If you didn’t know the sounds of Sierra Sky before, you will now with the release of her debut single “Broken” earlier in February. Aside from her budding music career, Sky is currently a senior in the USC Thornton School of Music studying music industry. Through a unique blend of singer-songwriter ballads, pop and R&B, Sky details her experience learning to walk away from a toxic relationship. Being her musical debut, “Broken” has introduced her artistic brand through a combination of authenticity and vulnerability. Partnering alongside USC student-run music label 840 West, Sky has created a set of visuals to complement this tone. While she has only just started releasing music, Sky hinted at two more upcoming songs that would make up a trilogy of songs that take listeners through the different sides of a relationship.
Annenberg Media spoke with Sky about her inspirations, creative processes and artistic branding on her debut single “Broken.”
Editor’s note: The full transcript has been edited for clarity. This episode was recorded before the release of “Broken.”
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: Hi, my name is Sierra Sky. I am a music industry major at USC and I’m a senior and I was born and raised in Los Angeles. So I’ve been singing and songwriting and playing piano since first grade and I think what really got me into music was the songwriting aspect because it really helped me understand my kind of place in the world and express myself and work through emotions that I was dealing with. And so a lot of the stuff I write is a lot of singer-songwriter material, a lot of ballads. I feel like the genre of my music is definitely singer-songwriter and a lot of my stuff has some elements of R&B as well. So, like pop, singer-songwriter with elements of R&B.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: So my introduction to music was, I remember as a kid one day I came downstairs and there was a piano in my living room. And my dad kind of surprised me and my older sister and Neriah, who’s also an incredibly talented artist, and she was a big inspiration for me to start doing music. And so my grandma used to play piano and sing opera. So, he kind of surprised us with her old piano that he brought in one day. And then I was just really fascinated with it, started playing, started taking lessons. And I think the songwriting just kind of came naturally out of that. And I’ve been doing music ever since.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: I’ve always kind of grown up in a musical household. My stepdad was an artist, my older sister was an artist. And they were really big inspirations to me and also, my dad kind of had this really sick tradition growing up where he would always take us to concerts and expose us to new music. He was a really big fan of The Eagles. So like any old dope band, we would always go as a family. Me, my dad and my older sister we’d go to like The Eagles, Rolling Stones, a lot of like sick legends of music and we’d go to their concerts and that definitely inspired me to get into music as well.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: You know how some people are really big Swifties? I always say Frank Ocean is my Taylor Swift. I absolutely love Frank Ocean. I discovered his music, I think in ninth grade of high school and I’ve just been listening to him ever since. You could play any song and I could name it like off the bat which is I don’t know if that’s embarrassing or cool [laughs] but yeah, definitely him. Frank Ocean has inspired me a lot. Adele as well. I really like Adele. And a lot of R&B artists like SZA. I love her. Also, a lot of young female artists that are my age inspire me a lot because I love seeing young kids get so successful in just what they love and what they do like Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Phoebe Bridgers. I love them.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: I think growing up in L.A. is really dope for an artist because L.A. is such a creative hub for music and entertainment. So it definitely gave me a lot of opportunities because a lot of producers are here. A lot of musicians are here. We have incredible venues in L.A. as well, so it’s definitely helped me in my career with the convenience and just creativity and opportunities.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: Honestly, one of my best memories throughout my musical career has been this year. I got my first residency at a place called the Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica. They have this really dope speakeasy underground and it’s very private. There’s no phones allowed, no videotaping, no photography. It’s a really intimate, cool, old, sexy jazz bar space. So I sing there every last Saturday of the month with my producer Nick Rosen and we curate like an R&B singer-songwriter pop set every month and it’s really fun.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: I think a big challenge for me was when I was little, I’ve always loved singing and songwriting and playing piano, but I was the shyest kid. I had the worst stage fright. I literally never sang in front of anybody I think until like 11th or 12th grade of high school. I used to just hide in my music room in my house and play very privately and the only person I would play in front of was my little siblings. My little brother would sneak in there and be like, ‘Sisi can I just lay here while you sing and listen to you.’ And I just had the worst stage fright. I never wanted to sing in front of anybody and I just kind of started singing for my family and they kind of gave me a lot of confidence and they really supported me and told me, ‘You know, you’re talented and you can do this.’ And they kind of really gave me that boost and led me to believe in myself. And then I kind of started working through that. And I think in my sophomore year of college, I met a guy named Damon Elliott who’s become such a member of my family. He produced the song “Broken” that I’m releasing on February 9. I think a lot of people say, when you’re working in a creative field, you’re gonna get a lot of nos, but all you really need is one yes – one person to really believe in you and put their foot behind you and support you. And that’s what Damon Elliott did for me. So that was a really big moment for me when he started producing my tracks and really loved my songwriting and supported me. So, a really big challenge was for sure getting over the stage fright. And also just figuring out who I was as an artist. I think there’s a lot of pressure early on to really define your sound. And I’ve just always been writing from my heart and writing based on what I was listening to. So I have a lot of songs that are a lot of different vibes. But eventually I just stopped kind of focusing on ‘what do I think everybody else wants to hear’ and focusing on ‘what do I want to say.’ And as soon as I started doing that, I really found my sound and my message and stuck to it and it’s led me where I am.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: I had the worst stage fright. And I met with a teacher, a professor here, who’s one of my favorite professors. His name’s Andrew Leff, and he teaches music law and music ethics. And he told me, ‘No matter what gig it is, big or small, just take it.’ So two years ago, or maybe even one and a half years ago, no matter what it was like, it could be literally in the courtyard of USC, or on a stage in Palm Springs. I would just, no matter what opportunity I got, I would take it. I would push through it. And the more that I started performing, the more comfortable I got with it and realized it wasn’t really about me. And it wasn’t really about the audience, but it was about the song and how it could help somebody who was listening to it and that’s kind of what encouraged me to keep going.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: I got involved with 840 West in the spring of 2023. I was walking through the career fair and I found them and I was like, ‘Whoa, USC has a student-run record label? This is so cool. I totally want to be involved.’ So I applied with a couple songs that I have. I believe “Broken” was one of them. And I applied to be an artist and I got in, which was really exciting. And I kind of started working with them as an artist. And also I participate in the marketing team because marketing and branding is always something I’ve been interested in and wanted to understand more. And I just got really comfortable with them and they’ve helped me out with so many things. They have an incredible creative team. All of the content that I’ve made was with a girl named Angie, who filmed a lot of my content. And I work with their marketing team, their business team, their creative team, their A&R team, and they’ve really helped me build my brand and build my visuals.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: “Broken” is kind of a ballad about being heartbroken and learning how to walk away from a toxic relationship. And I love R&B music, so Damon Elliott, who produced the song, really did a great job of blending some elements of R&B into it and matching my rhythms and my vibe. And I actually wrote this song – So I wrote the song about two years ago, I had just broken up with my ex-boyfriend. And we broke up because we were sitting in my kitchen one day – it was late at night and we were just talking about stuff and kind of arguing. And I was like, ‘You know what, I can’t do this anymore. This relationship is breaking me’ and he looked at me dead in the eye and said, ‘You were already broken.’ And I just thought that that was the craziest, rudest thing that anybody could ever say. And the only thing I could think to do is write, so I went to my piano and I started writing a song. And the lyrics that kept coming to my head were ‘you made me feel broken, you made me feel broken.’ And that’s where “Broken” kind of started.
But that’s kind of how a lot of music journeys start. I feel like something happens to you that really impacts you emotionally, whether it’s a good or a bad thing and it inspires you. And I chose I could either sit in my pain and sulk about it or I could use it to make art and make something great and hopefully encourage people who are also in a lot of pain or in a toxic relationship to be like ‘Hey, you know what I feel this feeling too. You’re not alone.’ And I wrote about it. I sang about it, and my hope is just that I can give people what music gives to me which is a place to heal and express yourself and understand yourself and connect with others because we all go through these really hard moments in life. And sometimes I feel like the worst part is when you feel really alone in that feeling. So I just hope that my music makes people feel less alone and know that they can get the courage to walk away.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: It was a big process of self-discovery because I wrote the song and I was always really nervous to put music out because I felt so much pressure like ‘Oh, you need to have the perfect brand in place. You need to have the perfect audience in place.’ But so much time went by when I was like, ‘I guess nothing’s ever really going to be perfect. I really just have to shoot my shot and believe in myself and take it upon myself to make this work because I really do believe in the song and the message that it brings.’ So I started working with 840 West and they really encouraged me to make some content and just go for it and I finally decided that you know what, I’m ready. I’m going to release this. I’m going to keep telling my story and just see how it goes.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: I really love “Broken” because it really tells the truth of my story and I feel like the story that I wrote lyrically really tells who I am. And also the elements of the song melody and production-wise, I feel like it really represents me well as an artist because it blends the singer-songwriter genre. It blends the ballad and elements of R&B and that kind of represents all of the music that I love.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: I think that something that I struggle with, especially in relationships, is honesty and loyalty are my two biggest things and the opening lines of the song is ‘I can’t sleep with your secrets on my mind / You say you tell the truth to me / So why does it feel like a lie?’
