With over 4 million subscribers and 844 million views on YouTube, singer/songwriter Megan Nicole is a musical force to be reckoned with.
After being discovered on YouTube in 2009 and releasing her first independent album, Escape, in 2014, she continued to take the pop sphere by storm and recently released an album entitled My Kind of Party. She also collaborated with designer Julie Mollo on a new clothing collection called Confetti Heart. Megan Nicole spoke with Her Campus about potential new projects on the horizon, how to revamp your warm weather wardrobe and what she’d be doing if she weren’t in music.
Her Campus: You’ve recently released a brand-new album titled My Kind of Party, which is an amazing fusion of pop, retro & 90s R&B sounds. Are there any artists that have influenced your style of music?
Megan Nicole: I grew up listening to a lot of Stevie Wonder, Queen, and Earth, Wind, and Fire with my dad. Artists from the 70s, 80s and even into the early 90s, really inspired my music because that’s what I grew up on.
HC: I’m sure it’s a difficult choice, but do you have a favorite song from your album?
MN: My favorite song from the album would have to be “Clueless.” It’s really simple and sweet, but it came from a place where I was kind of in this limbo where I felt like maybe this guy could be interested in me, but I never really wanted to push it too much. I didn’t want to take too big of a leap, and so I just kind of felt like I was stuck in the middle and left kind of clueless. But eventually it all worked out because now we’re married! I always think that’s kind of funny because when I wrote that song I was definitely in this clueless state, but it turns out he felt the same.
HC: When you’re not working on your own music, what are your favorite tunes to listen to?
MN: So I recently made a Spotify playlist, and I called it “My Kind of Playlist,” which is kind of cutesy. I just put some of the songs I’ve been listening to, and some of those are Charlie Puth. I really love “How Long.” I’m really excited to hear more music from him. Also, there was this artist called Tove Styrke, and she has a song called “Say My Name.” That’s another song I’ve been listening to a lot. I love The Kooks a lot, too. It’s like one of favorite bands. We used two of their songs at our wedding.
HC: Besides promoting your new album, you’ve also teamed up with designer Julie Mollo and created a super cute clothing line called Confetti Heart. What was your inspiration for not only the style, but the name your collection?
MN: Confetti Heart was a title that I had for a while. I didn’t know if I wanted it to be a song, if it would be an album name or what it would be—but the idea of Confetti Heart came around because it was this title that I had that I really just kind of loved the visual of it. To me, Confetti Heart was an example of all of us, how we go through situations and things that may break us down a little along the way, but all the pieces come back together and still make something beautiful. That’s the idea of Confetti Heart. Julie and I have been friends for four years, and I finally was visiting her in New York on a trip and we were talking. I said, “Hey, we should do something together.” She said, “Yeah, I love it!” That idea, that title, just came back to me and ended up not being a song or an album, but it ended up being the name for the collection. Julie loved everything confetti and everything heart, too. It was such a natural fit. The whole line is really inspired by each of our lives living on separate coasts. Julie is based in New York and I’m out in California, so our worlds coming together has been the inspiration for Confetti Heart.
HC: How would describe your everyday style? Do you have any pieces of clothing you wear all the time?
MN: I’ve always said it’s a little quirky meets classic, so I have a lot of classic silhouettes like skater dresses. But more and more lately I’ve been wearing a lot of fun pants. Some of my favorite go-to pants are these pink velour pants that I have because they’re so comfy, but I also still feel stylish and put-together.
HC: What advice would you give college women who are looking to revitalize their wardrobes for the warmer spring weather?
MN: If you’re looking to revitalize your wardrobe, one of my favorite things to do is to just try things on. I love going to the mall and trying things that maybe I haven’t tried before. It’s like, “Oh, I’ve never tried this style of pants” or “I’ve never really tried this style of shirt,” and kind of getting an idea of what I like. That’s how I feel I’ve built my personal style over the years. I just did trial-and-error and seeing what I felt good in, and what kind of reflected me the most and how I was feeling at the time.
HC: I know it’s very early to be thinking about new projects, but is there anything you’d like to accomplish after the My Kind of Party era comes to a close?
MN: In some ways I’m already moving on to the next thing because I’m constantly creating and writing. I’ve been working on new music right now, so I don’t know if that’ll be a single later on or a new album. But more music is definitely on the way and hopefully some more acting projects as well. I’ve really been putting more time and energy into that world, so that’s something I want to explore more.
HC: What is your dream college to attend and why?
MN: My dream college to attend…Oh my gosh. When I was younger, I always wanted to go to the University of Texas because I grew up in Texas, and where I was, it was either you were University of Texas or Texas A&M. For whatever reason, I had my heart set on University of Texas, and my younger sister was Texas A&M. We were a divided household. I did not go to either one of those colleges. Another college in my heart was Pepperdine, because it was out in California and I was living in Texas at the time. I just loved the idea of being on a campus on the beach in California. It’s so beautiful.
HC: What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t pursuing music?
MN: I’d like to think I’d be an interior designer because that’s what I always wanted to be when I was younger. Before that, it was astronaut, but interior designer now. We recently moved into a new place, so it’s been fun being able to put our mark on the house and create a space that feels like us. That’s something I’ve always wanted to do, help create a space for other people that reflected them.