In this conversation, I chat with Rhiannon Paige, a UK country music artist. We discuss her journey into country music, the impact of the internet on the music business, her song writing process, and her future goals and aspirations. Rhiannon also shares her admiration for artists like Pink and Casey Musgraves, her favourite songs to perform, and the best advice she has received. The conversation concludes with Rhiannon expressing her gratitude to her fans for their continued support.
Takeaways
Country music is often misunderstood, but it offers relatable lyrics and powerful storytelling. The internet has had a significant impact on the music business, making it both easier and harder for artists to make a name for themselves. Songwriting is a personal and unique process, with inspiration coming from various sources such as poems and quotes. Never give up on your dreams and be willing to stand up for yourself in the entertainment industry. Live performances and the support of fans are crucial for artists to succeed.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
01:18 Discovering Country Music
03:09 Differentiating Country Music
04:37 Influences and Inspiration
06:27 Songwriting Process
08:17 Future Goals and Aspirations
09:41 Admired Artists and Dream Collaborations
13:26 Useless Talents and Troublemaking
16:08 Impact of the Internet on the Music Business
18:14 Favorite Songs to Perform
23:04 Best Advice Received
29:20 Upcoming Shows and Gratitude to Fans
Transcript:
Chris (00:01.535)
Everyone, so yeah, I am here with Rhiannon Paige, a UK country music artist. So hey Rhiannon, thanks for joining me.
rhiannon paige (00:07.63)
Thank you very much for having me. Pleasure to be here. Ha ha ha!
Chris (00:10.027)
I know you’re welcome. I’ve been watching, I say, I think, following you on TikTok. I saw a TikTok video and it was just like, the voice just blew me away. So I was like, oh, I’ve got to follow her.
rhiannon paige (00:20.802)
Oh, it’s so mad who you meet on TikTok. Like I’ve met so many people through TikTok and like luck, like, but not luckily, but like they’ve all been from the UK. So it’s all been like possible to like meet people and do stuff like that, which is really cool. So.
Chris (00:32.215)
Yeah.
Chris (00:35.979)
That’s fantastic. And I saw, I’ve seen a few of the tracks going on there and I’ve also, I went onto Spotify to start listening to it. I was, I was literally, I love country music. Um, much to my family’s hatred because they don’t like it, but I do. I think it’s great. It’s to me, country music has got the, um, I don’t know, it’s just a, it’s one, I can actually understand the lyrics and the lyrics are meaningful. Whereas, you know, I’m, I’m what 40, I am old. I mean, I’ve had to go, the glasses came last year, about three, couple of months ago, I was like, fine.
rhiannon paige (00:40.438)
Mm.
rhiannon paige (00:44.148)
Yep.
rhiannon paige (00:47.499)
Ha ha ha!
rhiannon paige (00:58.612)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (01:04.162)
Thank you.
Chris (01:05.815)
Then one day it was like, Oh, I can’t read my phone. I can, you know, you get to that age, but yeah, I actually love it. I think the lyrics are really meaningful. They’re powerful. And some of the artists out there like yourself, you’re such powerful voices. And the messages that you, you know, you can portray with the songs are brilliant compared to, I’m not going to go into the lyrics of some, some of them, which I’ve heard recently, but you know, it’s just really great. And so it’s a, it was especially, it’s a joy to find all the UK ones as well, like yourself.
rhiannon paige (01:09.53)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (01:19.534)
Uh…
rhiannon paige (01:27.914)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (01:34.628)
Mm.
Chris (01:35.779)
trying to break into that sort of area.
rhiannon paige (01:38.286)
Yeah well it’s nice to like have people that enjoy country music because like I say it’s kind of one of these very things but like I feel like a lot of people don’t realise when they’re listening to music that it’s actually quite like country inspired and then like see like my partner for one when um we first started going out and stuff um would listen to music and I was like you do realise like this is actually country and just like oblivious to it and so like it’s just so
Chris (01:51.121)
Mmm.
rhiannon paige (02:06.738)
interesting to see like the different areas of country music as well.
Chris (02:11.751)
Oh yeah, definitely. I think to be fair, I never used to like it. My dad always hated it. My late father. And it was about, there’s what was it? I can’t even Kenny Rogers. And I’m not going to repeat what he used to say about Kenny Rogers. But yeah, that’s very old. That’s not, you know, that, but again, it’s like you just said, there’s so many differentiated different versions of it because that’s what I think a lot of people associate with country still. It’s the old from the sixties, seventies, Kenny Rogers style, you know, and
rhiannon paige (02:21.87)
Mm-hmm.
rhiannon paige (02:26.888)
It’s.
rhiannon paige (02:34.585)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (02:38.242)
Yeah.
