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Photo: Nick Walker

Centrifugal force, the genuine expression of momentum, needs to have a center to orient the world around it, and in "Shiver" Skylar Simone puts the gravity back into her path, her sound, and herself. Recently signed to Def Jam and under the guidance of D’Mile, it’s hard not to hear and appreciate Simone's maturation, an ownership of herself, a weightier emotionally venerable version of her prior self. Wanting to know more about this sexy single and what else is in store, we zoomed into her world for perspective on her journey and where that path leads.

Ones To Watch: Why are you an artist? 

Skylar Simone: Honestly, I know that sounds so cliche, but I feel it's who I am and my calling. I don't come from a musical background, so when I discovered my love for music, it was random and spontaneous but instantaneous at the same time, in the sense that I just knew. It was one of those aha moments at the very old age of nine. I just knew that that's what I wanted to do forever at a young age in my life and it was off to the races since then. But no, I love it. It's part of who I am. Skylar and music are one and the same. There isn't one without the other. And I feel very blessed that I get to do this. There's the opportunity to actually have a career and share that with the world. But yeah, that's it. We're a package deal. You don't get one without the other.

If you could revisit your younger self, what would you tell her?

Um, that's a good question. A lot of things. I think the biggest piece of advice, I would say, is, I mean, honestly, like the classic "Listen to your intuition throughout everything." In all industries, and as you grow up, but especially in the music industry and anything that's art, it's very subjective. It brings on a lot of opinions, good and bad, and, sometimes, neutral, but just different. It's always good to take everything in but then have that balance between leaving it at the door and picking what you want to enter your personal space and artistic process. Navigating was a bit more challenging when I was younger because I was so hungry, and I still am, but it was just like this newness, and I just wanted to learn and didn't know better in many ways. So everything anyone said was like, "Ok, great, I'm gonna do that." And I just wanted it so bad that you sometimes forget to filter. Since then, I've learned a lot. Sometimes, like the no's, and not taking advice from certain people is even more important because it allows you to be truthful about what you want and who you are authentically. More than ever, the audience can see between the lines, which is refreshing to have. You can't really get away with, you know, also thinking and being anything less than yourself in a lot of ways. So, yeah, listen to your intuition and your gut and what you feel like is the best way to be authentic. Just do that. Always.

What's your perspective? Are you, "You know, I'm glad I went through all that because I know myself better, and I know my art better," or do you look back on it a little bit and go, "Oh, that was a lot of bullshit. I had to persevere through."

A little bit of both. Yes, there were a lot of things I had to go through. But then, exactly like you said in the first question, I mean, yes, I also feel like with everything you're thrown in every "bad situation," you 100% can learn from it and grow. And I definitely think all of those moments have shaped me and helped shape me into the artist and the person that I am today. I really have learned so much. It also gives you, in a way, even more clarity about who you are because you've gone through all of that, and it just makes you realize how certain you are about certain things. It's a confirmation, in a way. So, in a way, I'm grateful for it. Luckily, I've "come out unscathed" with all of those things, and all I have is more knowledge. And, you know, I'm 22 and have so much more to learn and do, so I'm thankful for those experiences. Now, were they fun in the moment? No. But looking back, were they that big of a deal in the big scheme of things? No. So yeah.

That sounds very healthy. It's hard to stay positive when you are young. 

Luckily, I have my parents, and I'm very close to my family. I grew up in an environment where it's always like, you can't change the past, and you can't go back. All you can do is move forward with what you have, what you know, where you're at, and what you're given, and make the best out of that. And so I feel like that's how I had to look at those things. At the moment, I just had to remind myself that it is what it is, and we need to move forward. So how do we move forward? But that definitely doesn't mean it's easy.

It's a given this is probably a project that you have as much input in as you've had in your career; how has your writing process changed on this specific EP?

This specific EP was actually very challenging; I'll be completely transparent. It was fun but challenging initially because I hadn't been doing it for a minute, but this time, it was so much more intentional and felt so much more real. And, like, everything before was growing and learning, and I was younger. And, you know, I still had to figure it out, and I hit this point about, when I started this project, I want to say, like, maybe a year and a half, two years ago, where I just knew who I was. But I also wanted to make sure how I came out and introduced myself this time was the baseline of setting the foundation for what's to come. I have done the search rather than just searching, and here are the results of the search. So, it was very challenging because I had to go through all the digging and the no's to find what worked and what was right. And I am also definitely an overthinker and perfectionist. So I would spend months and months analyzing one song and just being extra tedious, which I hadn't done before in the past because it was more—this isn't where I am right now in my life. I love this song. It's an accurate representation of where I am, boom, going to release it. This was not that. So it was very challenging.

It was tough, but it's one of those moments where they say, when you feel like you hit rock bottom, or the most challenging part is right when you find gold. And truly, that's what happened in this instance. I remember it was right before I went to London for some sessions, and like, right when I went to London, I went there with the thought of it's a change of energy, change of pace. I have these other songs going into London that I did before that I felt kind of good about. Still, they weren't all the way there yet. When I had that London trip, everything changed, and I felt like all the dots were finally connected, and it was great. So sorry for my long spiel, but that was definitely a changing point. And it was just a very intentional and very thorough process this time.

I want to say another thing about how my writing has grown and, as I would say, my openness. I hinted at that earlier, like how we were saying I would just kind of write and whatever my thought was and kind of whatever leave it, but I wanted to really push myself this time and really learn from the people that I was around because I was around such amazing, incredible producers such as like D'Mile who's just like this living legend incredible and Scribz Riley and those guys in London and I just I really wanted to learn and grow to as a writer. So I pushed myself a lot, too, and took a lot of advice from those guys. But yeah, it was an exciting process, but I'm so grateful. I am so happy with the results.

