Olivia Hellman On the Making Of “Prove It!”
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind "Prove It!" and the story it tells?
I’ve grown up in the theater world, and I’ve always felt this need to have to prove myself to other people. I’ve been surrounded by people who have told me that I wasn’t capable of doing the things that I knew in my heart I was. My confidence was crushed, and I was tired of feeling underestimated. After a while, I stopped letting people’s opinions define me. I started being more confident in myself, and started working and improving as a person and as an artist. I wanted to write a song that would uplift other people to do the same-to not feel that they had to succumb to other people’s perceptions of you. Writing this song has made me grow even more self-assured, and has taught me to ignore the haters and keep being my authentic self!
Were there any challenges or obstacles you faced while creating "Prove It!?"
When I start writing, I usually start with the title. That way I have an overall theme in my head about what the song is going to be about. That then influences melodies, rhythms, and overall vibe, and everything snowballs from there. With “Prove It!”, the title was one of the last components when writing the song. I knew I wanted to write a song about revenge at some point in my career, so for the time being I wrote “Untitled Revenge Song” as a placeholder for the title. My producer, David Maurice, and my co-writer, Jon Pasquarella, even suggested that be the title! But as I kept writing, I wanted to discover exactly what I wanted the outcome to be of getting revenge in this song. I realized I wanted to prove something, prove my worth. Prove it to others and prove it to myself. From there, the puzzle pieces fell into place, and the title was born.
What is your favorite moment in making the music video?
This music video was very special to me, because it was my first time co-directing! My amazing co-director, Jacob Maximillian Baron, was so great to work with, he was such a great collaborator. The music video pays homage to the opening of Saturday Night Fever, and there’s nothing cooler than running around the streets of Brooklyn filming a music video! I was also so excited to invite my band, Sunrisers, to be a part of the video. I’ve been performing with them for a few months now in venues all across New York City, and although they aren’t the ones playing on the actual record, I wanted to include them in some way, and we had the best time filming together!
How did you get started in music, and what inspired you to become a singer-songwriter?
I’ve been obsessed with performing ever since I was a little girl. I think I can either trace it back to my late grandmother, who was also a singer, or watching American Idol episodes over and over again, singing along to Fantasia Barrino or Clay Aiken. I had such an outgoing personality, and I can’t deny how much little Olivia loved the spotlight (I am a Leo after all!). I started doing musical theater when I was 8, and I never looked back. I am now a senior at NYU studying musical theater, and I couldn’t be happier!
As a kid, I would put on shows with my best friend for my family in our living room. I would write so many songs and perform big dance numbers to them. From then on I had notebooks and pages in my Notes app of lyrics, but I kept them to myself. Who would want to hear what I had to say? I never really started to take myself seriously as a songwriter until I started working with my producer. I finally found my voice in my music, and found the courage to share my songs with the world!
How do you balance crafting relatable stories with maintaining your unique voice as a songwriter?
Writing songs and letting other people hear them is such a vulnerable act. I’ve always valued lyricism and the stories being told when it comes to the music I listen to, and I wanted to be able to share my (albeit limited) life experience. I’ve always been a creative person, and I love using art as an escape, I love being able to express myself and my emotions through what I create. As a songwriter, I am always the most proud of my work when people can relate to the stories I tell.