Chris (02:41.767)
And good old Dolly Parton bless her soul. She’s still going strong. But I think I was about 15 years ago. It was up. I think it was Florida. Excuse me. I can’t speak Florida, Georgia line. They’re the ones who got me back into it with Cruz, which is one of my old time, you know, and I started listening to obviously more of us thinking that’s when I started thinking, actually, this is starting to get, you know, this is pretty decent.
rhiannon paige (02:44.035)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (02:55.095)
Mm.
rhiannon paige (02:58.519)
Oh, nice, yeah.
rhiannon paige (03:06.883)
Yeah.
Chris (03:08.731)
And then you’ve got like the Taylor Swift who people wouldn’t understand. It wouldn’t don’t realize is a country, you know, she’s also a country star too.
rhiannon paige (03:13.97)
Yeah, yeah, she’s one of the biggest artists in the world now. And she’s going back more country, she left it a little bit and now she’s edging towards it again.
Chris (03:18.751)
I know, yeah. It’s crazy, isn’t it?
Chris (03:27.142)
Yeah, definitely. So what kind of got you into music in the first place and what inspired you to make this music?
rhiannon paige (03:34.103)
So, well, I was born with like 70% loss of hearing in both my ears. So for like eight years, eight or nine years, I couldn’t really hear all that well. And when I regained my hearing, like my dad is very much into music, like so heavily into music and it kind of started off with like rock music. And he still massively listens to like rock music and stuff. But…
Chris (03:38.719)
Okay.
rhiannon paige (04:00.862)
I kind of like swayed into like Southern rock, which kind of like opened up my ears to like country music. And I found different artists, like First Aid Kit. I think they were the one, like the first kind of country-esque people that I came across. And I just like fell in love with it. And like you say, like it’s so relatable. Like it is like three chords in the truth. And you can just put your own like spin on it. And there’s kind of no, what’s the word?
like rules with it you can kind of go where you want with it.
Chris (04:35.943)
Yeah. Okay. So yeah, I mean, that’s, that’s one of the standing jokes, isn’t it? Cause it’s always a true story. It’s like, yeah, cause the country songs always, yeah. My wife ran off with the dog, the cat. Um, I think with IAI now as well, you can tell me I say your car’s going to run off with you as well. But yeah, but it’s, that’s the essence of it. And that’s, I think that’s what draws me to it. Cause I love stories. I love storytelling and country tells stories through song.
rhiannon paige (04:43.741)
Hmm.
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (04:52.247)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (05:00.75)
Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Chris (05:04.095)
Um, you know, and it’s, it’s just so powerful. And when you get certain artists, when those stories then continue through the songs that they, you know, the various songs that they do sing and one after the other, you know, and it’s just, it’s just really great to see it. Um, so what’s your creative process like when you’re obviously, there’s a question of describe the music you create, but we’ve kind of talked about that for 10 minutes. So what was your creative process like when you’re, when you’re writing songs?
rhiannon paige (05:14.462)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (05:26.011)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
rhiannon paige (05:30.998)
So to be fair, I actually think that songwriting, it’s not something that comes super easy. I know that some people will write a song every single day and I’m super jealous of those people that can do that. I’m definitely not one of those people. And it kind of comes to me when the time’s right and I’ve had to learn to do that. And very much, especially when I was living at home with my parents, they were very much like, you need to go write a song. And I’m like, but it just doesn’t, I need the time to come to me. But when I’ve got it,
Chris (05:43.043)
Hehehe
rhiannon paige (06:00.582)
like it tends to be like people say oh they write the chords before they write the lyrics, they write the lyrics before they write the chords. Mine is very much like it happens at the same time like if I’ve got a line I kind of need to find those chords in order to understand where I’m going with the song sort of thing. And yeah like also I I’m not so much now but I used to very much read a lot of like poems or
Chris (06:10.019)
Mm-hmm.
Chris (06:17.228)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (06:28.246)
like quotes, quotes was definitely my thing, which I like reading, get like inspiration from quotes and stuff. Especially like when I was like sad, I would always go to like quotes and stuff, as I’m sure like a lot of people do, but then that kind of like inspired me then sort of thing. But yeah.
Chris (06:30.051)
Mm-hmm. All right.
