Callista Clark introduces herself with her Big Machine Records debut, ‘Real To Me: The Way I Feel.’
Callista Clark has made a name for herself within the country genre as an adept songwriter and powerful vocalist. At just 19, Clark is a seasoned performer. The Georgia native, who’s been singing since she could talk, got her start performing at her grandfather’s church. Today, Clark introduces herself with her Big Machine Records debut, Real To Me: The Way I Feel.
Clark co-wrote all 10 tracks on the autobiographical project. She says she wants the songs to be relatable no matter one’s age and hopes Real To Me: The Way I Feel gives listeners permission to feel their feelings.
“For me it was saying, ‘Hey, we’re getting through this. We’re learning every day,’” she tells me. “You can always be better, but right now we’re acknowledging the things we’ve been through and then figuring out ways that we can learn and do better tomorrow.”
Clark’s been writing in Nashville since she was 15. The youngest member named to CMT’s Next Women of Country franchise, Clark says songwriting has always played an important role in her artistry.
“It’s the best way to get across my artistry, especially since I am so much younger than a lot of people in this industry,” she says. “If anyone was writing for a girl or a female artist to cut their song it probably wouldn’t be from the perspective of a 19-year-old. I started as a teenager and had to write my own perspective on things because I wasn’t driving, obviously I’m not drinking, so I have to share my own stories.”
Debut single “It’s ’Cause I Am” showcases exactly this. Clark penned the autobiographical tune with Laura Veltz and Cameron Jaymes in 2019 after a man who saw her carrying her guitar into Starbucks made a snide remark. Clark’s well aware of her age and that most people see her and think that she hasn’t been working for as long as she has.
“I think it’s something that will always be there, but I try to look at it in a positive way,” she says. “I’ve been working super hard for this, and I absolutely mean it and want it. We always go in with the best attitude that we can and play the best show that we can no matter what’s going on. Most of the time when people hear me sing it takes away those preconceived notions.”
The 10-track project includes five songs featured on Clark’s 2021 EP Real To Me. When working on the full-length album, Clark knew she wanted to find music that continued the chapter. She says it also was important to have tracks that complemented the first set. “Brave Girl,” a powerful piano ballad written to her younger self that details her shyness, maintains that message.
“Brave girl/ Sitting in the back of the class afraid to raise your hand/ Brave girl/ Straightening your curls like them other girls/ You don’t want to stand out,” she sings on the song’s first verse.
“I grew up extremely shy, like very, very shy, so it’s really ironic that I do this now and sing in front of people and share all of my emotions in a very public way,” she says. “I felt like if I was going to put out an album called ‘Real To Me’ I couldn’t leave out that side of me. It’s the most honest side of me.”
Clark says the line, “Say what you wanna say/ Say it like you mean it,” holds even more meaning today as she’s overcome that shyness.
“It’s one thing to say it in this song, but it’s another thing to actually mean it in your personal life and have self-confidence,” she says. “I feel like I’ve gained a whole lot of self-confidence over the last few years.”
This newfound confidence also has made its way into Clark’s business. She says she’s learned to trust her gut in any situation when it comes to her career.
“No matter how much noise is around you, [you] just say, ‘This is what I’m best at. This is the sound that I want,’” she says. “Trust your instinct and that will always get you where you need to go.
“Writing, of course, you have to be the artist in the room to say, ‘Oh I maybe wouldn’t say that, but I would say this.’ I think that’s incredibly important. Even picking the songs on this album: It’s not only which ones are my favorite, but which ones complement this record the most and trusting my own instincts about which ones are right for now.”
Real To Me: The Way I Feel is available now.