Starley is an Australian born Pop Star who speaks to the spirit of her fans through her music.
Just a few months after its remixed release, Starley’s mega-hit “Call on Me” has reached over 67 million streams on YouTube alone. The inspiring artist creates music that is true to who she is. Growing up in Australia influenced her desire to be a musician. Pop music is one of Australia’s main exports. Starley has made her way to international stardom. Her music is liberating and self-reflective. When asked of her influences, Starley explains she was very mesmerized by radio and Australian pop stars.
How does being from Australia Influence the music you create?
She says, “I grew up listening to a lot of Australian pop music, especially Kylie Minogue.”
Her family is multicultural, which adds to the depths and the sounds of Starley’s music. She credits her mother’s Aussie, Filipino, and Japanese roots as well as her father’s African roots for the base of her musical soul.
She mentions, “I was influenced by The Story of Ritchie Valens and Old Rock. African bands from Mauritius, and one of my biggest influences is Mariah Carey. ”
Starley recently teamed up with Katy Perry on stage for her WITNESS tour. A monumental moment for the international pop sensation. She says “Katy listened to ‘Love is Love‘ and that was it. She said she wanted me to join her.”
Who else would you like to work with?
She stated “Sia, and DJs like Diplo and Calvin Harris.”
With such powerful music comes great responsibility. Starley has been taking great strides to always be the best version of herself and provide her fans with the same opportunity. I asked, “Please explain the importance of being true to yourself and encouraging your fans to do the same.
“It’s one of the biggest things for me as a singer and songwriter. It was the main reason for me to just put my music out there. I had dreams of being an artist when I was much younger. I just wanted to get my music out. Starley revealed that she’d tried making music and writing for other artists. “…But nobody wanted to sing my truth.” She found that it was only she who could share a message so personally written. “Learn from my mistakes or connect with my life in general…People need one another to draw from and I like to put encouraging things into music.”
True to her word, Starley’s mega hit “Call on me” does just that. The uplifting track is the perfect pick-me-up when you’re feeling down. How did the success of “Call on me” change the course of your career? She answers, “I didn’t expect the success, I knew it was a special song that people were going to relate to. The song is very true to me.” Starley says, “I went through a serious bout of depression. I had to sing myself out of that depression and now the song taken on a life of its own.”
The single has over 67M YouTube views alone. Speaking on the success of the hit she says, “It was overwhelming. The most important thing is fans get to hear your music around the world and I get to put out what I want. I feel blessed.”
Through music, Starley has been able to find herself and learn herself layer by layer. In recent months past the singer bravely came out to her family. She shares that experience:
“It was pretty hard, I had always felt bi-curious. It was a bit of shock for me and hard for them to handle. I grew up in church.” She continues, “I began to explore and learn myself…I started falling in love with my girlfriend so I had to. Living in a lie is the worst thing. This is something my family didn’t expect. I continue to be transparent with them, as much as they will allow. You either live in the lie and torture yourself or you put it out there and the other people learn from the situation.”
As beautiful as her music is, so is her heart and mind. An artist of sound spirit is one to cherish. In her budding career I asked, What advice can you give to any aspiring artists?
“What I wish I had learned: trust your gut instinct the most, more than people with more experience. The most important thing is your gut instinct. People may try to deter you from your path, but trust it.”
After the release of her latest visual for Love is Love, Starley says she is working on a new single. She also recently wrapped up her album which could be a Winter release.
Her universal message is to spread love through her music, a message we can all stand to receive.
