Sabrina Sterling on her single 'Ramona' and Supproing Lyn Lapid on Tour

Full Interview with Sabrina Sterling 

Conducted by Bethany M

I'm 20 years old and I'm from San Diego, California. I started writing and learning guitar during quarantine as a hobby. I decided to make a secret tiktok account to post my original songs on and they started to gain traction there. I kept posting for fun throughout high school until I realized I could try it full time. I graduated high school and signed to a label and moved to LA with my cat, Macaroni.

What is your goal?

My goal is to be able to make a living doing what I love. I want to make music forever so I really hope that it's possible and is my reality one day.

Why do you make music?

I make music because I feel so drawn to it. I have so much to say and writing and releasing songs that share my stories allow me to reach more people than I ever could from just talking to them. Writing gives me a voice. As a kid, I felt so alone in most of my experiences but when I share them through songs on the internet, people comment things about how they can relate or how they feel. It feels good to give people comfort like that.

What artists inspire you?

There are so many artists who are doing such incredible and unique things. I'm heavily inspired by Lizzy McAlpine, Phoebe Bridgers, and Julia Michaels. Their writing is perfection to me and their creatives are so genuine and in line with who they are which is a lot harder to achieve than most think.

What is your creative process?

My creative process changes all the time. I feel like I get bored making music the same way every day so I mix it up. I used to write at home and then bring songs to people but I learned to become less precious about my music and go into sessions without being prepared to see what we could come up with that day. I'm currently loving just jamming out until the producer or I find a cool beat or guitar part to start with. I also love to start songs from a word I thought could be a cool title or movie I love.

What inspired the song "Ramona"?

My relationship with my dad was something I knew I was going to write about one day. It took a lot of courage and waiting until I felt ready to share my experiences with the public. I wanted to write this song so people understood what I went through and to hopefully have the song find the people who are currently stuck in that same situation and give them some comfort. I wish I had found a song with the same message when I was younger. I would've felt like it wasn't just me in that nightmare.

What message do you want your fans to take away from this song?

You don't deserve it. Abuse, physically or mentally, is never okay and no one should go through that. It's hard when it's a family member or someone you should be able to trust and feel safe around. Just know that you don't owe anyone forgiveness. You are allowed to cut ties with harmful people even though they share the same blood.

Is there a lyric that is your favorite or stands out?

My favorite lyric in the song is either "made you cry but you cried for good reason" or "you say you wanna take a stab at it, a born again protagonist." The first line is about a really tough but real conversation with my dad where I did make him cry for the first time but I needed to stand my ground. The other line I really love is about how my dad claims he has changed and wants to try again. Born again protagonist is just such a sarcastic yet fitting lyric.

What is something you learned about yourself, while making "Ramona?"

I learned that the more I sang it and spoke about it, the less of a hold that uncomfortable feeling had on me. When I performed "Ramona" for the first time I went to explain the song before I sang and I unexpectedly broke down and sobbed in front of a room full of industry people. I never cry in public. I'm too scared to be honest. So crying there on that stage felt so out of character for me. I took that song on tour and the first few nights I felt a wave of sadness when I explained the meaning of it but as the tour went on, it became easier and easier. By the last show, I felt like I was in control of the song and all of the feelings that came with it.

What was your favorite part about supporting Lyn Lapid on tour?

My favorite part about supporting Lyn on tour was getting to work with such incredible people. Lyn, everyone on her team, and her band were so welcoming and helpful. Lyn really does have the dream team. Traveling with them felt like a roadtrip with a really well functioning family. I made some friends on tour and I'm honored Lyn chose me to open for her. Tour with Lyn and the band felt so fun that it felt less like work and more of a vacation.