Her humble nature and lyrical expertise have propelled Caroline Romano into the eyes and ears of millions of music-lovers all around the world. Releasing tracks that have found major success on the Billboard charts and Radio Disney, Caroline proves that she is a fresh force among the younger generation. Her music is an honest look at what it means to be a teenager in today’s world, where everyone has an opinion about everything all the time. We recently caught up with Caroline to discuss her new releases, old favorites, and what it is like to create music in the modern age.
Photo by Robert Chavers
Photo by Robert ChaversMelodic Mag: Growing up, songwriting has been your way of expressing yourself and making sense of the things going on around you. You have probably written loads and loads of songs at this point, but do you remember the first song you ever wrote?
Caroline Romano: I do! Technically, the first song I ever wrote was a Christmas song, and it’s one I actually ended up releasing several years later. It’s called “Remember Christmas.” I was 12, and I remember my mom being really upset and overwhelmed with the holidays that year. The whole family had gotten in a fight while putting up the Christmas tree, and I remember going back to my room and writing down all of the little things I think of when Christmas comes to mind. Honestly, I think a lot of why I wrote the song was to try and guilt my mom into letting us still have Christmas that year. It worked, and she cried when I played it for her. I still really love that song, as everything in it reigns true for me to this day.
MM: Are you a natural performer or does it take a while to get comfortable performing or playing your songs for people?
CR: I wouldn’t say I’m a natural at many things. I feel like I fumble through a lot of life awkwardly and arduously. However, performing comes to me as easily as breathing. It’s the most natural thing in the world to me. I’d say performing is one of the only places or times in life where I truly feel comfortable. I hold it so dear to me, and I love it so much because it’s where I am truly me. I’m not nervous or scared or insecure when I’m performing. Again, I am not a natural at life, but I am at performing.
MM: While “Masterpiece” was the first song you officially released, it was your next single “Ready” that really took off, landing at #3 on the Radio Disney Top 30. After that happened, did you feel any pressure to create more tracks like “Ready”?
CR: I honestly wasn’t too sure where to go sonically following “Ready.” “Ready” was basically a song admitting that this was the starting line – I’m ready for this, and the only way I plan on going is up. It was definitely scary, following the release of a song that brought my career and audience to a whole new level. I have a terrible fear of being repetitive with my sound, with my music. I get antsy, and I want each release to sound very different from the previous one. With that standpoint in mind, I basically went with the mindset of writing and recording whatever I wanted, as I knew that I would know the right song to release when the time came. The biggest pressure following “Ready” wasn’t necessarily that I wanted to create more tracks like it, but that I wanted to beat it with every new song I released.
MM: One of your biggest hits last year was “I Still Remember” with R3HAB. What was it like to work on the track together?
CR: Working with R3HAB on “I Still Remember” was an absolutely incredible experience. It was really interesting as well, since we started working on this project at the start of the pandemic, while we were on opposite sides of the world. That, obviously, put a lot of limitations on us as to how much communication went on involving the track, as well as not being able to create content for the song together in person. I’ve been a huge fan of R3HAB for many years, and I knew that he would know exactly what to do with this song. We sent him the song, and I basically said “do anything you want to it.” I fell in love with the first pass of the song he sent back, and the final product is not far from that initial first listen he sent back. I think he’s a musical mastermind, and it was truly an honor to get to work with him on “I Still Remember.”
Photo by Alexa Campbell
Photo by Alexa CampbellMM: Is there a song or a lyric of yours that means the most to you?
CR: “I hope there’s more to me than just my plans.” It’s a line from a currently unreleased song, but I think it summarizes my life and the lives of so many other dreamers in a relatively simple, but agonizingly true, way.
MM: On “PDA of the Mainstream,” you call out the toxicity of the internet and social media, drawing attention to how it controls our lives. Have you had any crazy or unusual experiences online?
CR: Honestly, I’d say my experiences online have been relatively tame compared to many others I hear of. I get the every now and then hate comments, the cool celebrity interactions, and the disappointment of posts not performing as well as I thought they would, but I wouldn’t say I’ve had anything too crazy happen. I’ll definitely count that as a good thing, as it is truly a brutal world in the digital space. I wrote that song mostly from a distaste at how uncomfortably comfortable we’ve allowed social media to sit in our lives. We let it get away with so much, and we’re all spinning our wheels trying to perform for algorithms that will never love us back. I know there’s a lot of good and bad that comes with social media, but for some reason, it’s simply never been my thing. I look at it with the greatest sense of fear and trepidation, yet I want to belong to it and fit into its world all the same. It is a cruel beast of a thing.
MM: What do you think is the best thing about making music in this day and age? The worst?
CR: I’d say the best thing about making music in this current age is how easy and accessible it is to do so. Modern technology has allowed anyone with a laptop to be able to create studio quality tracks. I love that music isn’t limited to the spaces of industry anymore. The playing field is leveled, and if you have the talent, you can make it regardless of who you know or how much money you have. I love that. On the other hand, I think the worst thing about making music in this day in age is social media and TikTok’s involvement in it. I don’t think the algorithm or what’s “trending” should have anything to do with what kind of music we’re making. I really don’t like that the amount of followers someone has on an app completely unrelated to music can determine the opportunities they get in the music industry.
Photo by Robert Chavers
Photo by Robert ChaversMM: Your latest release, “The Hypothetical,” is such a playful track about a fantasy romance gone wrong. Did anyone in particular inspire this track?
CR: There wasn’t any one person who inspired “The Hypothetical,” as much as it was the whole idea of the psychotic worlds and alternate realities we build inside our own heads. Spurred by the smallest thing, we create entire futures and romances and impossibly beautiful scenarios in our brains. At least I do. I’m in love with the idea of the hypothetical, and I am infatuated with the impossible. I think we all are.
MM: Will your next releases have more of that alt rock vibe of “PDA” and “The Hypothetical”?
CR: The next releases will definitely follow the alt rock vibe of “PDA” and “The Hypothetical.” I’m absolutely in love with that sound. Early and mid-2000s punk pop is what I grew up listening to. It’s the music that got me through middle school and many of the hardest moments in my life. This type of music has been the soundtrack to my life for as long as I can remember, and I’m so excited that I’m making that type of music now. It just feels like me. It feels right.
MM: Plans for the rest of 2021?
CR: There will be lots of new music the rest of 2021. It’s going to be loud. I plan on making up for lost time the rest of the year. Lots of new music, and hopefully lots of live shows at last.
MM: Final thoughts or comments?
CR: Thank you so much for having me! If I can say anything, it would be to stay tuned. I’ve got a lot of noise to make.
Photo by Alexa Campbell
Photo by Alexa CampbellIt was such a pleasure talking to you, Caroline! We are so ready for the noise!
You can check out Caroline’s music on platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.
Keep up with Caroline Romano: Facebook // Instagram // Twitter // TikTok // Website
