Check out our interview with LA-raised singer-songwriter Sophia Marie who just released her new single “could i be your muse?” off her upcoming sophomore EP.
Sophia says, “Staring at Botticelli’s Birth of Venus at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy during my study abroad this past summer, I reflected on the concept of muses, specifically the fact that I as an artist and, therefore, a producer of Art, have made many muses out of men throughout my songs but have never really had the same done to me. “could i be your muse?” is thus a reflection on this lack of reciprocity, imploring a man for once to take the burden of immortalizing me.”
Sophia Marie’s music is autobiographical. Each of her songs tells the story of a young life in progress. From leaving the sunny, casual west coast for a more buttoned-up DC life at Georgetown University (where she studies International Politics) to a life-changing semester abroad in Dublin, to unrequited romances and lovesick travels, each of these experiences is vividly documented in her music.
Follow Sophia @la.sophiamarie
Hi Sophia, please tell us a little about you?
Hey! I am currently a senior at Georgetown University studying International Politics with a concentration in Security Studies! I am a total Los Angeles native and absolutely love singing and writing songs and acting and writing in any form. I am currently living in D.C. for my last semester of college but will hopefully be in London this next semester if everything works out!
Describe yourself in 3 words?
I would say romantic, definitely. Disarming, in the way that I think I make people around me feel comfortable. And hard-working/ambitious, I’d say that’s the third word.
We’re sure you have been asked this million times but how did you get in the industry?
Well I always liked singing growing up. But besides three years of the viola in middle school and interspersed piano lessons growing up, I never really learned how to play an instrument and make songs from that. When quarantine started March of 2020, I decided to steal my sister’s guitar teacher and learn how to play chords and then wrote lyrics to go along with it. Since then, it’s been a constant stream of songwriting.
How has this changed your life?
Yeah, it’s been a massive change! I now have this whole new identity as a “musician” which is super strange. I always knew I had a penchant for the Performing Arts, like I always did theatre and acting and liked to creatively write, but I didn’t know my passion for singing would turn into anything. But it’s so natural. These songs I write and the way in which I record them is so much a culmination of all the things I love. I love to write lyrics. And then use my voice to sing. But sing in a very fun and performative way, very much so like an actor would in a musical theatre role. I love love love it all! So glad I am a musician. Also it’s been so cool because people listen to my words; it’s so strange to still wrap my head around. Like they are listening to me through their headphones! Cool!
Describe your sound in 3 words?
I would say ethereal, pop-punk, and quirky.
Who influenced you and why did you choose to make music?
I am really most influenced by things I study and geographical locations I find myself in. My debut EP “Foreigner” was really a story of my own personal autobiographical journey of being from LA and coming to study in DC for politics. This new EP is really inspired by my studies abroad, from London, England to Dublin, Ireland, and Florence, Italy. I just feel most alive when I’m traveling alone and finding myself out there with people I meet. The people I meet while on these trips are some of the most formative in my life and they always find their way into my songs. And then my studies of international history and politics inevitably shape my music and the stories I want to tell, the different kinds of texts and figures I am interacting with very naturally. I long to equate military strategy with the games we play in love, I want to equate someone I know with Machiavelli, I want to make fun of aspiring JFK-wannabes—all that stuff just comes naturally when I’m learning it in school.
Do you play any instrument?
Yes! I play the guitar and have been learning it since right when COVID quarantine started, so almost like three years now! I know like a few chords on the piano, but the guitar I really find to be the easiest to write a song with.
Do you ever get nervous?
Strangely, no. I think there was a point where I worried about my extreme vulnerability in my writings, but I got past that point and now it’s wide open for anyone to see. Anyone who wants to know me is able to, and I’m not frightened by that anymore. It’s cool.
Tell us about your new single “Could I Be Your Muse?”
Yes! I wrote “could i be your muse” when I was studying abroad with Georgetown at its villa in Florence, Italy. I visited the Uffizi Gallery and was dumbstruck by Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and knew immediately that I wanted to write a song about it.
What’s the story behind the song?
The song is really about my own identity as an artist and how, as a writer, I am often the spectator, the observer, the analyzer of the men I have loved, making muses out of all of them. But then never having the same done to me. It’s a deep look at this phenomenon and implores a nameless someone to finally take the burden of immortalizing me for once.
And about the success of your previous hit “Femme Fatale?”
I love love love “femme fatale.” That song really has meant a lot to me. It’s for anyone who is in this position where they find themselves to be very flirtatious and seeking out attention from people, but because they are not getting attention from the one person they really care about. It’s a song about the power of flirtation and sex appeal, but how, sometimes, the use of it symbolizes a deep pervasive sadness underneath, the feeling that this is done in a way of lashing out/getting back at someone who has hurt you. I draw on iconic femme fatale archetypes like Helen of Troy and Cleopatra and Satine from Moulin Rouge. The fact that it is like a sad 80s-ballad is so incredible to me. And the strings at the end just tie everything together so nicely. I think it’s my best song in terms of production, the story-telling, everything. I feel it deep in my soul.
What is the most rewarding part of your work?
