on a song.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?

 

A) Boygenius just put out three new songs off of their upcoming album, and I have them on repeat. I just love the way they write songs. For me, when I listen to music, I’m really paying attention to the songwriting and Boygenius is composed of three women who are genius songwriters.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) Social media is definitely a great way to stay connected with fans. I’m still trying to build my fanbase, but using social media as a tool has been super helpful. I love talking to people who listen to my music and it, honestly, makes my relationship with my listeners stronger.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) I would love to say thank you to everyone who has listened to my songs or watched my music video. I’m making this music to connect with people and I’m so appreciative of those who support me, and my art. Thank you thank you thank you!!