Chris (06:45.999)
right fantastic it’s so you play the guitar as well don’t you yeah so you actually you’re not just the singer the song you sing the song this is what a word that is a song it’s the singer so i was gonna say songstress then obviously you write your own music as well as the songs themselves which is so that’s you know that’s really great talent and i guess it must be hard i mean i used to play the trumpet but i can’t compose anything and i write poetry as well but i can’t compose any music to it which would be fun maybe one day
rhiannon paige (06:50.152)
Yep.
rhiannon paige (06:56.298)
Okay.
rhiannon paige (06:59.758)
sing a song. Yeah.
rhiannon paige (07:10.927)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (07:16.886)
Yeah.
Chris (07:17.007)
So, so that’s really cool. So with, obviously, you know, you’re coming out, you’re starting out in the UK here. Where would you like to see yourself go from, from where you are? Cause obviously you tour in the UK at the moment and you’ve toured it. You know, you do tours and stuff in the UK. Where would you like to go? Nashville, most likely, I guess.
rhiannon paige (07:34.806)
So yeah, I mean, I’m going to say the obvious, like Nashville. I just think as soon as you can get music like over to America, it really like expand yourself. So, yeah, that would definitely be the one. But to be fair, I mean, in regards like touring, like I’ve done. I play lots of different places. I’ve done a lot of like different festivals and stuff. But to be fair, like touring wise, I would actually like to put on my own tour. Like I’ve joined someone else’s tour and stuff.
Chris (07:42.369)
Mm-hmm.
rhiannon paige (08:02.862)
But my goal definitely for the next couple of years is to book my own tour, take my band with me and sell out different places and stuff. But it’s tough having the confidence to be like, okay, right, I’m just gonna do a tour because it could completely flop or it might not. But you just gotta take it as it.
Chris (08:27.951)
Cool. That sounds great. Yeah. I mean, you know, I say it’s one of those cause I’m sure you will go far. I think I put that on my intro before you heard it was a, you know, listening to your voice and stuff. I mean, I put you up there with the power in your voice, the lights of Carrie Underwood and people like that. Cause you know, that’s the, it just sends shivers down it, especially when you hit those really powerful notes, which you know, it’s just like, Whoa, it just really did. It took me back. I was like, wow, that’s cracking. So I’m sure you’re really going to go far.
rhiannon paige (08:41.775)
Oh, yeah.
rhiannon paige (08:49.271)
Hahaha.
rhiannon paige (08:55.291)
Thank you.
Chris (08:55.607)
You know, when you, you will get, get over to the States and stuff, but it’s you’re like, it’s a long, it’s a hard slog, isn’t it? To, like you say, to get into those places.
rhiannon paige (09:01.298)
Yeah. You’ve just got to catch your lucky break. Sometimes it is, I gig full time for a living so I do cover gigs and pushing my original self alongside it but I think sometimes if you aren’t, there’s a lot of people that won’t do cover gigs and stuff but I always think the people that I’ve met along the way, you wouldn’t even believe it and stuff so I just think if I can be at the right place at the right time and that could be doing.
Chris (09:10.997)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (09:30.262)
like a cover gig that could work in my favour. So, yeah.
Chris (09:35.455)
Oh yeah, for sure. And speaking of that with those and speaking of the artists and stuff, who would you love to open a show for? I mean, you’ve done joint gigs, you’ve done your own gigs and stuff. And obviously, you know, you like to say you tour doing covers and stuff, but who would you love to open a show for? And eventually they can open yours.
rhiannon paige (09:40.43)
Mm.
rhiannon paige (09:46.562)
Hmm. So actually, it’s like she’s not like on the likes of like Taylor Swift, like massive, but she’s like getting super big and she’s far bigger than I am. But I would love to open for a lady called Elles Bailey. I don’t know if you know who she is. She’s from Bristol
Chris (09:59.948)
Mm.
Chris (10:09.583)
I know the name, I can’t remember what song she’s done, but I’ve heard the name, yeah.
rhiannon paige (10:13.338)
Yeah, and she’s still amazing. She came into my college years ago now and she watched me perform. And back then, she was kind of just working her way up and she’s gotten so much further with it. And yeah, I just think to be able to support someone that’s like from a similar sort of background and stuff, similar career, I just think it’d be super cool. Obviously, I’d love to support the likes of Casey Miles Graves or like
Chris (10:32.895)
Mm-hmm.
Chris (10:40.21)
Oh yeah.
rhiannon paige (10:42.518)
UK artists like Elles Bailey’s definitely up there for sure.
