I think it’s everyone’s dream to be able to sing well. I mean, who doesn’t want to be the next Taylor Swift or Adele? Austin Wolfe, freshman at Columbia, is one of those who has been gifted with a naturally beautiful singing voice. Not only can she hit the high and low notes like no-other, she has also been a contestant on American Idol when she was only 16. I had the chance to hangout and chat with her about her past fame and future goals.
Q: So obviously you like to sing. What is your major here at Columbia?
A: “My major is Contemporary and Urban Music, CUP for short. Columbia is one of the only schools in the country that has a popular music performance major. I wanted to learn more about making and performing music in a contemporary style, so Columbia was the perfect fit for me.”
Q: Why did you chose that major? What do you hope to see for yourself in the future?
A: “I hope to — in the next couple of years — have a solid CD with music on it that I’m really proud of. I hope that when I start getting into more singing lessons and music production classes that it will help me expand my skills that are needed to have a professional music career.”
Q: I know you were on American Idol. Can you tell me a little about that experience? What did you learn from it?
A: “I auditioned when I was only 16 — I looked like a 2 year old, haha! It was the most stressful and exhausting period of my life. We filmed for 8 months, and this was when I was a junior in high school. On top of the filming I was looking for colleges, so that year itself was very stressful for me. But in the end, it really showed me a completely different side of the music industry. I was thrown in with working with professionals and being filmed almost 24/7. But after American Idol, I had a bunch of people reach out to me for performances. I had the honor of opening for Five for Fighting and Bridget Mendler. If it wasn’t for Idol, I don’t think I would have had those opportunities.”
Q: Who are your favorite artists? Who do you get inspiration from?
A: “I really like Adele, Gregory Alan Isakov, Ed Sheeran, and John Mayer. Though I really like pop music, my favorites are the songs that you don’t hear broadcasted on the radio. I guess you could say indie music as cliche as that sounds.”
Q: Who is your guilty pleasure artist?
A: “Taylor Swift. Everyone is kind of like ‘ew, Taylor Swift’, but I think she is really good at what she does. 1989 was my favorite album.”
Q: If you couldn’t sing, what would you do instead?
A: “I always think about that, and I have no idea. If I don’t make it as a singer, I will have nothing else to do. I guess I will just have to open up a coffee shop, haha. But no, I think my backup is doing studio work. I just want to work in music.”
Q: For those who are aspiring to be musicians or singers, what words of wisdom do you have?
A: “You need to have really good work ethic in everything you do. I personally feel like since I had good work ethic when I was growing up, I have been able to start my process of making it far in the music industry because of all of the hard work I put in. You really need to dedicate yourself to music in order to go far in it.”
Make sure to follow Austin on her social media:
Instagram: @austinwolfey
Twitter: @austinwolfey
Facebook: Austin Wolfe
YouTube: Austin Wolfe