Singled out
Sydney Adams wants you to remember her name. The career of the 20-year-old singer/ songwriter from Edmond is just beginning. Adams is a rare pop musician starting her career in the Oklahoma City area.
With the release of her singles “Memorize Me” and “Walls,” she’s determined to introduce her indie-pop sound in the heartland instead of fleeing for the coasts.
“People who are really into pop feel like they have to move somewhere, move to LA, move to New York,” Adams said. “I really like being here doing that, making a name for myself in my hometown. I feel like you don’t always have to run off and do it somewhere else.”
She has immersed herself in a local music community. Her producer, Raul Alfonso, works out of The Music Group studio in Edmond. She studies and performs alongside peers from the Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma.
Adams, as much a music consumer as a creator, releases her music the same way she discovers others’, single-bysingle. Listeners can find Adams on iTunes and all streaming services, but they won’t see her release a full album any time soon.
“How I always purchase music is I like an artist, I hear one of their songs and I buy their single,” she said. “A single comes out, I listen to it, I go buy it. That’s what I want people to do with my music. I want them to focus on one song that comes out at that
moment and not be overwhelmed by several different songs.”
She said she won’t rule out producing an album down the road after her following swells. For now, Adams and Alfonso are sticking with the singleby-single playbook.
“Walls” dropped last week, and Adams sat down with The Oklahoman at The Music Group, where she recorded the song and her first tune, “Memorize Me.”
Q: What was the inspiration for your latest single, “Walls”?
Sydney Adams: For “Walls,” I was literally sitting on my bed, and I was talking to my boyfriend and I said, “Let’s write a song.” And he thought I was kidding, and I said, “No, seriously, let’s write a song,” and he was like, “OK.” I was just sitting there, and he didn’t actually write the song with me, but I just started writing it, and it turned into this 10-minute thing, and I just wrote “Walls.” At first I was kind of joking around just looking around my room for inspiration for something, but once I start writing it, I’m on a roll. That’s why I have to write it right then. I can’t be like, “I’ll finish it later,” because it’s what I’m feeling in the moment.
Q: What is your writing process like?
Adams: I feel like a lot of people take a while to write songs and go through a span of weeks and even have people help them write. But how I write songs is very quickly. Once an idea comes to me, I have to run away and be in complete peace and quiet and record it. Usually it’s just a 10-minute process. “Memorize Me” was a little different because I started writing it when I was 18, but I had always really liked it and knew that I wanted to finish it one day. Probably about six months ago I finished it pretty quickly. … Some of the pieces came back together, so I finished that song pretty quick.
Q: How would writing be dif- ferent if you were creating a whole album instead of one single at a time?
Adams: If someone was like, “You have to write an album,” that would be a lot of pressure because I do things in the moment. If I’m like, “I’ve got to finish something,” I can sit there and think about it, but that’s not how I like to do things. I’m just in the moment and spontaneous with my writing.
Q: What kind of reaction are you drawing from people listening to your music?
Adams: I think people are really liking the style that I’m putting out because it’s not something that you hear a lot in Oklahoma. It’s more of a country scene. While there is pop, rock and all that stuff, I feel like I’ve gotten the word “refreshing” and “cool,” and people are really liking it. When “Memorize Me” came out, I was really surprised at how many people were texting me and messaging me.
Q: When did you first get the singing bug?
Adams: When I was 2. Since I could talk, I’ve talked about it. There’s even this video of me when I was little sitting there, and I’m like, “I’m going to be (Little Orphan) Annie one day.” I’m not even a musical theater person or in choir, but I was like, “I’m going to be Annie,” and I actually performed as Annie in seventh grade. Basically since I was 2, I’ve wanted to sing, and I’ve always put on shows around the house and demanded people watch my shows and got up on the coffee table.
Q: What do you have coming up next? Are you working on another single?
Adams: I have ideas that I’ve been sending to my producer, Raul, and so we are going to get started on my next single soon. We don’t have the for-sure song yet because I have a couple that we’re trying to fit with the vibe of both of the other songs. Right now I’m focusing on getting both my two singles that are out out there, get people to like them and building more of a fan base. Promoting myself more is the goal.