Chris (10:47.595)
Alright, fantastic. Oh, you mentioned Casey Musgraves one of my favorites. She’s stunning as well. But her lyrics, her lyrics are hilarious. You know, she’s just, just so brilliant. Um, I’ve got to say, sorry, I’m deviating again, but Luke is Luke Bryan, isn’t it? I think it’s Luke Bryan. Oh God, no, it’s not. It’s not the one I’m thinking of. I’ve completely blanked on his name.
rhiannon paige (10:50.742)
Yeah, yep.
rhiannon paige (10:58.242)
So, thanks.
rhiannon paige (11:07.062)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (11:11.888)
that they did a duet together.
Chris (11:15.167)
Yeah, it’s not him I’m thinking of though. Oh, nevermind. I’ll come back to me. It’s the one who sang the beer will never break your heart. That’s not Luke Bryan. It’s Luke Coombs Yeah, I’m sorry. He’s one of my favorites. I can’t remember his name. Oh, yeah. Yeah. They’re all
rhiannon paige (11:16.77)
and
rhiannon paige (11:20.896)
Luke.
rhiannon paige (11:27.486)
Yeah. And there it is.
rhiannon paige (11:35.065)
They’ve all got the same names though, it’s like Luke, got Morgan, Morgan Wade, Morgan Wallen, it’s just like, so funny.
Chris (11:45.143)
Yeah, thanks for backing me up on that one. It can get confusing.
rhiannon paige (11:49.138)
Yeah, yeah. I’m terrible with names. Like people say to me, like, oh, do you know such and such, Mike? If you show me a song or a picture, then probably, yeah, but if you’re going off names, then I’m hopeless.
Chris (11:58.679)
Hehehehe
Oh, God. Yeah. No, Luke Coombs did one about his dad. And he’s like, when he’s late, I can’t remember, you know, it goes, I’m not going to sing it because I can’t. I can’t. I’ll sing it in my car, but there’s no chance. It’s what talk about his dad leaving and stuff. And obviously it turns the table. Micah, I lost my dad. And even it’s like 15 years ago, so it’s so raw. It’s like, wow. Like it’s about that story telling them. It hits everybody’s nerves. It’s brilliant. It’s a complete opposite is what kind of what’s the most useless talent you’ve got?
rhiannon paige (12:14.237)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (12:18.859)
Mm.
Yeah.
Chris (12:32.196)
Hehehe
Chris (12:35.623)
If you have one at all.
rhiannon paige (12:40.966)
I’m sure I have so many but I can’t think.
Chris (12:43.47)
Hahaha
rhiannon paige (12:49.65)
I feel like I have to think about it and come back to you on that one. I feel like I did have one and I can’t remember what I thought of. I definitely got many useless silence though for sure.
Chris (12:52.78)
Yeah, no, that’s fine.
Chris (13:02.187)
Alright, what’s the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
rhiannon paige (13:05.346)
So, I don’t know if it’s the most, I don’t know if it’s the most trouble, but it’s a time that I remember, so we’re gonna go with it anyway. But when I was younger, I used to have a play kitchen, like a fake thing. And when I was younger, I used to hate roast dinners, right? Like they were something I hated. Like I love them now, but I just hated them. And I remember we got a conservatory on our family home.
Chris (13:07.031)
That you can actually put out there for people to hear.
Chris (13:20.032)
Alright, okay.
Chris (13:25.432)
Mm-hmm.
Chris (13:29.175)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (13:34.37)
and I took my dinner out there. I was like, am I going to take my dinner out there? And so I was eating it out there but I hated it so much that I put it in one of the pots or like the fake pots and then hid it in there and pretended like I’d eaten it all. And my parents didn’t believe that I’d actually eaten this roast dinner and they soon found it and they just went mental. They were just like, what are you doing? You’re wasting food.
like all the different stuff but yeah it wasn’t the finest moment but it’s the one that sticks with me. I’ve definitely probably been in far more trouble than that.
Chris (14:05.362)
Oh gosh.
Chris (14:11.587)
Hehehehe
Chris (14:16.515)
Oh, that’s fair enough. I’ve never ever not liked roast dinners for some reason.
rhiannon paige (14:21.034)
Really. Save me things that I used to hate, Spag Bowl. I love it now. Hate cauliflower. I like cauliflower now. Ha ha ha.
Chris (14:25.379)
Yeah.
Chris (14:29.079)
I was like that with pizza. I didn’t eat pizza until I was about 14, 15. I couldn’t, I just could distort if it just made me feel sick. And then I just couldn’t get enough of it, which is why I’ve had to go on a diet.
rhiannon paige (14:32.708)
I really…
rhiannon paige (14:36.608)
Really?
rhiannon paige (14:43.278)
Mine’s mushrooms, I still just can’t. I hate it. No matter how much I try them, that’s it. No thanks. I just can’t.
