Meet Courtney Govan

 

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Courtney Govan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Courtney , you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?

I think inherently, generosity comes from a lot of different places. I think it stems from the idea of what makes a good person and what drives our actions. It can be seen in a smile, in patience and simply in listening. I’ve always considered myself a bit of a people pleaser, especially as a kid and young adult. Because of that my relationship with my kindness towards others as been kind of a focus as I have gotten older.

When I was a kid, I definitely could be described as a pushover. My first best friend (a better word is bully) was incredibly controlling: even telling me how to laugh if she didn’t like how mine sounded in the moment. I was so quick to want to make her happy, so she would stop micromanaging me, that I would simply just do what she said in order to de-escalate the situation. I just wanted to be liked and to make her happy.

This tiny little glimpse into my childhood is truly a little taste as to why I so value true and authentic connection and generosity today. I do my best to show people how much I care whether it be through gift giving, giving my time or simply just holding space for them to feel seen all the while making sure I’m not sacrificing who I am as a person & my own needs.

I know what it’s like not to receive kindness, but I’ve seen what my kindness can do for others and better yet, who actually deserves it. I am surrounded by the most wonderful human beings: my best friends, my family.
They have shown up for me in ways I can’t even begin to explain and vice versa.

My generosity is part of who I am! I used to think it made me weak but I’m so happy I finally can recognize it as one of my greatest strengths.

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?

Hi everybody! My name is Courtney Govan. I am a singer, songwriter, photographer, content creator, and Co-owner of a permanent jewelry pop-up around San Diego, California!

Whenever someone asks me to tell them my story the first thing that happens is my mind goes completely blank and I think wow I’ve done absolutely nothing!! I think the idea of introducing yourself can feel a little nerve-racking sometimes, but I think I’ll start the ramble and hope it makes sense!.

I’ve been posting videos of myself singing on the Internet since 2008! Little 11-year-old Courtney would sing behind the camera and film a word document with the name of the song and artist on it because her parents wouldn’t allow her face to be online! Jump forward to today and my videos have been viewed well over 50 million times!! (someone tell little me she’ll scream). from sharing my original music, to viral covers, or even just letting people into my personal life and constant advocacy for body neutrality, my little corner of the Internet has opened many doors for me.

In my music career, I have been placed on numerous Spotify, editorial playlists, my music has helped people feel seen, and I have even appeared on shows like “I can see your voice” on Fox and was unaired on season 21 on American Idol! (I made it through to Hollywood week, but there’s so many talented people not everyone gets screen time!!)

I think overall when I look back at all the things I have achieved I just feel grateful. There’s a period of my life where all I could think of about was what I hadn’t done yet and it made me feel frantic: like I could never catch up. But recently, I’ve just been so unbelievably proud of myself and all the things that I do in life.

I’ve been taking a lot of time to release new music. (something is coming SOON) It’s been a little over a year now, but I had some stuff happen in my life that took the comfort of my writing away from me. I’m slowly starting to get that comfort back again, but in that break, I fell in love with photography again.

I’ve been a photographer on and off for about 10 years now and my work focuses on the authenticity behind branding. I work with numerous small businesses in San Diego to help capture the beauty of their work as well as the human beings behind it! I also love to focus on helping people feel comfortable in their own skin, I offer very minimal retouching in order to help highlight and uplift who they are as they are!

On top of all that my best friend and fellow Capricorn, Ada Herrera and I own a permanent jewelry pop-up called Haus of serotonin: serotonin salon, where we have partnered with spill the beans coffee to bring affordable, high-quality permanent jewelry to San Diego!! Ada and I have known each other for 12 years having gone to high school together at the Academy of our Lady of peace! We always knew we wanted to work together and when we discovered permanent jewelry, it was just kismet!

As you can probably tell, I am a girly who can’t sit still! I’m very proud of the life I’ve created for myself and how hard I work. I’ve worked really hard on feeling like I’m doing enough and being proud of myself. I’m lucky to be surrounded by the support system I have, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Where you can find me:

You can find me on all social & music platforms at @CourtneyGovan!

We have pop-ups at spill the beans, Mission Valley happening August 13 and August 21 from 8-2!

I am hosting a pop-up concert at the plus bus in Los Angeles at 11 AM on August 24th!

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?

If I really had to pick three qualities that have benefited me the most through the last couple years navigating my music career, I would say drive, patience, and willingness to be wrong.

Specifically when it comes to music, without the passion, drive and determination to want success for myself AND to believe I deserve it, I think I would’ve given up a long time ago. My music career has made me put myself under a microscope, give my deepest feelings over to the world, receive unsolicited comments about the way I look & who I am, and has pushed me in ways I could never have been prepared for. In the hardest times I always have had my drive to fall back on. It’s also turned into the little voice in my head that tells me it’s OK to rest and take breaks when I need it.

My relationship with patience is huge!! Everyone’s story is gonna look different but I believe you have to be patient and let your work exist without immediately dubbing it as a flop because it’s not turning out the way you thought it would right away. We’re in such a digital age of instant gratification that I personally don’t think it’s mentally healthy to put our life’s work on that level. If it takes me 20 years to put out my first album then so be it, i’m doing the best I can and I’m being patient with myself and everything around me!

In any career, you always have to be willing to be wrong. It’s ok to not know everything, it’s ok to learn something new. What’s not oK is if there’s people around you making you feel lesser than for not knowing something or understanding. Those are not people you should be working with or keeping around you. If we were constantly right all the time we would never learn anything new! I love the idea of discovery within the music space (and all spaces tbh) Half the magic of a good session is spontaneity. Lean in to the things you don’t know because you’ll come out the other side with new tools!!

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I would absolutely love to collaborate with professional producers and songwriters in San Diego! I don’t have a strong group around me in town who understands the world of tiktok and music creation it would be so lovely to find them and write together!

If you want to collaborate you can email me and my team at [email protected]

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Courtney Govan of Serotonin Studios

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