Striking a Chord: Sara Kays on Her Creative Process and the Stories That Resonate
Sara Kays before opening for Dean Lewis at The Fillmore in San Francisco on October 21, 2023
Can you share with us your musical journey and how you first discovered your passion for singing and songwriting? How did you find your musical style and voice?
I realized I liked to sing at a pretty young age, and from there I learned guitar and started covering my favorite songs. At a certain point, I got bored of covers and started trying to replicate how my favorite artists were writing songs and realized how much I loved writing in the process. I didn’t do a lot of thinking about what my musical style and voice would be at the time; I think that just became what it was meant to be from the start!
What does your songwriting process look like? Do you start with lyrics, melody, or a specific emotion?
I almost always start with lyrics, or at least a concept/title. It’s a lot easier for me to write melodies when I know what I’m talking about in the song.
Are there any specific themes or messages you often find yourself returning to in your songs?
I do tend to return to the same themes in my songs because there are just certain things in my life that I’m consistently dealing with. I’m also constantly finding new things to write about as I experience more life though.
Your songs often have deeply personal and emotional lyrics, touching on body image, loneliness, and mental health struggles. How do you balance exploring these personal experiences with creating music that resonates with a broader audience? Is there anything that surprises you about either the specificity or universality of your experiences?
I was worried when I first started releasing music about the specificity of my songs, but I started realizing that even if a topic doesn’t reach a broad audience, it can still reach the people who need to hear it, which almost feels more important to me sometimes than reaching the most people possible. I’ve also realized that a lot of my experiences are broader and more relatable than I think, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by that.
Your song “Bored” (2023) draws from the feeling of not being interesting enough for the other person in a relationship, resulting in centering so much of the focus on the other person and closing off yourself. Has writing this song led to any realizations for you on how you approach relationships? Have how you approached these relationships changed?
Well, I wrote this song after being in a relationship where I realized I was doing that, which became a huge roadblock in that relationship. It got to a point where he was wanting me to talk more about myself, and I had to think a lot about my past and why I was doing that, which is what birthed this song. I’ve been working on being more open with people, which is not the easiest thing, but it has made relationships better!
In what ways was the process of creating Struck By Lightning different and similar to creating Camera Shy? How does your current approach to creating new music follow or deviate from how you created these two previous EPs?
The process of creating both of these EPs was pretty similar. Camera Shy was a little bit more DIY, because I was still an independent artist, and I was designing most of my own artwork, making my own lyric videos, and just promoting by posting on TikTok, etc. I had more of a vision with Struck by Lightning, but the way I wrote most of the songs was similar to Camera Shy. I was able to shoot a couple of music videos with Struck by Lightning, which was new and very cool for me, and I also got to feature one of my favorite artists on one of the songs! Both of those projects are very meaningful to me :’)
What's your favorite part of the creative process? Do you have habits, places, or things that help you get into the creative zone?
I think my favorite part of the creative process is writing the song! I don’t have much that gets me into the creative zone unless I’m feeling emotional about something. Also, unfortunately, sometimes the thing that gets me feeling super creative is taking a little time off of writing and just experiencing some life.
Is there a part of the creative process that you struggle with the most?
I think I struggle with the visual side of the creative process the most. Sometimes it’s hard to see in my brain what the song feels like visually, and it can also be difficult to articulate when I do feel like I have an idea.
You gained significant recognition through platforms like TikTok. How has social media impacted your music career, and what advice do you have for aspiring artists trying to gain visibility online?
Social media has been a big part of my career for a long time. I remember trying to utilize social media for my career all the way back to when I was in middle school. I was posting covers on YouTube, and live broadcasting on an app called YouNow, and then starting using Instagram. TikTok was the first platform I found where I managed to reach an audience outside of the people who already followed me. I was stoked to find a platform like that because I had been feeling a little bit hopeless at that point. I would just encourage any artist to keep searching for new ways to post and to stay real to yourself with your content–something will work eventually.
You’ve mentioned in the past how sometimes you use TikTok as a testbed of sorts, where you share pieces of unreleased music to see how it resonates with the audience, and if lots of people are drawn to it you’ll work on it further. Has there ever been a case when you haven’t gotten the feedback you wanted but deep down you knew you had to continue working on the song and release it? Or the other way around, where you were surprised that so many people resonated with it?
I’ve had both happen. As much as I think I know my audience, I can never actually know what is going to resonate with people the most.
As a young artist, how do you balance the demands of your career with personal growth and maintaining a sense of authenticity in your music?
This has actually been a struggle for me in the past couple of years. When I wrote the songs on Camera Shy and even Struck By Lightning, I was in a less self-aware space where I was just feeling things and spitting them out, but as I’ve grown personally and have been able to look inward more, writing songs has felt a little bit less effortless. I end up thinking more about if what I’m saying is valid or about why I’m feeling a certain way, and then at that point the initial emotion starts to fade and the songwriting spark dies. On the other hand, though, looking inward has also given me more to write about and has made my writing feel more mature in some ways. I think the music doesn’t feel more or less authentic to me either way because, at the end of it, I’m just writing what I’m feeling no matter how self-aware I am.
Is there a particular song that was particularly meaningful or healing for you to write, and what made it so special?
A lot of my songs have been healing to write. I think looking back, “Smaller Than This” and “Remember That Night?” were both very healing to write. Both of those songs came out of very emotional moments, where the song felt like it just flowed out of me.
We’re catching you as part of your show with Dean Lewis! You’ve been performing live for years now, from busking in high school. What do you enjoy most about performing live? Is there a particular performance that stands out in your memory?
I enjoy the cute moments with fans where I see them singing back to me and we smile real big at each other. It’s also a lot of fun when I feel like the show is muscle memory so I’m less in my head about stuff, and I can just start having fun during the in-between moments.
How do you prepare for live shows?
I usually do a short warmup before going on stage. Otherwise, I just try to get excited and bounce around to shake off the nerves
Is there a song that you look most forward to performing on this tour?
I’m excited to perform “Show Me Off” on this tour just because it’s my newest song, and I’ve never performed it live before. I’m excited to see the growth of the live version of the song throughout tour.
As we wrap up, how do you see your music evolving in the future, and are there any upcoming projects or new directions you're excited to explore?
I’m exploring some new topics in my new music, and I feel like my writing has grown/matured since my last project, so I’m excited to share it with everyone!
What's one message you'd like to convey to your fans who have been with you on this journey?
I love you so much & thank you for being the reason I can do this <3
PHOTOS ANNA ZHANG