Chris (14:45.783)
Ooh, I can’t stand him.
Chris (14:52.671)
That they’re just tasteless and they’re rubbery. It’s just, no, yeah. No, it’s just absolutely disgusting. With going to us back to the music side of things again, which is why we’re here. What kind of the internet itself is obviously very powerful. Like I say, like we started off, I found you on TikTok, which obviously ended the new app, so how do you feel that’s impacted the music business?
rhiannon paige (14:55.203)
Both.
rhiannon paige (15:16.97)
So I think like, it’s so much harder nowadays to make anything of yourself. I think that like things like TikTok, like, I mean, I’ve had so many battles with it, like.
I’m on it and then I give up because I’m just like this is going nowhere. I’m going past, I’m not going past like the 300 views or whatever. But the sad reality is like actually a lot of people can make it from social media. So you kind of just have to bite the bullet and just keep going with it. But I think it’s impacted the industry massively. Like I think like even things like you don’t tend to get people going out scouting for people. It’s all I’ve found online now. So actually.
Chris (15:56.865)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (15:57.91)
that thing of being seen gigging and stuff doesn’t always happen. I’m sure it does happen but definitely nowhere near as much as it used to. It’s just all so online-led. Which I don’t think shows a true person fully. I think like even myself or anyone I watch I think people are better live than they are like through the screen. But yeah, sad reality is.
Chris (16:07.685)
Mm.
Chris (16:20.844)
Yeah, oh yeah, definitely.
Chris (16:28.079)
Excuse me. Sorry. Yeah. I mean, there’s nothing like live music and you know, it’s a shame. I think that’s a whole society in general. It just seems to have changed a lot. That probably COVID hasn’t helped, has it? You know, it’s changed a lot of things, but I, you know, I would recommend anyone to just go out and see live music. And I’d say I think it’s just the ease of access for the Internet. Like I said, agents are scouting and stuff. They don’t have to travel. They can just, you know, just pick someone’s name online.
rhiannon paige (16:35.406)
Mm.
Chris (16:54.223)
it doesn’t give the right atmosphere. It’s not the same. You can watch a concert online, which is great, but it just, yeah, there’s no feeling than actually being in that crowd and feeling the atmosphere, feeling the buzz from the artist on stage and then buzzing back off the crowd. And, you know, I used to do acting in the theater and it was, it was the feedback you get really makes you think, oh, this is great. And carry on and on. It’s fantastic. Excuse me again. Sorry. I’ve got to cough up and edit that bit out.
rhiannon paige (17:00.589)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (17:05.504)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (17:09.651)
Yeah, yeah.
rhiannon paige (17:16.289)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (17:23.39)
Hahaha.
Chris (17:24.343)
So I’ve got a glass of water, it’s all right. So we’ve touched on it a little bit. So what other kind of musicians do you admire? We’ve obviously got from the UK or from the US side of things.
rhiannon paige (17:34.55)
Yeah, so completely different side of things, but I really like this spot. Like Pink really inspires me. I’ve seen a live like I just think she’s amazing. I think she’s great. Like I say, Casey Miles Musgraves So Morgan Wade is another one I think is amazing. I love Chris Stapleton I remember
“Cold” and I was like who is this person? And then obviously everyone fell in love with Tennessee Whiskey” and stuff and that’s an amazing song but I just think so many other songs deserve more recognition than they get I think. Yeah, so good.
Chris (18:05.196)
Yeah.
Chris (18:14.747)
Mm.
Chris (18:19.075)
He’s got a fantastic voice.
Chris (18:23.787)
Alright, cool. Fantastic. Thank you. Um, just have a look here now. See where we should go. Cause what’s your favorite song to perform? Cause obviously you do, you do covers as well as your own songs as well. So which is your favorite to do?
rhiannon paige (18:31.863)
Hmm.
rhiannon paige (18:35.682)
Ooh, big question. I do love Belting Out a Bit of Shallow from A Star is Born. I do love that song. It makes everyone like stopping their tracks because they’re like, is she gonna make it, is she not? Like, out there big bit. I also love, like I love Four Non Blondes, What’s Up. That just never gets old with me. I love singing it. I love proper like screaming it out, getting the grittiness out.
Chris (18:46.915)
Hehehehe
Chris (18:54.627)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (19:06.778)
Casey must go to follow your arrow is I don’t always yeah I don’t always play it because it depends on the crowd but even if you don’t know the song they always tend to like enjoy it because it is I just don’t know how you can’t enjoy it so um yeah and then also like holding out the hero the one that I’m releasing at the end of this month um it’s a bummer
Chris (19:09.545)
I love that song.