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: And those lyrics I feel like represent such a truth for me and also for other people in relationships. Because it’s hard being in something when you feel like there’s not full trust or full understanding in each other. And that’s kind of honestly the beginning of a lot of problems in relationships if there’s no trust and no understanding and that’s kind of what led me to a place of being like well, ‘This whole relationship made me feel broken, hopeless and you made me think I was crazy.’ You know, there’s so many guys out there who are making these girls feel like they’re crazy for doing absolutely nothing honestly. And once I started writing that chorus, I was like, ‘This is so wrong. I should not be feeling like this. I can’t stand this.’ And then the post-chorus kind of comes about and it’s like ‘Well if I was your everything then why is your everything walking away?’
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: Clearly I wasn’t a priority to you. So it’s kind of my time to make myself a priority and get out of this.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: Yeah, that was a big one for me that really helped me realize that it is, it is time to move on because it’s like someone can’t hurt you and destroy you and kind of use you in a way where you keep giving, keep giving, keep giving and you’re never really receiving anything from it. So it’s like yeah, you took every piece of me and then asked me to stay it’s like what? Like no, that’s not how this works. And I think I keep elaborating on that feeling in the second verse. It goes something like, ‘I feel sick to my stomach / twisting and tumbling throughout the night.’
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: Because there were so many nights where I was just sitting in this pain and anxiety and it was horrible. And then I said ‘There’s no lipstick on my chin / just mascara running down my eyes.’
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: Kind of hinting like, there’s no love like the lipstick on your chin. Let’s say you’re kissing someone, you know, it’s kind of just the visual of there’s not a lot of love. There’s just a lot of pain, you know, and you can see that in a girl’s makeup. And I think that was also a visual that a lot of girls, a lot of my girlfriends who’ve heard this song really relate to.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: So this was my first time really building content to my own music. And I think a big thing for me in songwriting and singing and just kind of entering the world of being a performer was when I think of my songs, and even when I’m on stage, I still picture that little girl just sitting and being so honest with herself in her bedroom. And so every time I approach singing my songs, I close my eyes and I remember just that truth when I was writing it, sitting in my bedroom at my piano. And so when I filmed the first block of content to the song, we filmed it all at my house. We filmed a lot of it in my bedroom and my bathroom mirror. And that just felt really personal and truthful to me. And also, I’m from Malibu, so my grandparents live in Malibu, and I always go to the beach right by their house. So we filmed a lot of content there because I used to sit there and actually that beach is right at the bottom of my ex’s hill. So I used to like to sit there a lot and think and I would write, so we filmed a lot of stuff there.
