Singer Sofia Mills On Taylor Swift, DREAMGIRL, And Debut Album” Baby Magic”

This singer-songwriter is back!

With over 100M+ streams on her music, Sofia Mills is quickly making a name for herself in the music industry. She recently released her first-ever album with the same name as one of it’s tracks: “Baby Magic”.

We had the amazing honor of talking with Sofia about her spontaneous songwriting process, her future goals, and more!

What inspired you to be in the music industry? 

S: “Ever since I was little, writing and singing felt like the only things I was really good at; the only things that genuinely made me feel accomplished. I started off with writing poetry, but loved playing music as well. I remember when those two passions of mine started to intertwine and I started hearing melodies in my head, and I felt right. I felt so empowered when I realized I could create music that was mine, where I could cry and yell about anything with my guitar and it could still sound beautiful. I wanted to make other people feel the way artists like Taylor Swift, Fleetwood Mac, and Elliot Smith made me feel: validated and empowered. Doing this full-time, being a musician, just feels like what I was always meant to do.”

You recently came out with a single called “Baby magic” what inspired you to write that? 

S: “Out of all the songs on my album, Baby magic is definitely the one that feels the most like an autobiography. I found myself reflecting on the past few years, and realized that there was so much more depth to what I had been feeling and experiencing. I really tried to capture what my life was like from the ages of 14-18, with a more outside perspective. I think the changes young women experience mentally throughout that time are so beautiful and are never romanticized. Sure, being 15 is painful and gritty and life feels unfair, but there are brief moments of beauty scattered around in all of that. Such as, meeting friends at the psych ward, taking the train and watching the world pass by you, or hiding away in the bedroom of your first love. I wanted to romanticize it, in a way. There is a certain magic in being young, and it exists in both the heartache and the joy.”

Baby Magic is also an album . Do you have a song on the album that stuck out to you the most? 

S: “I think the song from Baby Magic that sticks out to me the most is DREAMGIRL, because I have such a deep connection with it. Growing up a closeted bisexual, I constantly had crushes on my straight girlfriends, and would kick myself for it. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t just have a normal girly relationship where you braid each other’s hair and go to the beach – why I always had to end the night dreaming of kissing my straight friends. It was exhausting, the yearning and the self-loathing that came with falling in love with those who could never love me back. I have since come out, and no longer spend hours spiraling over why I love who I love. However, I think that period of my life was so transformative for me, and I think my love of women has broken and healed my heart and soul in so many ways that I needed to spill my guts about it.”

You got more than 100 million streams on “Coffee breath” did you ever expect that one of your songs to get that many streams? 

S: “I honestly still cannot believe Coffee Breath has 100 million streams, it doesn’t feel real to me. It’s insane. It has taught me so much about myself and brought me the most beautiful things. I have so many followers who are dear to my heart, and who encourage and inspire me to create and share my experiences. I could have never imagined that things would turn out this way and that people from all over the world would feel so connected to something I wrote in my bedroom at 16.”

Do you have any specific things that inspire you when writing a song? 

S: “Usually, songs come to me at the most unexpected times. I will go through months of not writing a single thing, and then suddenly I will feel a random burst of energy and write a song in 15 minutes. I don’t know why my process is like this (if you could even call it a process), but it just is. When I think about what I want to write, though, it is almost always love songs written from the perspective of my teenage self. I love writing about heartbreak, it feels like ranting to an old friend, a way of taking back my power. Being hurt is one thing, but being able to write about being hurt is another. There is so much power in negative emotions, and I never really realize it until I am in the midst of writing a song. My anger and sadness and fear and resentment are all red-hot, and I am putting them in MY control and making something of them.”

When you are writing a song do you usually focus on the lyrics first or the music? 

S: “When I am writing a song, I focus on the instrumental side of things first. I have some little verses jotted down in my notes app that come to me every so often, but structure is just so important to me in all aspects of my life. When I have the music, the bones of the song, I can really play around with anything. It feels freeing.”

What do you hope to see yourself in 5 years as a Singer/Songwriter? 

S: “Honestly, I really just hope to see myself as a singer/songwriter in 5 years. My first year living in Los Angeles has been incredibly hard on me, and I feel as though I’m being beaten down constantly. And, as someone who also struggles with depression, it can be so hard to find the motivation to do the things that bring me joy. This has been my dream since I was in elementary school, I feel most like myself when I am sitting on the floor with my guitar and my journal. So, I hope I have enough faith in myself and courage to continue writing, and to not let my insecurity off my passion.”

Do you have anyone that you look up to as a Singer/Songwriter? 

S: “The first musician that I really fell in love with was Taylor Swift. She has been such an important person in my life since I was about 4 or 5. I remember getting the Fearless CD and playing it over and over, feeling like she was singing directly to me – like she had written these songs to prepare me for growing up. Her music has felt like home to me all throughout the hardest points in my life, and, as a person, she is so genuine and kind and intelligent. She inspires me to find strength in my weaknesses, and to be angry and stand up for myself. I am always left speechless by her storytelling ability, work ethic, and openness about her heartbreak. I could talk about her forever, I think she is truly such an amazing woman and I feel so lucky that she and I exist at the same time.”

Kylie Montigney-Music/Entertainment Editor– Kylie has been a Host/Producer for over a year with her Podcast Talk of Fame at only 14 years old. Kylie enjoys talking to all her guests that are in the Entertainment industry and learn more about their journey to where there are today and to inspire young girls & woman to feel represented in the media.