Gina Miles is America’s next big popstar, and you heard it hear first. The 20-year-old singer won our hearts one year ago when she brought the very first Team Niall to victory with her powerhouse vocals and notably soft demeanor. Since winning season 23 of NBC’s The Voice, she’s signed to Republic Records, released a single— ‘Wicked Game’, and most importantly, remained incredibly down to earth. From playing in local mall food courts to singing the national anthem at NFL games, the Illinois-born artist has proven that she’s got the drive to be a household name. And the talent, too!
This summer, I sat down for an interview with the rising star, and honestly it felt more like a conversation with a friend. Between shared laughs and kind remarks, she couldn’t have been more of a breath of fresh air.
First of all, congratulations on winning Season 23 of The Voice. That’s really exciting and very surreal! What has the past year looked like for you and how has your day-to-day changed, or maybe what are some aspects of your life that thankfully have not changed?
I feel like it’s just been a lot. Obviously, regular life is so different from being in a competition. So, there’s a lot more free time but also, a lot more working in a different capacity. I feel like there’s a lot more emails and computer stuff, and also just a lot more writing. Instead of focusing on singing other people’s songs, [I’m] able to write for myself and write a lot more songs. So it’s definitely different, but it’s very nice. And I feel like the other thing that hasn’t changed is that my family’s the exact same. My family is very regular and I still do everything I was expected to do before I won.
Yeah, I think that’s great! And you recently released a single, ‘Wicked Game’. What do you think sparked your connection to the song, and why has it resonated with you?
I’ve been singing ‘Wicked Game’ for a long time— before I was on the show, when I was on the show, after the show. I would play it at other gigs, and I feel like it’s just a very special song to me, and very personal to me now after being with it for so long. Then, when I sang it on The Voice, I think it had a very impactful performance, and the fans really liked it. So, I think that made it even more special to me and it made me want to be able to put it out afterward.
Yeah, definitely! Do you think there was a certain moment where you first connected with it? Or was there a particular reason that you chose this song to be the one that you sang every time?
I think it’s just such a beautiful song. Chris Isaak is an amazing musician and singer, and it’s just so special and very singular, like I don’t feel like anything else sounds like it. So, it sticks with me!
Tell me a little bit about your upcoming debut album with Republic Records. What has the process been like, or what are some of the themes of the album?
I’m definitely working on it! I think, creatively for me, it’s really exciting to even just sit in my room and build albums and build worlds and build projects just by myself. It’s been really exciting because it can have a fun creative freedom for me that I feel like I haven’t had previously. I’m writing a lot of things, and making cohesive projects— I think that’s the biggest thing. I released an EP before I went on The Voice where I was just kind of experimenting, and I was trying to learn myself and my sound, and I feel like now it’s like I can really zone in and do a lot more creatively.
Awesome, yeah. Do you have an album title or any ideas? Or, when can we expect a release?
I’m just gonna say that I’m not gonna say— just to keep you on your toes!
And how have you reflected on your EP since you released it?
I have a lot of respect for it. I think that I was so young, and I didn’t know a lot of things. I just wanted to create and write. And I did. And I think that I’m just proud of myself. And also I feel like I just sound so different. And I feel like I can tell that I’m like 16 in all of those. So, it’s really it’s fun to look back on it, and I love and respect all those songs so much.
I think that I was so young, and I didn’t know a lot of things. I just wanted to create and write. And I did. And I think that I’m just proud of myself.
It seems like you had really good chemistry with your coach, Niall Horan. How has he been able to support you during your post-win career? Have you been able to keep in contact at all?
Yeah, we definitely keep in contact. He’s super busy, ’cause he’s on tour right now. So if you haven’t gone… go! But, he’s, he’s doing really well. And I keep in contact with him. And it’s also just been nice to be able to have someone to ask some questions to and if I get a little lost, I’m never alone. So, it’s really nice.
Right, exactly. Do you have any specific moment where you’ve been kind of confused and you went to him for advice, and it was helpful?
Yeah, I do. I definitely think that we’re as good professionally as we are friends. So it’s nice to just be able to check in. And sometimes it’s nice to be able to do work stuff. Just, it’s a very great relationship. And I’m very happy that I get to work with [him].
Absolutely. So, do you have any other artistic forms that you engage with, that you think aid your musical process? Because, I know a lot of songwriters also write poetry. And then those poems turn into lyrics. Or, I’m an aspiring novelist, so I like writing in a certain way that I think will translate well into movies. So, do you have artistic interests outside of music that inadvertently influence your songs?
That’s really cool by the way! Yeah, I feel like I don’t. I feel like I always say this, but I’m not really creative in other ways like that. I wish I could draw so badly, but I can’t! Or like paint, or any of those things. I feel like I don’t really write a lot of poetry. I mean, I guess it is poetry if there’s no music happening! But I just write down everything that I ever think and circle back to it later. So I think in terms of writing, I never think about it as like I’m writing a book, or writing a story, but I’m writing constant streams of thought. I’m constantly in my notes app. It’s full… like completely full.. to the rim. So I feel like I normally think of everything in terms of music, or how it can come back to musical-related things. I wish I was talented at other mediums, but I’m not. It’s just not my theme!
Yeah definitely, and I guess on that note, how do your songs usually start out? Do they start out with melodies or song lyrics, or where does it come from for you?
