From Acting on TV to Opening Stadium Shows the Lesson Lennon Stella Takes Is to “Trust Yourself”
From her notable blonde waves to her chic style, Lennon Stella exudes the sort of effervescent cool that her name alone invokes. After proving herself as a double threat playing Maddie Conrad on the hit show Nashville, she took a genre-bending dive into the world of pop music, much to the surprise of her friends. Her critically acclaimed 2018 EP, titled Love, Me, was just the beginning: the starlet has opened for 5 Seconds of Summer and The Chainsmokers on their World War Joy Tour and released the single Kissing Other People, which has accumulated 20 million streams on Spotify and has been featured on some of the hottest playlists, with her debut album set to release in the not-so-distant future. Stella chats with us about the joys of the music industry, how she remains authentic in an ever-changing world, and how her songs bring her life.
Most children change their career choice as easily as they change clothes. For a young Stella, who grew up in a family of musicians, a career involving music was the favorite dress she never wanted to take off. She explains that music was where she “definitely wanted to land.” Stella took on the role of Maddie Jaymes on the hit series Nashville at 12, accompanied by her sister, Maisy Stella. The show focused on her character’s rising success in the world of country music, a genre which Stella holds close to her heart today. She says that she loves the simplicity of “good songs with good lyrics and good melodies,” and also admires “the harmonies and backgrounds” of country music. However, her eventual crossing from country to pop was “a pretty natural and smooth” one, though it shocked fans of Nashville that followed her career. “All around, it’s just been nice to have freedom and be able to create freely and make the music I love.”
Part of this artistic freedom comes from her confidence in herself. As a young woman in the music industry, Stella is aware of the male-dominated space that she is a part of but chooses to see the good that’s occurring at this time of incredible change in the industry. “I think it’s a cool time to be a female in the industry because it’s definitely being spoken about,” Stella says. “I’m seeing a change, and I think everybody else is, so it’s a cool time to be a part of it.” She also recognizes the standard put on her as both a woman and a public figure, but she chooses to remember who she is without these labels, keeping this motto “in the front of her brain” and stating that “this is ultimately the most important thing above all.”
This authenticity and confidence was ultimately what allowed her to shine while on the World War Joy Tour. She describes the 41-city experience (her favorite day was Halloween, when all the acts dressed up to go on stage) and the pressure one puts on themselves as a fledgling being pushed into the big leagues: “I think with opening there’s always that need to kind of prove yourself, just because you’re playing to a bunch of people that don’t know you or may not really care about you. It was a really cool learning experience, and I definitely didn’t feel pressure from the boys themselves or their team—I think it was just all put on by myself. Overall, it was just a very important learning process for me, and a really fun time.”
The standouts from the tour, besides her raspy vocals and powerful lyrics, were her outfits, which attracted the audience’s eyes to her and only her, showing that she was more than just an opening act. For Stella, clothes are a form of self-expression and another one of her creative outlets. “I enjoy [fashion], but I don’t take it too seriously,” Stella says. “I think it’s really fun, and I’ve always really enjoyed clothing and jewelry and everything that comes along with an outfit and styling it.”
This creative side of Stella was initially explored on her 2018 EP Love, Me, which received acclaim from both critics and fans alike. Her music is characteristically upbeat with a bittersweet undertone, showing a stark juxtaposition between the connotation and denotation of her lyrics, something she is extremely fond of. She loves writing songs that “have more of a heart or a sadness and melancholy feeling to them, and sonically and musically don’t necessarily have to feel that way.” Her songwriting process consists of beginning with an idea or feeling and then figuring out the melody, which is the exact opposite of many other artists’ processes; but it’s not surprising from someone who has seemingly perfected the art of extracting emotions and perfectly entwining them with a melody. She cites Beach House, Andy Shauf, and Tame Impala as her musical influences, with songs that tend to be more “psychedelic-y.”
Her recent single Kissing Other People describes the ending of the process of getting over an ex: finally moving on and kissing someone else. She describes the cathartic writing process as pure fun and especially loves performing it because “it feels a bit like you’re at the top of the mountain and you made it.”
Stella maintains her authenticity through social media, specifically Instagram, where she wants to “be transparent and honest and close with everybody” (though she does admit to doing a little more scrolling than posting). By presenting herself as an open and honest individual, she hopes that her fans feel especially connected to her and her music.
The subject of her debut album seems to be shrouded in secrecy, with her fans eagerly jumping at any news that may so much as to hint at a tracklist or a release date. However, though it’s been a lengthy process, Stella feels as if she has truly found herself in the making of the album. She says, “I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself as a person and as an artist in creating the album and just figuring out what I want to say and how I want to say it. There are a million different ways to present something and feel something, and I think it’s just been kind of figuring out what’s true to me and how I want to present that. So yeah, it’s definitely been a long process, but it’s been extremely rewarding, and I just cannot wait for it to be out in the world and for everyone to hear it.”
One of the most difficult things for Stella was choosing which songs belonged on her debut album. As a writer, she felt attached to each stroke of her pen, but ultimately decided on songs that she says “resonated the most and felt the best.” Her favorite part of a new body of work is getting to see the audience’s reaction, especially as she embarks on a new tour. She continues, “Right now I’m most excited to play these new songs that I haven’t gotten to play outside of the people that I know. The world hasn’t heard them, and this is a cool way to introduce them, playing them live and just kind of getting an immediate reaction and seeing how people vibe with them. It is rewarding.”
As she makes her debut, Lennon Stella has found it imperative to go through a sort of metamorphosis in order to emerge as a victorious, more authentic version of herself in the newly minted decade. She reflects on 2019 as one of the most monumental years for her, saying that “I feel like this past year has been... I’ve noticed the most growth in myself more than any year, ever. I think that I’ve been just kind of put into situations where I’ve been forced to grow and look at discomfort in certain ways—mostly as a good thing—and just really grow from it. This has been the most growth, and hopefully I just can continue on that path of discovering and growing, and just continue always getting better.”
Yet, however many changes she may go through, Lennon Stella always remembers the little girl that she once was who had a song in her heart. If she had the chance to talk to that little girl, to write her a letter, she’d tell her one simple thing: trust yourself. “I think trusting yourself is really the biggest thing because once you learn to do that—to truly trust yourself—then there’s really no right or wrong after that. I think that that’s the biggest thing that I’ve learned: to just, like, really, really, truly trust myself, and just own whatever it is that I feel or am thinking, and just really feel confident in whatever that is.”
STORY ISABELLA VEGA
PHOTOS ASHLEY KIM