Chris (19:13.865)
Yeah.
Chris (19:21.548)
It’s so light and fluffy that song.
Chris (19:30.063)
Fantastic.
that’s a great plug because we’ve actually got it here we can actually listen to a little bit of it so hopefully see if this works so we’ll uh everyone is watching and listening now this is obviously Rhiannon and Paige’s new cover which is coming out coming out at the end of the month which is holding out for a hero play some of it for you it’s fantastic track really is
rhiannon paige (19:36.098)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (19:49.492)
Yeah.
Thank you.
Chris (19:58.755)
Just take a minute for it to load up.
rhiannon paige (20:00.526)
So good.
Chris (20:42.955)
I’ll pause it there. That’s holding out of your hero and I’m going to remove this bit, but that sounds perfect when it’s played back. I did say that’s what I was thinking. When I heard that I was like, yeah, but yeah, on the recording back, it’ll be fine. Don’t worry. So that was a few, obviously a little bit of the holding out for hero, which is a fantastic, fantastic cover of Bonnie Tyler.
rhiannon paige (20:52.566)
Thanks for listening.
rhiannon paige (21:00.842)
Mm.
rhiannon paige (21:07.43)
Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Let me preview.
Chris (21:09.211)
And again, it’s the music with the sound coming out. So I’ve listened to the whole track, obviously, and everyone can get that at the end of the month. I’m not going to, I’m not going to, they can have a sneak preview on this, but it’s, and that was done by popular demand, wasn’t it? Cause I believe you actually put a bit of that up and the comment, the feedback you had was just astounding. I saw I was watching and everyone wanting to say, please, please release it.
rhiannon paige (21:22.518)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
rhiannon paige (21:29.042)
yeah I like it, uploaded it, did really well on TikTok well I know some of you have had like millions of views but like to me it’s everywhere and I put it on YouTube as well and like didn’t even put that I put it on YouTube and 50,000 people there enough found it so yeah so I better get recording a whole version I never thought I’d release a cover but there you go
Chris (21:47.204)
Wow.
Chris (21:50.947)
Fantastic, fantastic.
Chris (21:57.523)
Yeah. 50,000. Oh, that’s I’m envious. It’s, you know, it’s a, that’s, that’s absolutely fantastic. And I mean, but they get, it’s the voice, I think, because people obviously it comes up in the algorithms and then all you’ve got to do, you’ve just got to listen to the first few seconds as you’re scrolling, like, and you’re just like, Whoa, hang on a minute, that’s something different now, you know, and you get the hook drawn right in it. It’s, it’s really, really good. So it’s the, um, what’s the best advice you’ve been given?
rhiannon paige (22:01.203)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (22:10.102)
Mm-hmm.
rhiannon paige (22:17.782)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (22:28.001)
in regards to like my own stuff
Chris (22:30.443)
Yeah, yeah, well, yeah, it’s your own stuff. How to progress, what have you know?
rhiannon paige (22:36.542)
I mean in regards to like my own music journey rather than so I’ve been given like two bits of advice I’ll say I’ll say both of them. So in regards to when I’m gigging full time and stuff I always remember when I was in Brighton I used to play a place called Morning Malones and the lady that put on all the music she watched me and she said like oh you’re like really great.
but I wouldn’t put you on like a Friday and Saturday, they did live music every day of the week, just because like in East Bay, banger after banger, like super upbeat and you know, getting the crowds going. And at the time, I don’t even really just love uni. And I think most people do this start out and they have kind of like the slower songs and stuff. And even though like it hurt, it like knocks up inside of me to go like, oh my God, like I need to do this.
Chris (23:05.593)
Mm-hmm.
Chris (23:13.76)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (23:28.726)
And I think if you hadn’t have said that, I wouldn’t have got all of this material now, which allows me to go and do kind of whatever gig I want because I have that variation of downbeat, like more chilled and like super party-like. So that was definitely like a massive bit of advice, like from terms of my working career. But in terms of like my own stuff, I think just like people saying like never give up and it is true, like there’s so many times.
Chris (23:29.027)
Yeah.
Chris (23:36.514)
Mm-hmm.
Chris (23:56.802)
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (23:57.322)
I at least have it like once a month where I get really down and think, oh I can’t do this, like it’s so demoralising. But the thing is you just can’t ever give up. I was watching a video today actually of a country artist in America and he won the award and he was just saying like he’s 39 and like it’s just proof that you can make it at like kind of any age and it is just the fact of don’t ever give up.
