We were lucky to catch up with Alison Ogden recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alison, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Both of my parents are extremely hard workers and instilled that same drive in me at a very early age. While it may sound a bit harsh, one of my favorite things they have taught me is: “No one cares if you make it or not, and no one will do it for you.” Both of my parents worked their asses off to completely change their financial futures, provide more for their children than what they had been provided with, and were the first in our family to attend college. I have nothing but respect and gratitude for the example alone they’ve set for me, not to mention how much they expect from me. My parents never tolerated slacking, laziness, or excuses, and while being a Type A child with an EXTREMELY strong will may be difficult to deal with, it serves you well as an adult.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a sassy, soulful, 23 year old R&B/Pop artist, featured on Season 21 of American Idol, and based in Los Angeles, California. Growing up in Maryland, I was heavily involved in the performing arts from the age of three on, and began songwriting at age five. Some of my earliest and most impactful musical influences include the incredible Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, and Queen – so if you love any of those artists, you are sure to love my music <3
My debut single, “Loving Me”, fully encompasses my sassy, contemporary R&B/Pop sound, and is available on all streaming platforms. “Loving Me” dives into the hard truth of facing that you may be breaking someone’s heart by selfishly accepting their affections, but also that all is fair in love and war. I wrote this one while hooking up with my ex and I was not sure if my heart was fully in it… needless to say, it hurt his feelings very much when I released the song.
The second single I released, “Sweetest Sound” is an emotional, love-filled track that shows the world a whole new side of me, and a much more vulnerable one at that. The feeling of falling in love for the first time is a remarkable and relatable one, and “Sweetest Sound” is the song everyone newly in love can “scream sing” in their car. Writing it with one of my good friends, Olivia Webb, was the first time I could fully admit how in love I was, and how terrified I was of what could come good or bad.
The more upbeat side of my personality comes out to play in my third single, “Too Close”. This song actually came to me in a dream one night. I woke up in the middle of the night, recorded a voice memo of the entire lead vocal of the song with lyrics, and later found the voice memo while scrolling through looking for inspiration at a session. I have no memory of recording the voice memo but I will never forget listening to it, and realizing it was a gift I had to share with the world. “Too Close” radiates the confident energy of an empowered woman, layering sultry vocals over a modern yet nostalgic dance instrumental, paying homage to my love for pop music of the 1980s, while painting the scene of every 20 something’s love life with the hook line: “Sometimes two friends just get too close.”
My newest single “What Can I Say?” came out on February 23rd and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it!! Make sure you are following me on all social media platforms @itsalisonogden, on all major streaming platforms, and keep up on alisonogden.com, so that you don’t miss any new music releases or concerts!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I am very fortunate to have been blessed in knowing what my life’s calling is at a very young age. God blessed me with a voice and I am so fortunate to be able to use it to help others feel heard through my music. That talent and gift, I cannot take credit for, but is the most impactful, of course, in terms of my journey as a recording artist.
As far as qualities go, my level of determination and persistence are much to thank for all successes I’ve had thus far in my career. I strongly believe two things: 1) that back-up plans can be the easy way out if you let them be, because they are born out of fear of going all in for what you are meant to do, and 2) that if you’re being told no, you haven’t walked in the right room yet. If you truly go ALL IN and are persistent on the days when you’d rather rest or play it safe, your goal will be achieved. Once I started trusting the path God put me on and made a deal to show up for myself and my art every day, my life made a complete 180.
The best advice I can give anyone trying to pursue their dreams, whether it be as an artist or not, is to stop making excuses on why you can’t and to work tirelessly until you do. Living in the shadow of fear will keep you from finding your light in every area of your life.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am always especially excited to get into the studio with creatives who are new to me, whether they be songwriters, artists, producers, instrumentalists, mastering engineers, or anything in between! As an artist I also regularly collaborate with photographers, videographers, stylists, dancers, actors, and more for a wide variety of projects.
Anyone that is wanting to connect with me, please follow and send me a message on my Instagram account @itsalisonogden <3 Let’s be friends!
Contact Info:
- Website: alisonogden.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsalisonogden/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsalisonogden/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/itsalisonogden
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsalisonogden
- Other: https://linktr.ee/alisonogden
Image Credits
Getty Images – Timothy Norris Emma Lee Photography Chollette
