Lily Forte sits fresh-faced outside of Starbucks. It’s a characteristically sunny day in Los Angeles, the city of dreamers that Forte has recently begun to call home. She sips on her coffee (a grande Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, if you’re wondering) and pulls her signature jet black bangs free from her ponytail. It’s been three months since she released her debut EP, Losing the Illusion. The record’s dreamy lead single, “I Was Wearing Green,” has been played nearly 100,000 times on Spotify. Even with her newfound success, Forte still has her head on her shoulders and her hands on a piano—and they’re not going anywhere.
Her Campus (HC): When did you first get into songwriting?
Lily Forte (LF): I’ve been writing songs since I was 12. I fell more in love with songwriting when it felt like it was the only thing I had. At Florida State University (FSU), all I would do was sit in the practice rooms in the music building and write for hours. However, I didn’t start making music in a studio until I stayed home last year taking online classes.
HC: Where does your songwriting inspiration come from?
LF: All of it comes from crushes; I’ve never actually been in a relationship! I get a lot of my inspiration from people watching. Ideas will weirdly also come to me in my sleep. My upcoming song, “Third Street,” came from a super intense moment in a dream. The first thing I did when I woke up was go to my piano and write the song.
HC: How did FSU shape your artistry?
LF: When I was studying acting at FSU, I thought that was what I wanted to do. But I literally spent every waking moment writing songs. I knew then that music was what I was meant to do; it’s always been music for me. I’m a Music Industry major now at the University of Southern California, but I’m so thankful for my experience at FSU. I wouldn’t be where I am today without it.
HC: What was the breakthrough moment when you thought, “Okay, I can make this passion into a career?”
LF: That breakthrough moment happened when I came home for winter break during my freshman year of college. I wrote so many songs about my experience that first fall semester. I remember telling my mom, “Hey, I think I want to go for music completely.” I sat down and played her all the songs I had written. We both cried; it was just one of those moments! Once I saw how well people reacted to “I Was Wearing Green,” I realized that music was something I could do forever.
HC: Tell me the story behind “I Was Wearing Green.”
LF: The song is a mixture of fantasy and reality; I rewrote the moment that I met a cute guy. I immediately called my best friend, wishing that I’d looked better; maybe things would have gone differently if I had. I imagined myself wearing this awesome green outfit and acting super cool. I released the song as my first single. It’s still my most popular song to this day.
HC: Many people don’t know that before releasing Losing the Illusion, you had released an EP called Quicksand under the name Lily Grace Forte. You’ve since taken it off streaming platforms and rebranded your image. Why did you decide to start fresh?
LF: Quicksand was my first-ever release. The universities I was applying to needed to hear some of my songs. I recorded all of them in a really short amount of time. They had a lot of heart and soul in them, and still mean a lot to me. After I put out the EP, I realized that if I was going to seriously launch my music career, I wanted to start it on a very specific note. Since it wasn’t too late to change, I did.
HC: You launched your music career in the middle of the pandemic. Do you think your experience would have been different had you started releasing music under normal circumstances?
LF: There was definitely a silver lining in the pandemic happening at the same time as my rise in music. I wouldn’t have been home at the time that I was. I wouldn’t have fallen into contact with my childhood friend Dylan, who became my producer. We wouldn’t have had all that free time to make the music that we did. I also probably wouldn’t have downloaded TikTok. All of that happened for a reason.
HC: TikTok has been revolutionizing the music industry. How influential has it been in your career?
LF: It’s how I built my entire fanbase. I wouldn’t have the following that I do nor the streams that I do without TikTok. It’s remarkable how that happened. Since I can’t perform in person right now, I’ve leaned into doing livestreams on TikTok and Instagram. They’re like mini concerts.
HC: What advice would you give to aspiring songwriters who have no idea where to start?
LF: The best advice I can give is to observe. There are so many things you can learn from watching people interact or by listening to your friends’ conversations. There’s so much to see that you won’t catch if you’re not paying attention. Also, it’s okay to feel things intensely. We’re always told not to cry. No! Do cry! (laughs) It’s so important to let yourself feel your emotions.
HC: Lastly, where can we find *that* green shirt?
LF: Okay, so, I lied; I wasn’t actually wearing green. I hated what I was wearing when I met the person the song is about! I thrifted the green dress that I ended up wearing in all the song’s promotional content. I’m still obsessed with that dress.
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