Chris (23:59.465)
Mm-hmm.
rhiannon paige (24:25.51)
and as much as you want to put yourself down, like you need to suppress those feelings and just keep going with it because if you have that mentality, like you are gonna make something, even if it’s not like massive, you’re still gonna make it. And like even now, like I’m doing music full time. So to me, like part of me has made it sort of, do you know what I mean? So, hmm.
Chris (24:46.655)
Yeah. Doing what you love, aren’t you? That’s fantastic. That’s a really, really excellent piece of advice. It really is. And I know the feeling well from doing what I do. And again, this bit is not going in the show because I’ve been doing this for eight years. And I know that at the same time, I don’t want to give up because it’s so difficult to get people to come on and chat to me. It’s like I’m 48 now and I’m seeing all these kids who are like the 20s and I’m saying, kids, look at me. I’m not that old. I feel like I’m 21. But you see everyone coming up.
rhiannon paige (24:57.134)
Mm. Yeah.
rhiannon paige (25:07.094)
Mm-hmm.
Chris (25:16.287)
And people I’ve interviewed before as well, then they really enjoy being on the show, like actors and stuff. And they’ve come on the show and they’re like, Chris, you’re really good at this. You should take it up a foot, blah, blah. And they go off the show and they found out when I’ve told them what my ideas with TV shows were and stuff, which was like sitting in a pub and like people said, it’s like your friends catching up in a pub. So I said, well, that’s a fantastic idea. Have a chat show, pub based and just bring different guests in. Someone who’s got.
rhiannon paige (25:21.259)
Mm-hmm.
rhiannon paige (25:38.332)
Yeah. Mm hmm. Yeah.
Chris (25:42.547)
much more sweat and quite a very well-known actor and actress. She actually was, do you ever see what Sherlock Benedict Cumberbatch? Mary Watson. She, the one who played my, she was Amanda Robinson. She’s a fantastic, yeah, Carmen. Well, she was like, you know, they were roommates with everybody. And the next thing I found out was their roommate was shooting who was quite, quite a bit more sway was shooting in a pub, having a chat show. And I was like, and it really makes you feel, you know, it’s like, but.
rhiannon paige (25:54.085)
I can see a face.
Chris (26:10.467)
You know, I never give up. It’s, uh, I’ve just written to Lawrence Fishburne and Keanu Reeves has published this week, for example. I’ve got a flat “No’s” but you’ve got to aim high.
rhiannon paige (26:19.302)
You’ve got, it is so true though, like there’s so many times when I think like, like even so for example I was talking about Elles Bailey, like there’s something going on in my area for a support sort of like McFly, Scouting for Girls, Sophie Ellis Bexler and stuff.
Chris (26:28.3)
Yeah.
Chris (26:36.58)
Mm-hmm.
rhiannon paige (26:37.322)
local people to audition. So I put it forward and I know that it was based on the audition panel. And I didn’t know whether she just sees them first or it goes through the first stages then they pass them on to them. And I was like I’m just going to message her saying like oh I’m auditioning for it and I hope to get to see you soon. And any other messages I’ve sent her she’s never replied but she did reply to this one and she was like oh I’m really looking forward to hearing you and stuff.
and you just got a kind of piece of heart there, don’t you? Sometimes you think, oh, god, like I’m being so annoying. But if you don’t, if you don’t ask, you don’t get with things like not that good, but as in like, if you don’t do things, you don’t you just don’t know, do you?
Chris (27:11.285)
Oh yeah exactly. I mean…
Chris (27:15.979)
Yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean, you know, I just, you know, I’m emailing publicists. I’m left right and said, have you seen the castaways? Probably not because you’ve been so busy. It’s on Paramount though. Yeah, they’re one. I wrote to them all individually, but then one person said, try the production publicist. And now he’s working to try and bring them all on for me. And it’s like a major hit on Paramount. It’s like, yay. So it does. It slowly comes on. And Lucifer, you’ve seen Lucifer? Mazakine, Amenadiel.
rhiannon paige (27:25.507)
I do recognize.
rhiannon paige (27:36.006)
Oh no. Yes.
Chris (27:44.467)
Amy Garcia, the lab tech, they’ve all been, she gave me a hug because I saw her at a comic con and she was like, Chris gave me a big hug. Yeah. So it’s just the person, you know, sorry, this one, I’m taking this bit out, but that’s just the perseverance. I’ll just completely agree. It’s like, you know, it’s, you’ve just got to really, you know, carry on and push and don’t give up because it’s like the entertainment industry’s cutthroat. It really, it really is.
rhiannon paige (27:47.918)
Mm-hmm. Aw. Ah, so nice!