How many songs did you have to parse through to get to these five songs for the upcoming EP? 

Um, oh my goodness, how many songs did we go through? I'd say there is one song for every two sessions, and I was in sessions for about a year and a half straight and doing three to four sessions a week. So, however many that is, we can calculate it later I'm sure it would be a ton. But it's actually easier for me because I know that when I leave a session, I won't say all the time because sometimes I'm wrong, but 75% of the time, I know it's a cool song, but also that I can do better. Like this doesn't fit, or like I can usually tell. So, I don't count all of those ideas as being contenders. When we were really narrowing it down and had to pick for the EP, there were like 20 songs that we were sifting between. And then, to narrow it down to five was very tough. But I think for this first EP release, I really wanted, because I feel like I CUSP right on the line of R&B-pop, but for this specific EP, I really wanted to play into more the R&B side of that, just because that is my roots and what I grew up on. It feels very authentic to where I am and how I want to be introduced to the world. So that was definitely an outline of picking the songs.

How did you end up with "Shiver" as the lead single? 

So, "Shiver" was actually kind of a sleeper. In one of my first sessions with D'Mile, you know, at the beginning of sessions, you're trying different things like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. So "Shiver" was always solid, but it was our second day, and we were like, we'll have more days together, like, you know, we'll probably beat it. So it just sat for a bit, but I loved the song from the first day we did it. But it was so early in the process for us to be like, "Oh, this is the first single," so we just held on to it. And it just was a trooper, man. It just kept speaking through and beating out super new songs. Like it was always coming back to "Shiver." And then we had D'Mile go back in and do some post-production, and that's when he added like the breaths that are throughout the song and just some of those special moments like in the second verse, he changed the chords to kind of these, like Janet reminiscent kind of chords, and it just brought a whole new life to the song. And then at that moment, me, my manager, and everybody, we call one another like, "This is the single thing now, right? This is more than just an EP song." So, from that point forward, it just became obvious. But I love that for "Shiver." I love that "Shiver" was screaming the whole time, "Don't forget about me! It's me!" So it just happened organically. It made the most sense.

You partially answered it, but what is the song about for you?

Lyrically, it's about that thrill of denying and brushing off a little bit, like playing it cool. Yeah, not really looking for something, but it's just this undeniable sensation that you feel when you're with this person and can't shake it. But obviously, it's a little bit more playful and flirty than that. But to me, it's more so the feeling. The lyrics are more about enhancing the overall feeling of the song. It's more about that than it is for me, like the lyricism. I love that it's one of those songs, I know I'm biased, but it really does feel like one of those records you can listen to over and over again, which I love because I'm the kind of person that has 10 songs on my playlist that I just listen to over and over. So I love that. And I also feel like, it's cool to be hinted at in this playful... I don't know, it's kind of like you're telling the guy, it's like a gender norm switch. You're, as the female, you're being the dominant one, almost a masculine approach. Still, it feels very feminine, flirty, playful, and almost girly, but you're sometimes the aggressor, which is why I liked that juxtaposition. I like that flip-flop and did that a lot on this record. This EP plays with masculinity and femininity and how to blend those two worlds together, which is cool. It's cool to hear a woman be in charge and in the power seat, but I like doing it in a way that feels very not aggressive and concerned. I feel like Janet did that very, very well, and I drew a lot of inspiration from her in that sense. She is the blueprint for that kind of world.

How do you relax, zen out? Take a little respite. What do you do to be chill, be you?

For me, I love learning something new. It's funny because you think that doesn't calm your mind, but for me, it really does. So I love to sit, and I play drums and piano too, so I love to sit at the piano or the drums, explore and try different things, and fall into this world where you're not thinking or doing something for a reason. It's more about exploring and having fun. I do that a lot. You'll constantly find me just sitting and playing some instrument for no purpose. But outside of music, I live close to the beach, so I love it when I can get outside and stick my feet in the sand. That's like the earth sign in me, but, I mean, it's always music, though. I will be completely transparent. I know everyone says that, but it is true.

If I'm in the perfect place to listen to "Shiver," where am I? What am I eating or drinking? What am I doing?

You're in a freezer. No, I'm just kidding. [laughs] Go to Wisconsin in the winter! Ok, but really, the perfect place for me; the first of a few things that pop up is that I get this kind of bedroom daydreaming vibe. You're daydreaming about this person that you're into, like playing a guilty pleasure song, you just feel like you're in this daydreaming space. The second place would be the car, like a late-night drive vibe. I think those would be the two places that I feel scream "Shiver" to me, and then, of course, eating a popsicle or something cold makes sense.

Who are your Ones To Watch? 

Yeah. A few up-and-comers, well, they're doing pretty well. I don't know if they'd take offense to me saying that. But the biggest, well notable, like one would be RAYE. But I want to give her all her flowers because she's so incredible. And I also love what she does for the songwriting community, like coming from a songwriting background, and I love how she uses her voice to, hopefully, make a change within how songwriters are paid and how all of that works. So she's just, she's amazing. I love her. And I'm also a big fan of Leon Thomas. I love his work as a songwriter and as an artist; I love, love him! And also Kumari. He's great too. Two of the producers I worked with on this EP go by Trackside, they do a lot of stuff with him and they're just amazing. They're incredible, as well as he is. So I love what they have going on together, too. So maybe those three. Q was also great on the R&B side. I love Q. So, those are a few.