VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Pop Singer Kelsie Watts Answers Burning Fan Questions, Part 1

Sassy pop singer Kelsie Watts went for the full uInterview and answered a series of her fans’ burning questions.

Born into a musical family, Watts studied opera, vocal performance and commercial music at Belmont University in Nashville. She began to write her own music, and in 2020, she was asked to be the featured vocalist on AJ McLean’s single “Hurts to Love You.” After the single was released, Watts appeared on Season 19 of NBC’s The Voice. She has continued to release music over the years with influence from genres such as R&B, classical and rock.

One fan asked Watts what she found the most challenging part of the songwriting process.

Watts replied, “I would say finding the best combination of people to work with. Whenever I start writing a song, depending on if it’s with just a producer or a producer and another writer, finding a concept that we’re all feeling, bringing a bunch of different writers together to all be on the same page and then coming up with a concept. I would say is the most difficult part, but it’s not bad. I would say the hardest part about songwriting is promoting it afterward.”

Watts further explained her creative process: “All of my songs have something very near and dear to my heart. Even if I want it to be kind of more of a bop and more of a fun song, I still, as an artist, have to make sure I can relate to it.”

Asked at what age she knew she wanted to be a singer, Watts said, “I’ve been singing since I was three. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I told my parents growing up that I either wanted to be a singer, a rockstar or, if that didn’t work out, a pirate. So thankfully, this one worked out first!”

One fan asked Watts if she had ever forgotten the words of a song on stage. Watts burst out laughing.

“As recently as a week ago!” she said. “We had a sold-out show at the Bowery Vault here in Nashville, Tennessee, and we got to the very last song. It’s my single that I just released, ‘After Midnight.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s go, let’s do it,’ but it was a very stripped-down set – so no tracks, not the normal things you would hear while listening to the song – it was like a very different vibe just because of the type of show that it was. And the band starts playing, and I just kind of go, ‘Huh? How does this go?’ And I stopped, the band kept playing, but I go, ‘Alright guys, just very transparent moment here: I don’t remember how this song goes, and I’d rather tell you that I’m forgetting than try and play it cool because I can’t play it cool.’ So yes, it definitely happens.”

In response to a fan’s question about her musical inspirations, Watts stated, “I would say some of my biggest musical influences vocally: Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera, all very amazing vocalists, artists.”

She continued, “As far as my artistry goes, I’m inspired by people who are just unapologetically themselves. So people like Demi Lovato, Pink, huge, huge inspo is Pink, Rihanna—they’re just such powerhouses, and they just are themselves all the time, and I love that.”

Check back for Part 2 of Kelsie’s interview in the next week.