Describing herself as a “songwriter first before anything else”, Stalking Gia landed a song-writing deal Warner / Chappell Music and is now launching her career as recording artist. And with her empowering debut single ‘War Paint‘ and her new uplifting track ‘Born Free’, which premiered yesterday at Nylon, Gia is two-for-two in her attempts to make a name for herself in the indie pop game. In less than a year’s time, she has drawn comparisons to Lana Del Rey, BANKS, Tove Lo and more.

Gia’s ongoing rise reminds me of the great artists before her that used their talents that first broke themselves into the industry to further pursue their goals as a musician. G.O.O.D Music’s Kacy Hill went from performing as a dancer on Kanye West’s Yeezus Tour to landing a recording deal with the man himself. And of course Kanye famously used his production talents on Jay-Z’s classic Blueprint album to score a rap deal with Roc-A-Fella Records. Now we have Stalking Gia, using her experiences co-writing music with Stevie Aiello (Thirty Seconds To Mars), Alex Suarez (Cobra Starship) and 3OH!3’s Sean Foreman, to now write for herself.  So we spoke with Stalking Gia to talk about the transition into her recording career!

Introduce yourself to our readers. Where are you from? 
Hi! I’m an artist from New York that goes by Stalking Gia.

What inspired the name “Stalking Gia”?
It was my username on “World Of Warcraft”…. I wanted to be a real life version of my night elf character   ; )

You landed a song-writing deal with Warner/Chappell, did that play a big role in helping your recording career?
Yes, absolutely. The last couple of years I’ve put all of my energy and focus into songwriting, so to sign with Warner Chappell was a huge accomplishment for me. It was something I worked hard for, it definitely didn’t come easy.

Describing yourself as a songwriter before anything else, but also placing an emphasis that music be genuine, is it a better fit when you are performing the songs you personally wrote (as opposed to another performer/artist)? 
As long as I identify with the song completely then the passion I bring to the song is the same.

You spend a lot of time in LA, New York, and Finland while song-writing? Is there any location that you think brings out your best work?
It’s not so much about the location but the people I surround myself with. With that said, New York will always be my favorite city in the world.

Many may label your music as Pop or Indie Pop, but certainly with electronic sounds and influences, do you think in today’s music, lines between genres are becoming more blurred?
When it becomes difficult to fit a song into a genre, it means the artist has done their job. Any sound that is unique and undefinable is automatically labeled as Indie Pop. To be put into that genre is a huge compliment to me.

Inside of the pop and indie-pop world, which artists inspire you the most? Which artists inspire you outside your genre?
I’ll name one for each, since that would be a never ending list. For pop music : Gaga.  Outside my genre : Kanye.

What comparisons to other artists have you heard that make you feel the most humbled?
Any comparison to any successful artist is humbling to me.

We loved the ‘War Paint’ record, tell us a little about that song.
‘War Paint’ gave birth to my sound. It was one of the first records I created where I was completely satisfied and proud enough to release it as one of my own. The inspiration behind the song came from breaking free of a toxic and controlling relationship. The song walks through the steps I took in order to gain back my independence.

Tell us about your song new “Born Free” record.
Born Free is such an anthem. Take a listen for yourself and let it do the talking for me!

Where do you see yourself as a songwriter and as an artist generally within the next year?
As a songwriter I hope to have some records out that are sung by artists I admire. As an artist I hope to tour and release more music.

Any artists you have written for or worked with that you may want to recruit for future collaborations?
None that I can name at the moment, there’s a lot in the works.

Any current time table for an upcoming EP/Album/Project?
No exact dates yet, but I have a ton of records lined up that are ready to be released. We shall see.

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us!
Thank YOU for chatting with me.  xx Gia