I really love feedback I get from people, especially college students my age. It’s so nice when someone at Georgetown knows one of my songs when I’m at like a party or social gathering. Also if my younger sister Victoria likes my song; she’s the toughest critic, so her approval means so much aha!
What book should every entrepreneur read?
Oh I don’t know. I don’t know if I’d consider myself an “entrepreneur,” but the best book ever is “Dud Avocado” about this American expatriate whose emotional volatility very much so mimics my own.
What would you say are the greatest lessons you learned so far?
The greatest lesson I have learned is that you can make time for something/someone if you want to. And that goes both ways: someone/something can make time for you if they want to.
What advice would you give to your younger self and why?
My younger self growing up, especially from the age of like 13-18, had this endless plateau. I don’t really think I was living; it’s so weird. I just like did my schoolwork and worked really hard to get into college and didn’t really hate or enjoy anything that much; I never felt in extremes. I was just kind of existing physically in the space. I feel like when I turned 19 and I started learning the guitar and putting my thoughts out there, I finally felt truly alive. My life is so so so much better. I guess I would say then—don’t be afraid of critique, of being cringey. Do what you think is fun, what is right, and don’t take things so seriously. Don’t freak out if things go wrong and don’t be anxious over things you can’t control. I’ve gotten much better at those things now.
How would your best friend describe you?
I would say loyal. Very sentimental—in a way those two are really connected. I have a lot of emotional attachment to things and people and feel nostalgic for them and therefore want to stick around/stay with them. I am definitely an over-thinker and someone who has fervent opinions; I’m pretty outspoken about my beliefs but also am very permeable/open-minded to different perspectives. I think pretty dichotomous—I feel like I will go out to clubs or bars and be one of the craziest people out there and then come home and want to be alone as I write creatively or read a book.
If you are a book, what would be the title of the book and why?
The Hopeless Romantic. It’s actually the title of my book I am releasing with my publishing agency, and I am so so excited for it to be shown to the world!
What’s next for Sophia Marie in 2023?
Grad school decisions and more music! My next EP coming out next month! Traveling with my grandparents over the summer because I haven’t been able to travel with them since before COVID. Finishing up the last of my research projects and getting better at French. I also want to learn Russian really badly. I also really want to play live performances.
What is your favorite healthy food?
Avocado toast and açaí bowls (very LA!)
And your favorite cheat food?
Hello Panda cookies. Obsessed. They are my late-night study food for exams/essays.
How would you explain your fashion style?
Very spottable. Lots of pink. Lots of miniskirts and knee-high socks. I have recently gotten into the whole ballet-core aesthetic. But I’d say pastel academia, feminine ballet-core. It’s very strange—my fashion—but I think people like it! Honestly I think people think I have good style because I just wear crazy combinations sometimes and it seems ingenious.
What is your own definition of happiness?
Knowing that the person I love is my best friend. Stability. Feeling like your mind is being utilized to its fullest extent and that you have a good foundation of friends and family and intellectual and creative pursuits.
If you could meet someone living or dead, who would it be and why?
I have no idea; I wouldn’t even know where to start with that. I will say, I love going to like museums and paintings and falling in love with men in photographs/paintings. There’s something so otherworldly about them; they seem so foreign and untouchable. Lana Del Rey really gets me at my core, so I would like to meet her just to like thank her for being her and being so vulnerable with her music. The lyrics she sings—I understand them so well; she really speaks to me and I’d like to thank her for that outlet. I don’t ever want her to stop releasing music.
What would be the dream holiday, and who would you go with?
The love of my life—always. And definitely Eastern Europe. I have a fascination with Eastern/Central Europe and Russian studies within my International Security studies, so a place like Prague or Vienna or Budapest would be so remarkable.
Best advice ever given?
Ever given? What a question! I would say this quote/paraphrase from my mom: put out into the world what you want to receive. I think this is a really good motto and makes me act in ways that don’t contradict how I want others to perceive me/how I want to be treated. I think we can easily get pulled in to acting a certain way through trends or our own self-destructive tendencies sometimes, but if we want to be treated a certain way, we have to act like we do.
Do you support any charity?
Yeah! Save the Children and Medecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). As a Security Studies major, I am really interested in helping victims of war and refugees and providing necessary services to those living in worse conditions, and I think both these charities do a really great job. Medecins Sans Frontières does so much great work on helping to stop infections and diseases and providing health services in general, and I love how Save the Children allows you to track your impact on a child from around the world; it makes you feel like you are doing a difference.
Where do you see yourself and your career in 5 years from now?
I have no idea really! I want to go to graduate school for a year and then from that point will either pursue more security or diplomacy jobs or will be totally a creative junkie, playing and making songs for a living or being an actress. Maybe both. Maybe all three. I always feel like I won’t be able to ever “completely specialize.” Like these things and interests will always be a part of me.
What is your favorite song to belt out in the car/for karaoke?
Crush by Ethel Cain. It is my favorite song. Incredible explanation of the female gaze.
What do you think of Social Media?
It’s annoying and bad for wasting your time but also essential in this world for creatives to promote their music/their projects. So double-edged sword. I’m trying to do better staying off of it.
Where can we follow you?
Follow me on all streaming platforms: Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music. And my Instagram is la.sophiamarie!
