19-year-old Kayla DiVenere, known for her roles in Law and Order and Love, Victor, is making a name for herself in the music industry as an alt-leaning pop singer-songwriter. Kayla’s anthemic and introspective lyrics have earned her nearly 200K social media followers and over a million streams. I sat down with the rising star to speak about her latest release, “Date Myself,” her journey as an artist, and the importance of self-love.
Payton: Congrats on your new single “Date Myself.” Can you take me through what life was like when you wrote the song?
Kayla: Yeah, it was actually, it’s kind of weird. It was a year ago today that I wrote that song, which is crazy. I was actually really sick when I wrote it and when I recorded it. We ended up using the vocals from when I was sick, just because I really do feel like you can’t recreate the magic of the day of writing vocals. “Date Myself” was kind of born in a weird way. I was venting to my mom about how I’m so frustrated with the dating pool in LA and going on horrible dates, failed talking stages and getting ghosted, and then I just blurted out, “I kind of just want to date myself.” So I wrote it down into my notes and then when I went to the studio that day, I was like, “guys, I know 1,000% What I need to write about today: date myself.” That’s kind of how it was born.
P: Is there a specific lyric that you are proud of?
K: “I kind of want to date myself” is so anthemic. I really love when I’m at concerts with my favorite artists and I can really relate to that one specific line, scream it out, and get all the frustration out. I feel like that could be a line for a lot of people to just scream out.
P: What was the writing and producing process like and who did you write it with?
K: I’ve been doing a lot of cowrites recently, which has been really great for sparking inspiration. I co-wrote it with Gregory Schilling and the producers are Nathaniel Clay and Cooper Holzman. I knew that I wanted it to be more of a happy vibe, in contrast to the sad lyrics, because I think that’s really cool. So we came up with some cool, vibey, and happy chords. And then honestly, it kind of just went from there. We wrote it pretty quick and I was like, “dang, this is really cool.”
P: In the spirit of “Date Myself” and self love, what types of dates would you take yourself on?
K: I love thrifting, so I would definitely take myself on a thrifting date. Go to a coffee shop and get matcha. A picnic at the park is so cute, just reading a book and hanging out. Honestly, even just doing a movie night with yourself. I really do think that spending time with yourself is so important. And you really do need to have a relationship with yourself before you get into any relationship.
P: How do you feel on release days? Do you have any plans for the release of “Date Myself?”
K: I know a lot of people are really nervous on release days but it is such a big relief for me. I worked so hard on this piece of work and I’ve been waiting so long to put it out that on the actual day, I feel like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It’s a great feeling for me. I usually don’t really plan anything crazy on release days, but I’m going to… see the Kings game, so it should be a pretty fun time.
P: Are there any artists that specifically inspire your music style?
K: I’ve been really into The 1975 recently and of course Olivia Rodrigo. I love her relatable concepts and titles and you just feel so good when you scream her lyrics. Yeah, I love The 1975’s structure, and their Sonics are crazy. I’ve been really trying to mix the two lately and it’s been really interesting.
P: “Date Myself” perfectly captures the experience of 19-year-old girls. How do you think your writing and overall style has evolved in the past three years since the release of your first hit, “Justin Bieber.”
K: It’s definitely evolved a lot. I was definitely trying to figure out what the difference was between making music that I like and feels like me versus making music that I listen to, because I listened to a lot of different sounds that don’t really sound like my music. I definitely feel like I fell into a really good pocket that feels 100% like me, because I used to listen to a lot of classic rock. My dad grew up on classic rock and was in a rock band when he was younger. So [I thought] I should make a little bit of indie pop rock. But then I [realized indie pop rock is just] what I listen to.
P: You started off your career as an actress with roles in shows like Love Victor and Law and Order, but you’ve been consistently releasing music for the past few years. What was the transition from acting to music like and how did it feel to create your first single?
K: It was definitely weird. They are pretty different, which is really cool. I like them for really different reasons. With acting, you kind of fall into the role or the script and it’s all written out for you and you just put yourself into that world. With music, it’s a lot more internal and you have to channel what you’re feeling inside and it’s a lot more personal and vulnerable. Also you have a lot more control which I really like. You decide what you make and you see the whole process from start to finish and you release it which I really like because having no control is really scary.
P: You recently released another song, Jumping the Gun, which you released a music video for. Can fans expect a music video for this release as well?
K: Yes, definitely. I like to mix the music video and lyric videos in one so there will definitely be a video for “Date Myself.”
P: In “Jumping the Gun”, you sing “you’re stuck in my head like the words whose song they’ve tried to forget.” What songs have been stuck in your head recently?
K: “Strangers” by Kenya Grace has been on repeat and same with “Love It If We Made It” by The 1975 and “All We Ever Do Is Talk” by Del Water Gap. Those are my top 3 right now.
P: So you recently released a short clip of “Madonna” with Baby Fisher. What other up and coming artists are you a fan of and who would you like to collaborate with in the future?
K: I love Fisher. He’s my friend and he’s awesome. I really liked Sadie Jean recently. Her melodies are great and I would love to collaborate with her.
P: Can fans expect to see you on stage anytime in the future? Is there an EP in the works?
K: Definitely. I actually haven’t really done the whole live show thing yet. I’ve just been focusing on making music that feels great to me and releasing it all. I’m gonna do a consistent single release every month, which is really exciting. Once everything is pretty much out, I’m definitely going to start doing live shows, which I’m really excited for. I’m gonna start with releasing all my singles and then EP is definitely in the near future. That’s the goal.
Stream “Date Myself” by Kayla DiVenere here!
