Independent artist Charly Reynolds is ready to make her mark on the country music community once and for all, “blending the spirit of Nashville twang with the energy of Texas dance halls” into her debut album, Off The Record, which hit streaming services on September 20.
Featuring 12 soon-to-be smash hits, Off The Record is said to “delve into themes of past heartbreak, the joy of new love, and personal experiences” that have shaped Reynolds into the woman she is today, creating a cohesive yet diverse project that gives listeners a glimpse into exactly who the Florida native is as an artist, as well as a person.
Ahead of the release of her debut album, the 25-year-old sat down with Music Mayhem to discuss all things surrounding Off The Record, as well as how she got to the point she’s at today.
Who is Charly Reynolds?
Beginning our exclusive interview, Reynolds detailed her musical beginnings, stating that she moved to Music City from Florida at just 18 years old to chase her dreams, working at Chick-fil-A to make ends meet until her country music career took off.
“I kind of had to get out of my comfort zone and reach out to people on social media, asking to write or hang out, and that’s kind of got me where I am now. Just kind of taking myself out of that comfort zone,” she explained. “I thought it was so weird and awkward to reach out to people back then on social media, even though now it feels so normal, so that’s kind of how I started building friendships and writing relationships in town.”
Not only did she find some frequent collaborators, but she also managed to book gigs all around Nashville — notably at Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa — which was “huge for her just as far as growth and performing and being comfortable on stage.”
Now that she has built an extensive network within Music City, Reynolds has been releasing a great deal of music of her own, even as an independent artist.
Independent Artist
She then delved into the pros and cons of being an independent artist: “There are things that I can’t afford and that I don’t have the connections to, but I try to make things happen for myself that, you know, I see other artists who are signed doing, and I try to figure out how I can be doing what they’re doing just with a lower budget and with less connections.”
She added, “I’m always trying to learn and grow and kind of see what the A-list artists are doing, and what can I be doing better? How can I be growing? And I think that’s helped me a lot as an independent artist.”
The soon-to-be country star concluded by stating that TikTok and Instagram have been major tools to help withe exposure as an independent artist, prior to offering advice to other aspiring artists who may be in the same boat.
Advice for other independent artists
The Florida native advised, “Work hard, because someone’s always working harder, and do not let yourself get in your head. If you feel it in your soul that this is what you’re supposed to do and that you wanna be doing this, then you’ve got to have that kind of mentality… You can focus on what you can be doing, how you can be working harder on stuff.”
She added that along with having a strong work ethic, keeping faith is of the utmost importance, as everything will unfold the way it’s supposed to.
Off The Record
After giving us some background on who she is as an artist, Reynolds then transitioned to talking about Off The Record and how it came to be, stating that she had been wanting to make a full-length album for years, but she finally took the leap.
“I was always scared, because without a record label, this is such a big project, and do I want to risk spending all this money and having it, you know, fail? Or do I just kind of stick with the easy route and not take a leap on it? And so I kind of decided in the fall of last year that I was not going to stress about it, and that I wanted to do it, and that there was nothing standing in my way other than myself and the fear of failure. I decided I was going to go for it,” the budding songstress gushed.
Co-written by Reynolds alongside a wide range of talented songwriters — and produced by Zachary Manno, Chris Utley, and Alex Kiel — each track adds a unique layer to the project, including “some cheating songs [and] some love songs” from all different parts of the Florida native’s life thus far.
She concluded, “I just picked my favorite songs, saw what flowed together and went with it, and I’m really proud of it. I really found my sound like halfway through making the album that I’ve been looking for since I moved to town, and that was a really exciting moment, because now I know going forward — and in most of this album — who I am as an artist. It’s been really cool to figure that out through the process of making the Off The Record.”
Off The Record track list
1. “Another Man Will” – Charly Reynolds, Jessi Pugh, Blaine Younger
2. “Off The Record” – Charly Reynolds, Sofie Lynn, Tyler Bank, Alex Kiel
3. “People Think” – Charly Reynolds, Nicole Croteau, Chris Utley, Averie Bielski
4. “Shade of Blue” – Charly Reynolds, Elysse Yulo, Averie Bielski
5. “Love You Long” – Charly Reynolds, Nicole Croteau
6. “Freedom Ain’t Free” – Charly Reynolds, Nicole Croteau, Chris Utley
7. “Visiting Hours” – Charly Reynolds, Nicole Croteau, Chris Utley
8. “Hurt People Hurt” – Charly Reynolds, Nicole Croteau, Alex Kiel
9. “Word on the Street” – Charly Reynolds, Nicole Croteau, Tony Croteau
10. “Somebody In Love” – Charly Reynolds, Nicole Croteau, Chris Utley
11. “I Will Survive” – Freddie Perren, Dino Fekaris
12. “Blame It On My Boots” – Charly Reynolds, Nicole Croteau, Lydia Dall
“Hurt People Hurt”
Reynolds then delved into two notable tracks featured on Off The Record, beginning with one of her personal favorites, “Hurt People Hurt.”
Explaining the meaning behind the soon-to-be smash hit, she told Music Mayhem, “‘Hurt People Hurt’ is a deeper level song. I am a person who sometimes goes through my head for this industry. Am I good enough? Am I too much? Am I, you know, all these things that run through everyone’s heads at some point in their life? Unfortunately.”
“It also came from a place of bullying,” she continued, passionately. “I know that sounds weird when you hear the song, but that’s where like the original idea came from. It’s kind of just hurt people hurt other people, and we’ve all heard that… That song just really connected with me a lot, just because I do throw those questions into my mind often — more often than I’d like — and so I think that one just really connected with me on a personal level.”
“I Will Survive”
On a lighter note, Reynolds then began to discuss another tune featured on Off The Record, which is an unexpected countrified cover of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” one of the rising superstar’s favorite songs to perform live.
“I have like this weird memory of walking into my older brother’s room, and I remember hearing it when I was little, and I loved it,” Reynolds dished about the origin of loving this tune in particular. “Ever since then, I’ve just like wanted to perform that song, and I started performing it on Broadway when I played down there, and everyone seemed to be so into it. I perform it now at every show that I do, and so I just was like, ‘Why not?’”
Admitting that she did not want to put such a good song to shame, she kept the authenticity of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” all while adding her own country twist to the track, making a new version for Off The Record that is 100% Charly Reynolds.
What’s Next?
With Off The Record out for the world to hear, it sounds like the budding superstar will not be stopping any time soon, “already thinking of the next songs that will be coming out, whenever that is.”
Off The Record tour
Aside from working on even more new music, Reynolds will be “going on the road and performing the album songs” during the Off the Record Tour, delving into the details to finish our exclusive interview: “We’re going to I think like seven cities? I’d have to look, but they’re around the Southeast and playing at all those places, so I’m excited to go and play the record and share it and sell merch and meet fans and do all of that. I’m super excited for that.”
Performing alongside Maddie & Tae, Walker Hayes, Lainey Wilson and Elle King in the past, we are certain that the Off the Record Tour will be nothing short of sensational as well.
To keep up with all things Charly Reynolds, you can connect with the 25-year-old via Instagram @charlyreynoldsmusic and TikTok @charlyreynoldsmusic. In the meantime, you can listen to Off the Record via your favorite streaming service as we speak.