And I love sitting in nature. When I sit in nature, I really clear my head. So it was really important to me to kind of take that and represent that through the visuals and show my creative space. And that’s a space like sitting by the ocean where I feel most free and most at peace. And at first the song represented a lot of pain. But now looking back, it’s like that’s what gave me freedom, is this song and singing the song and getting the courage to walk away. So the first block of content is at my house where the pain started and the second block is where the pain was released.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: We are working on building a lyric video for a music video. I also have a lot of more reels and TikTok-style videos that I’m going to be putting out on TikTok and Instagram – just like short clips. I have a lot of stuff of me singing to the song, but I really like all the B-roll that I filmed with Angie. And we just put our lyrics over it because it just feels so real and authentic to me because it’s not like I’m posed and standing in front of the camera and performing. It’s just me sitting, me being who I am, me sitting with myself and just putting the song and the lyrics over it, I feel like really represents who I am. And I’m a really big fan of authenticity. I really believe we don’t have enough time in this world to be fake and sugarcoat things. We just don’t. So I really loved just capturing me in the moment, just being myself and putting the song over it because I just feel like that really represented who I am.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: You know the feeling when you’re falling in love with someone and you start hanging out with them for the first time and you get that nervous feeling? But it’s kind of a good nervous. That’s kind of how I feel with releasing this song. It’s very nerve-wracking because it’s so personal to me. And I’ve never shared that side of me with the world or with friends that are outside of my immediate circle or my family. So it’s definitely a little nerve-wracking, but kind of in the best way possible, where it’s really exciting to kind of put myself out there because at the end of the day, you can only be you, you know. So yeah, it’s been exciting. It’s been a process. And it’s been a lot of self-discovery along the way. And I’ve really enjoyed it because my music and my writing has always helped me better understand myself and my feelings. And now I’m kind of learning how to package that in a way where the world can kind of relate to that as well.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: I think being vulnerable sometimes can be really scary, honestly. But I think there’s a lot of power in being vulnerable. And for me, it’s like I really just want to help others who have been in the shoes that I’ve been in and been in that place where you’re hurting and you don’t know how to get out. Getting out of relationships is really hard. And so I feel like I found a lot of comfort sharing my story hoping that other people would relate to it and find some comfort and safety in that, as well. Because yeah, being vulnerable is really hard.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: The next steps – I’m currently working with a producer named Nick Rosen. He is the dopest guy ever. And we’re kind of working on songs that I wrote around that time as well and producing them. And I have a song – I have two songs that kind of align with this song that are hopefully going to come out sometime soon in the near future. They’re called “Forgive and Forget” and “Angel in the Darkness.” And it’s really funny because “Angel in the Darkness” is this ballad love song, like, ‘I’m falling in love so hard,’ and then “Forgive and Forget,” is like, ‘I just keep forgiving till I have nothing left.’ And then there’s “Broken,” it’s like, ‘You made me feel broken and now I’m walking away.’ And all of these songs are written about the same person, which is funny because when you’re in a relationship, or even a friendship, or whatever type of relationship it is, you experience such different sides of a singular human being. And that’s kind of something I wanted to represent in my work. Because perspective is really important to me. I think having an open mind and growing your perspective are the two most important things that a person can do. So I kind of wanted to show all my perspectives because it’s not just one sad story. It’s a story of growth. It’s the story of falling in love and then falling out of it.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: Yeah, it’s kind of like it’s starting at the end and going back to the beginning, which I feel like represents just – we can always walk away with our pain and sulk in it or you can look at it in a positive way and use your pain to move out of that situation. So it’s like, even though all these bad things happen[ed] in my past, I’m going to choose to take the bad parts, remember them, let them help me grow. But remember the good parts at the end of the day, because if you only remember the bad memories you’re really not serving yourself.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: The highest dream goal that I have, and I know this is incredibly hard to achieve, but I would die to perform in a stadium. Like if I was performing on a big stage in front of thousands of people, I think sitting on that stage is the moment where I would be like, ‘Damn, I’ve made it. I’ve really made it.’ Where it’s like you’re singing and you hear people singing your lyrics back to you and connecting with your deepest moments and all the stuff you’ve said and finding appreciation and support in those moments, would be the moment where I feel like I’ve made it.
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
Sky: The most fulfilling part about making music is just understanding myself and my emotions because that’s really what songwriting is about for me. Whenever I’m experiencing an emotional high or an emotional low, I always sit at my piano and unpack that and kind of think about, ‘Okay, what is this moment?’ Well, I think about it without thinking about it. It’s not like I’m planning every word. I’m not really the type of songwriter who plans what I want to say. I’m like, ‘Oh, this definitely has to be in the chorus or this definitely has to be in the pre-chorus,’ I just have a feeling that’s overwhelming me in a good or a bad way. I go and I sit down at my piano and I start a voice memo and I just kind of play and I make up a melody and lyrics on the spot. And I just keep going. I keep going for probably like 30 minutes. And then I listen to that voice memo back and there’s a song in there and I try not to edit it that much because I just kind of want it to be my truth and the real authentic feeling that I was feeling in that moment. And then I just make it into a song and for me, that’s really fulfilling because I love understanding my emotions and where they came from. And I usually won’t understand it until I’ve written a song about how I’m feeling then listen back and I’m like, ‘Oh, so that’s where you were at when you’re writing that or when you’re going through that.’
[Musical Interlude: “Broken” by Sierra Sky]
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