Life & Work with Howell of Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Howell.

Hi Howell, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
If you ask my parents, I’ve been singing pretty much from the second I could talk. But I also spent so much of my life being too afraid of rejection to put myself out there. I was so scared of being a starving artist that I never allowed myself to pursue the only thing I ever actually wanted to do. But when my backup plan failed — and it failed several times — I kind of just said “fuck it.” I started writing songs. I started letting my friends actually hear me sing. I got my heart broken. I wrote and released an album about it. And now I’m booking and playing gigs around LA. It feels a little corny to say but even though I’m not exactly in the most financially stable situation, I feel like I’m finally on the path I’m meant to be on.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I really struggled with imposter syndrome and fear of failure. I still do. I would say things like, “I don’t know any producers” or “What if nothing I write is good” and allow the self-doubt to hold me back. And then I met an amazing producer, Jay, who believed in the songs I was writing so much that he brought an entire album of mine to life. But even with a strong support system, that doubt hasn’t gone away — it’s just evolved. Now the voice in my head says “What if that’s all you can do?” It’s frustrating and it’s loud but I’m finally getting better at turning the volume down.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a pop girl to my core, and I think that comes through in my music. My whole life I have gravitated towards songs with runs, riffs, and belty hooks because they were always the most fun to sing. Those elements are what made me fall in love with music, so I try to incorporate them into my own songs as much as I can. I feel proud any time I come up with something catchy or nail an ad lib, but my proudest moment so far was the release of my debut album, Hopeless. To put out a full 10-track body of work was so surreal because I always thought I’d need a label to fund it or for someone else to write the songs for me. But as far as writing goes, all I really needed was pizza, wine, and my friend Tyler, who worked with me on most of the tracks. And when it came to actually releasing them, I have so many amazing friends who helped me with artwork, social media, conceptualizing the rollout, and just moral support when I was too in my head. So when I put Hopeless out into world I wasn’t just proud. I was grateful and overwhelmed in the best possible way.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I’m optimistic that we’re going to see the songwriters, producers, artists, and all the creatives in the music industry reclaim some power from big labels. We’re already seeing some huge artists negotiate ownership of their masters and calling for labels to provide health care and livable wages, and I’m hoping this momentum continues. I’d especially love if we start to see these shifts not just for A-list artists, but for everyone. Songwriters have been fighting to receive royalty points on masters so that they can be fairly compensated for their work. Some indie labels are already doing this, but my hope for the industry is that this becomes standard across all labels, big or small.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3LPB5cIpcIU2Tg8qUawkX3?si=oxS8T3qFR-WG4DZVs2h1AQ&nd=1&dlsi=3139dfc63f3044d4
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itssamhowell/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Howell-Music/featured
• Other: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/howell/1506400330

Image Credits
Ayla Sydney
Brynn Evida