Yeah.
rhiannon paige (28:06.16)
Yeah, it is one thing and I can say that I spend so much time being like, do I just give up and stuff or whatever. But then I suddenly think I’m like, I am doing what I love and like, if it is for whatever reason that I don’t manage to make it to where I want to be, then at least I know that I did all my life like trying to get there rather than just like giving up.
Chris (28:29.374)
Mm-hmm.
rhiannon paige (28:31.026)
And in uni, so I went to drama school for uni, and I had the worst time, I hated it so much. And the last thing that my principal said to me was like, you’re never gonna make it if you are the way you are. Because in drama, they’re all shaped to be very, I don’t know, like, follow exactly what they say like. And not that I’m a naughty person, but as in I am not afraid to speak up for myself.
Chris (28:34.253)
Yeah.
Alright, okay.
Chris (29:00.315)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
rhiannon paige (29:00.966)
something’s right I’m gonna speak about it because I don’t agree. Whereas everyone else is too afraid and we’ll just like shut off and stuff and for that they would just say you’re too opinionated. I’m like no I’m too opinionated for this industry agreed. Like if that’s what you like you want you want a perfect like princess that’s gonna like follow your lead like I’m not that person. Like that doesn’t mean that I’m like too opinionated it just means that I’m willing to stand up for myself whereas no one else is. Like there’s
Chris (29:16.256)
Yeah.
Chris (29:29.067)
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, big difference.
rhiannon paige (29:30.29)
And so I’ve always, yeah, and I’ve always told myself, like, I’m gonna, like, I’m not gonna give up. Like, I will prove you all wrong, and you’ll all be in the end forever, like, put me down, like, do you know what I mean? So.
Chris (29:37.826)
Mm.
Chris (29:41.795)
Yeah, good for you. I know with acting, I feel like the people I speak to, cause a lot of them are independent actors and you’re right. It’s there. They feel there is a fear, I think in that kind of, in just like, you can’t speak up because they’ll cancel you from roles and stuff like, it’s happened to us in Hollywood people, hasn’t it? What the name forgets me again. Um, but she was a great actress. She was in Transformers years ago and she spoke up about stuff and they blacklisted her.
rhiannon paige (29:54.754)
Mm. Yeah.
Chris (30:09.783)
from Polly were just for, just for speaking out and defending herself over. She started to get roles again now because they’ve heard it, but it’s especially for women, I think as well. You know, it’s really cutthroat. It’s, um, but those things with me too and stuff, that’s changing. Um, but yeah.
rhiannon paige (30:29.104)
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Really, there’s no rules to it. You can be so.
Chris (30:35.067)
Yeah, that’s really, really cool. That’s great. See, and she’s have made it because obviously, you know, you’re out there doing your gigs and stuff, see, that’s fun. It was brilliant. And if you’ve got any upcoming shows at all, I know you have. So yeah, just please sing.
rhiannon paige (30:38.99)
Cough
rhiannon paige (30:45.349)
Cough.
rhiannon paige (30:50.538)
No, no, I do. The one I’m really, really looking forward to is I’m doing a show in London on the 3rd of March, which I’ve actually never given to in London, so I’m super excited for it. And it’s a guy that has a company called Ron’s Honky Tonk. He’s setting it up. We’ve got a guy called Nathan Leaser, I believe that’s how you pronounce it. He’s coming over from America, and myself and a guy called Finn Pearson, who I met on TikTok, you might have seen him.
Chris (31:15.842)
Mm-hmm.
rhiannon paige (31:21.133)
We’re supporting him and stuff and super excited for it. It should be a lot of fun.
Chris (31:28.015)
Fantastic, fantastic, that’s really, really good. And before I just stop recording, is there anything you’d like to say to the fans who are watching and listening, your fans who are watching and listening? Cause they’re all right, you’ve got it. They’re out there, there are lots of them out there.
rhiannon paige (31:35.43)
Ha ha.
rhiannon paige (31:40.98)
Thank you so much for everyone’s continued support and for the people that never give up on me and just the kind words that people say like even like I say like when I’m feeling down like people just saying all the kind things that they do it just means so much and it kind of brings you back to reality and keeps me on like fighting so I really appreciate all the support and especially everyone’s support in this like
release that’s coming out on the 26th. Everyone’s so excited and I’m just so excited to be able to give it to everyone finally. So yeah, just like thank you so much for everything everyone does.
Chris (32:19.103)
Thank you.
In this conversation, I interview Rhiannon Paige, a UK country music artist. We discuss her journey into country music, the impact of the internet on the music business, her songwriting […]
