Courtney Govan On Social Media Influence And Her 80s Inspired New Single ‘Stay Still’

This indie artist is amazing!

With over 2 Million streams on just Spotify alone, queer singer-songwriter Courtney Govan is becoming a powerful artist on the music scene. And now, she recently hit our playlists again with her brand-new single ‘Stay Still’.

We had the amazing honor of talking with Courtney on making people feel heard, career goals, and more!

From a vocal standpoint, who has been your biggest inspiration while curating your style?

C: “I am someone that takes a lot of inspiration from everything I hear, I’ve always focused on the music that made me feel extremely present and in the moment, some artists that come to mind instantly are Lennon Stella and Maggie Rogers, they have this ability vocally to just capture attention and resonate with people deeply; that has always been my favorite thing about singing.”

At what age did you realize that you wanted to be a singer?

C: “I’ve been singing since I was so small! I’ve never known a version of me who didn’t want to sing. It’s always felt like it is the reason im here, you know?  To write music and perform for the rest of my life!”

With nearly 8.5 million likes on TikTok, how has social media played a role in your career?

C: “Tiktok truly made this whole dream of mine a possible reality. I’ve been posting covers and music online since 2008 when I started on youtube but tiktok was the first platform that helped me find my forever friends! The joy and privilege I feel knowing that people are actually excited with me for my music is truly the most insanely rad thing EVER. Tiktok is everything and I am so so grateful.”

Do you think that TikTok is a tool that all artists should consider employing?

C: “Tiktok is an amazing tool and absolutely I think artists should consider using it, as long as it brings them joy! Tiktok is not just about “blowing up” and having your dreams come true. You can’t get wrapped up in comparing yourself to other creators and wondering why this one video is not getting views blah blah blah, if you find yourself losing your self worth and love for your craft BECAUSE of the content creation side of it, you probably shouldn’t be focusing on tiktok! I even have to catch myself sometimes when something I worked hard on isn’t performing the way I wanted it to! Tiktok is an amazing tool but you got to find how it fits in your life! When it feels “easy” mentally, you know you’re doing it right!”

Mental health and body positivity are common themes in your music, differentiating you from most pop music heard on the radio. What experiences of yours have informed this unique decision?

C: “This is definitely the sparknotes answer because I could go on and on about this. Growing up, I didn’t think much of myself. Along with the normal hardships of growing up,  I had some really toxic relationships that made me feel small and insignificant. Although I always had love and support in my life from my family, it always felt like something was wrong with me, I just felt different. There are a lot of experiences I could sit here and list off but I don’t like giving it power and frankly I’m in a good mood today haha. Being someone who has faced blatant fatphobia for as long as I can remember; in school, in doctors offices, basic societal limitations; it really affected my self worth and my mental health. The anxiety of boarding an airplane knowing most people are hoping I don’t sit next to them, eating in front of other people, or simply feeling like you’re taking up too much space barely covers the surface of the things I and other fat people experience on a daily basis. 

I don’t write music to specifically be “body positive” or focus on “mental health”, I write the music I needed when I was young. I write to make people smile. I write to make people feel seen and heard. I write to help people know they are not alone. I write so people can party and celebrate themselves. I write to makeout too and take shots. I write to give people a soundtrack to their complicated, euphoric, beautiful life.“

Your new single “Stay Still” just released on August 30th, how is this track different from what you’ve done in the past?

C: “Oh Stay Still is like my beautiful introverted anxiety ridden love poem to my brain! Most of my songs like “Serotonin’ and “Out of the Blue” have been about moving forward and living positively alongside all your baggage but Stay Still is all about not moving so much as an inch! It’s about being scared to exist or not knowing how too. There is a little spec of positivity laced in the second verse as a reminder to yourself that you live your live for YOU and no one else. Musically, Pascal Pahl, my producer, KILLED this track. We wanted to play up heavy on the 80’s synthpop vibes and I had a vision to keep it light and upbeat with a bit of some dark elements and he captured it perfectly. I’m very happy with the sound and excited to hear what my followers think of this direction!”

Have you experienced any difficulties as an independent artist, without the support of a major record label?

C: “OH YEAH. I’m grateful to be indie, because I pretty much get to call all the shots and have total agency over my artists projects but wow funding would be amazing. I’m 26 years old and I support myself financially but it is really really hard to balance paying for my day to day as well as putting music out. I always want to do more, music videos, acoustic projects etc but I don’t have the budget whatsoever.”

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

C: “WITH A BUDGET BABY!!! Hahah no seriously, I just want to still be doing music as my full time job, I want to be touring and doing intimate sets all over the world and I want to meet all the amazing humans that love my music as much as I do! Mainly, I just want to be happy and proud of myself.”

Photographer Credit: Courtney Govan

Chloe Fribourg– Music Editor – Chloe is a rising senior in high school, where she is the Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook. Aside from journalism, Chloe is a lover of music, playing the bass, guitar, and piano in her free time. She also speaks Spanish and is learning French and Italian; she dreams of studying Linguistics in college.