Finding Her Voice and Her Moment: Claire Sully on Mentorship, Momentum, and Meaningful Connection

For Claire Sully, this chapter feels like the result of both patience and purpose. From becoming a member of GRAMMY U and receiving mentorship from industry veteran Nicole Sutherland, to signing a distribution deal with EMPIRE and earning international recognition for her songwriting, Claire’s journey reflects steady growth fueled by vulnerability, storytelling, and connection. As she prepares for her first GRAMMY U Soundstage event in Los Angeles and works toward her upcoming EP Read My Heart, she’s stepping into a version of herself that’s more confident, collaborative, and intentional—an artist committed to creating music that listeners don’t just hear, but truly feel.

Hi Claire, thank you so much for taking the time to share your journey with us. From becoming a GRAMMY U member to landing mentorship, major recognition, and a distribution deal, this feels like such an exciting breakout chapter—so let’s jump right in.

You became a Grammy U member and were then accepted into the mentorship program with Nicole Sutherland. What has that experience been like behind the scenes, and how has having direct guidance from someone in the industry changed the way you approach your music career?
Being able to get mentored by Nicole Sutherland is truly a dream! She’s been in the industry for so long and to get such in depth advice and guidance from her is incredible. I’ve been learning so much with her and taking a lot away with each session. She’s a 9x Grammy considered artist which is incredible, and with each session, she’s very encouraging towards my goals and dreams! I think having direct guidance from someone immersed in the industry such as her is really motivating for me. I live in Boston where music is appreciated but not taken seriously like other hubs in the country, and she’s been the one who’s pushed me to take every opportunity outside of Boston to really make a name for myself. I’ve been able to attend so many cool webinars, concerts and events through GRAMMY U, so I’m really soaking this all in and taking it with a grain of salt.

You also recently signed a distribution deal with EMPIRE. For independent artists, that’s a huge milestone—what does this partnership open up for you creatively and professionally that you didn’t have access to before?
Signing a distribution deal with EMPIRE has opened doors in ways I never imagined!

Since signing I’ve had opportunities to write with more established names in the industry, land more charting placements for my songs, I was just placed in the TOP 100 Genius Charts. My song “Unsent Letters” is number 69 on the charts. I’ve been able to network with GRAMMY and Billboard producers and collaborate with signed artists. That was something I couldn’t do too much of before signing. Since then, I’d like to say it’s brought a lot of leverage in my career. I’ve been taking meetings with bigger labels around the country as well. The other nice thing with EMPIRE is, I’m keeping all my musical work and get to have full ownership which has always been super important to me.

Your song “Unsent Letters” earned over 10K streams and landed you as a Top 10 finalist worldwide in the World Songwriting Awards. What inspired that track emotionally, and why do you think it resonated so deeply with listeners?
You know something, it’s really crazy to me how successful that song is becoming or has become! I was writing about a muse that I had for a long time, and it started with my breakout album “Secret Love” in 2024. I had written some follow up singles still in relation to my muse from Kansas, and one day, It hit me that I still have all these letters saved somewhere that never saw the light of day, so I wanted to reflect what was in those letters and how I felt at the time holding on to them. It’s a nostalgic ballad that I think paints a pretty clear visual of how I felt during that time. I think this song did so well and resonated with listeners is because, I think sometimes in relationships we don’t have access to find closure or say how we really feel, so I think that people connect closely with this song due to how story telling it is, and how personal and relatable it is. I was very much in love and to this day, songwriting will always be my form of communicating how I feel.

You’re heading to LA for your first Grammy U Soundstage event and simultaneously working on your new EP Read My Heart. How does this next project reflect your growth as both a songwriter and a person compared to your earlier album Secret Love?
Yes! I am indeed going to LA! I’m very excited as it’s my first time out there! I always thought that my first trip to the city of angels would be for vacation, so to look back at this down the road will feel very surreal and special to me because I’m there taking an opportunity that leverages my career and to have some fun! I am also working on my next EP! This project will highlight what last year looked like for me. It’s a little different than my Secret Love album. My songs this time around will have some edge and attitude, as I found myself experiencing life with someone who in some ways was very different than me and we didn’t align the way we thought. It’s an EP that carries some upbeat songs as well as a few slow ones. As a songwriter, I feel this project reflects growth in a creative way. I’ve got more feature artists this time around, something I’ve never really done. I love collaborating with artists and producers and have always been open to co-writing and things like that, but this year I want to get some fresh vocals on some of my songs with other artists to tell my experiences more clearly

Looking ahead, as momentum keeps building—from festivals to mentorship to new releases—what kind of artist and storyteller do you ultimately want to become, and what do you hope fans feel when they listen to your music?
Moving ahead, I’d like to become an artist that’s approachable and relatable. My whole thing is, connection. If I’m able to have a couple fans connect and resonate with my experiences and at the end of the day get told, “wow this song helped me through my experience” then, I know that I’m doing something right at the end of the day. I want fans to take away that my experiences are very much like theirs, just that, as an artist, we experience it a little differently and need to write stories through songs. I hope to become an artist that you don’t forget the name of. Admirable, friendly, respectable, honest and humble.