Leanna Firestone On Her Favorite Artists, Songwriting, And “Do You Wanna Be Friends?”

This definitely isn’t the first time you’ve heard of this artist!

The singer-songwriter topped the music charts all of 2021. Including her current biggest hits “Least Favorite Only Child” and “Strawberry Mentos”, she received over 10 Million streams on her music.

We had the absolute honor of talking to Leanna on her upcoming release, Taylor Swift, and more!

Q: When did your love for music start? 

L: “My love for music started when I was still in a car seat. I remember very distinctly listening to “Our Song” by Taylor Swift in the back of my mom’s van, and I decided right then that I wanted to sing for the rest of my life because just singing along made me happier than anything else I’d ever experienced.”

Q: At what age did you start writing your own music? 

L: “I wrote lyrics and pieces of songs my whole life, but I didn’t finish a song until I was 13. The very first song I wrote was called Stars and I sang it at my 8th grade talent show.”

Q: When writing music, what is your process? 

L: “Sometimes, I’ll have an experience I would like to create music around or maybe I have a phrase or word or expression I am intrigued by or maybe I’ll have a specific feeling I’m trying to work through and I’ll try to write either a melody or some lyrics trying to best encompass those things. I also consume a lot of media and pick out what I like best about how the story is conveyed, from that I try to mimic the phrasing, the inflection, the diction, and place it in my own music.”

Q: Your new song “ Do you wanna be friends” is out right now. What is the story behind that and what do you want your fans to get from the song? 

L: “Do You Wanna Be Friends?” is about trying to be friends with someone immediately out of them ending a relationship. It’s about how hard it can be still wanting to be with someone while trying to respect that they don’t want to be with you. 

I hope my fans realize by the end that it’s okay to let people go. It will be scary and hard and it will hurt. But hiding your feelings and watching someone be fine without you will hurt worse and will be much harder than being alone. It’s okay to let people go because you’re enough all on your own.”

Q: Is there any song in particular that has a special place in your heart? 

L: “I have a song that hasn’t come out yet called Phantom Pain and I think it might be my favorite song I’ve ever written. When I started writing that song, it was about my first love and the way I felt losing that person had changed me even though I was only 14 when it had happened. But by the time I finished it, the song had evolved to be about so much more than that and it felt like it was completely and solely about me, and I believe it forced me to heal. It helped me realize that I had convinced myself that love must be pain, and that I ignore warning signs or pick people that are bad for me because I get so much validation from someone wanting me that it doesn’t matter if they actually treat me well. It also created a running theme throughout the album that I value attention more than respect.”

Q: Who is your dream collab and why? 

L: “My dream collab has to be Taylor Swift, Maisie Peters, or Lizzy McAlpine. I think they’re insane lyricists and I would be absolutely honored to watch and work with them in their craft.”

Q: What are your “reasons why” to pursue a career in music? 

L: “Music has offered me a connection not only to myself but also to others. Through my writing, I have explored so many hard topics and have been able to reflect and offer commentary on myself and the world around me. Those songs have been able to offer insight to listeners that no matter how niche, no matter how hard or heavy their pain may be- that their pain is never singular to just them. I pursue music to not feel alone, and hopefully help others not feel alone too.”

Q: Besides music do you have any other passions? 

L: “Yes! I love makeup, baking, poetry, and journaling.”

Q: If being a musician wasn’t a thing what do you think you’d be doing?

L: “Being a musician was always what I wanted to do but I had planned to go to college for political science before I realized I’d be miserable unless I did songwriting. So perhaps I’d be a civil servant or campaign manager or a politician. When I was growing up I really loved the idea of being a librarian or writer or baker, so those are all still on the table as well.”

Q: Any new projects coming up soon? 

L: “Yes! I have 2 singles and a debut album coming in early 2022!”