It definitely just depends on the song, because some melodies just fall out of my mouth and I’m like, oh my goodness, I have to record that right now! And then, other times I’ve written just the words of everything that I’m thinking. Then I go back in the middle of the night, and I’ll be like, actually, I remember that I wrote this really cool line, and then I just make the structure correct. Then I try and put that to music. Or, sometimes I’ll just be sitting with my guitar or at my piano, and I’m like, I just have something to say. I don’t know what it is. I need to say something. And it kind of just rips out of me. So I think it’s a very natural thing to me that just kind of comes upon me. I don’t really feel like I ever have to go digging. I think I just have to allow myself to let it come out.
It’s interesting, I’ve been talking to a lot of artists recently that kind of have random ideas, put them in the notes app, and have just completely different fragments. And then somehow, these fragments end up becoming one song. This might be a weird question, but have you experienced anything like that?
I definitely have, but I feel like for me, instead of it being small— I don’t really write a lot of one-liner things in my notes. It’ll be like a lot of lyrics, or like I’ll type out an entire song where the structure feels good to me, but it has no melody or production behind it. And then later, I’ll come back and I’ll be like, actually, this structure is horrible, why did I do that? I’ll just completely break it down and just rearrange the original idea that I had. And I’m like, oh, I had it there the whole time, it was just a weird order I put it in. I feel like it’s definitely more that I write complete stories or complete thoughts down or like I have a complete song acapella, and then I’ll add production to it, and move those around. Or, I’ll have two songs where I’m like… neither of these are really my favorite thing. Then I take the best parts of both of them and put them together. They happen to match up thematically or sonically, or whatever it is. So it’s very all over the place, and it’s so interesting to hear other people’s processes as well, because I feel like I’m so all over the place. I go in the studio and I’m like… so I have these 10 ideas, and I want to put all of them together!
When would you say that your interest in music started, and how did it start for you? Was it grounded in the music itself, or the lyrics, or maybe the story?
Definitely at a very young age. My dad is and was a DJ. When I was younger, I was constantly surrounded by music. He would load up once a month all the new songs of that month or whatever, and then a bunch of songs he loved when he was a kid and a teenager onto mine and my sister’s ipod. And I love that he did that for me because it made me so excited! I’d wait every month for the next month and be like, I just can’t wait for the new stuff to be on my ipod— like I was 7.
It’s magically showing up there!
Yeah! I was like, dad how’d you get this on here? But it was definitely really amazing and I loved to sing in private and write things in private. But, I think I always get really attached to lyrics more than anything else. Obviously, the melody is the body and the movement of the song. You can’t have a song without a melody and that’s really kind of what sticks with people. But for me, I was always so interested in what people were saying. I wanted to know what they were trying to say or what story they were trying to tell. And that definitely translates into my music as well. I just want it to be really lyric driven, because for me, that’s what hits home the hardest.
Sometimes I’ll just be sitting with my guitar or at my piano, and I’m like, I just have something to say. I don’t know what it is. I need to say something. And it kind of just rips out of me.
Do you have any musical inspirations that you think just embody lyrics very well?
Adele is my favorite. I love her with my whole soul. I feel like her lyrics— and her melody, she’s just an all around 10 out of 10— her lyrics are so deep. At the same time, I feel like it’s so open for interpretation. I think that’s one of the best skills you can have as a musician— being able to write songs that are personal to you but then can become personal to other people. So I think that’s definitely a big thing, and I think she does that very well. I love her.
Okay this is sort of a fun one but tell me about your fashion! It seems like you have a pretty distinct style and you lean toward kind of a preppy, maybe sometimes edgy look. You can correct me if that sounds super off!
I think it’s definitely grown! I am from a very small town in Illinois, so I never— up until I was like 18— I never dressed very exciting. And in my free time, even now, I’m just wearing a hoodie and jeans I’m very boring. But I feel like, especially when I went on the show, I had so much freedom to be like, I’m not in a space where I have to just be “regular plain ol’ whatever“. I can see what makes me feel empowered and what makes me feel beautiful. And that’s such a big part of performing too. If I don’t feel my best, I’m not gonna be able to do my best. So, I just got to experiment a lot more. And then, as the years have gone— I sound old, I’m like, “as the years have passed”. No, but as I’ve gotten a little bit older I’ve just gotten a little bit more confident in what I like to wear and what makes me feel good. And I am such a dress girl! I used to never. I used to hate dresses. I was like, I don’t want to wear this. I did a lot of sports, too. So I was like, this is just inconvenient for me, and I don’t want to do that. And now every time I have a performance I’m like, it’s a dress or it’s nothing! Like I want to be dressed up. I want to have my hair and makeup super done. I love that stuff! And it’s nice to be able to do both, because in my regular day-to-day, I’ll just dress like a small boy because I’m not on stage. It’s like, I can feel like a woman, and I can really express myself that way. So it’s nice to be able to do both and grow in that way. Sorry, that was a long answer! But I get really excited to talk about that.
Yeah, I feel the same way as somebody who grew up in suburbia and is now in their early twenties in LA. So, I understand! Any fashion icons that inspire you?
It’s so hard to pinpoint one person, because I look so much at Pinterest. I’m like such a Pinterest person! There are so many different things that you can see and people that you can see, but I do love watching The Met Gala, and when it’s Fashion Week. I’m like, my eyes are open! I’m ready to see! I love consuming that sort of media about fashion, but I don’t think I could pinpoint a specific person.
Before parting ways, the California-based singer was sure to leave me with some words of encouragement for my personal endeavors. Seriously, could she be any sweeter? Gina Miles is not only an ultimate musical powerhouse, but an ultimate girl’s girl! Her Campus is absolutely Team Gina. Whenever you’re ready to drop the album girl, we’re already planning our listening party outfit listicles!