Ep. 233 Kayla Oh

Quince Questions?

Kayla Oh is an up and coming indie singer-songwriter studying contemporary voice at NYU. At just 19 years old, she has developed a stark, diaristic writing style that captures the experience of being a teenage girl: navigating first loves, overcoming heartbreak, grappling with insecurity and comparison, and simultaneously never wanting the teenage dream to end. These themes are the heart of Kayla’s songwriting and storytelling, helping her create music that is both achingly relatable and memorable. Her style is inspired by songwriting legends like Joni Mitchell, Phoebe Bridgers, and Stevie Nicks. Kayla admires and strives for the sort of writing that these women embraced, the kind that is unapologetically honest about womanhood while also being free from the pressure to remain "polite" or "ladylike". Though Kayla is a teenage girl and aims to write on behalf of them, a variety of listeners will connect with her lyrics and get hooked on her catchy melodies in a way that will make bad high school boyfriends seem universal.

Kayla is super excited to share her debut single, "See Through", set to release on October 6th.

Here's what she had to say about it: "I wrote 'See Through' about a relationship that ended right before we both went to college. It delves into that confusing feeling you experience when trying to move on from a person, where one moment it feels like you’ve fully healed and the next it feels like you’ve taken 10 steps backwards. At the time that I wrote the song, I was kept incredibly busy by the adjustment period that is starting college, and felt as if I’d healed from the breakup. The truth was, I had never really processed my heartbreak- and the healing I thought I'd felt was just the relief of being distracted. Writing 'See Through' was the first time I admitted to myself that I wasn’t as put together as I hoped to be. The result was a cathartic confession, and some of my most stark and relatable writing. Though I’ve come a long way in my healing since I wrote this song, I’m still really proud of what I was able to articulate then and hope the vulnerability I tapped into consoles listeners like it did for me".