Nineteen year old Napa Valley native Olivia O’Brien first released her song “i hate u, i love u” on Soundcloud in 2017 when she got the attention from rapper gnash. From there, O’Brien has made a name for herself, collaborating with G-Eazy & Jesse Rutherford of The Neighbourhood to performing at Outside Lands last year. The Los Angeles-based singer recently released her debut album Was It Even Real? at a record release (4/26) show in San Francisco, stating to the crowd, “San Francisco is my favorite city in America if not the world. It’s the best day to spend my album release.” O’Brien headlined at Great American Music Hall where she said she first saw singer Cody Simpson when she was ten years old. As early as seven years old, O’Brien was already making music and professionally for the last four years, having been discovered during high school and signed to Island Records. The emotional raw singer draws inspiration from her tough past and relationships. “This is my therapy.” 2019 has been active for O’Brien, as she received widespread coverage with the single “Grip” ft. Bastille and the recent collaboration with duo Seeb on their newest single “Fade Out” which touches on the inevitable side effects of modern dating and relationships. On the collaboration Olivia explains; “I’m so happy to be featured on this track with Seeb. Working with them was really fun and I hope everyone likes it! It’s super dancey and I think it will be a great vibe for summer”
B-Sides met up with Olivia O’Brien to talk about her debut album, the songwriting process, performing back in San Francisco and more. Check out the interview:
