Kat Harlton
Although Tilsen recently released her sophomore single, she is anything but new to Toronto’s pop scene. She has shared the stage with some of the genre’s most celebrated artists including BANNERS, Scott Helman and Shawn Hook, and has performed at a variety of the city’s top venues such as The Phoenix, The Mod Club and the Drake Underground. Tilsen has collaborated with artists including popular Youtuber Mike Tompkins, with a cover of Justin Bieber’s “Cold Water” (reaching over 1 million views) and Irish singer-songwriter Ryan O’Shaughnessy in a live video for an original song called “Better Than the Last.” Tilsen was also featured on ATB’s latest album with her song called “Faith”. Her debut single ‘Hurts’ has garnered over 170K streams.
We had the opportunity to catch up with the rising pop star to discuss her new single, career highlights and what’s next.
Kat: Can you talk about the inspiration behind your new single “Doubt”?
Tilsen: I wrote Doubt for somebody that I love. I was thinking about how I want to do everything in my power to make sure they never have to question my feelings for them. I want them to feel confident in what we have together. It clicked that I could write a song about that so I started writing down lyrics right away and Doubt came out.
Kat: “Doubt” was Produced, mixed and co-written by Emery Taylor (Scott Helman, Lucky Rose, Famba) and mastered by Chris Gehringer (Rhianna, Lady Gaga, Blurred Lines), can you talk about that process, and what it was like working with such a talented team?
Tilsen: Collaboration is my favourite. I love working with Emery; we have the same tastes so it always feels so easy. I brought the idea for Doubt to a writing session with him and Willa (very talented Toronto artist and writer). I like having an idea of a song’s concept, main chorus lyric and a bit of a melody before writing sessions so it’s easier for the song to come out. They loved what I had, so we continued writing from there. Having a song you think is great is the first step, but getting the right production and mix to match the quality means everything for the final recording to shine. Emery and Chris are incredibly talented so they nailed it. Was a treat to work with them.
Kat: You’ve shared the stage with artists including BANNERS, Scott Helman and Shawn Hook, Is there a moment that stands out as a career highlight for you so far?
Tilsen: Opening for BANNERS at the Phoenix last April was the biggest show that I’ve played so far so that stands out for sure. I’m really excited to open for him again this December 5th at The Opera House in Toronto. I’ve never been this proud of my live show so I can’t wait to share it on that stage.
Kat: Is there an artist you’d like to perform with, that you haven’t had the chance to yet. Or a song you’d love to do a cover of?
Tilsen: Definitely have a long list of artists I’d love to play with. More than performing though, I’d love to write with Sasha Sloan at some point. She’s a great pop writer. I have trouble wrapping my head around covers, I haven’t found one I want to make my own yet. I prefer performing my own songs.
Kat: What’s next?
Tilsen: The “Lucky Rose” remix for Doubt is coming out on September 20th! Very excited for you to hear that. For my next show- I’m performing on September 28th with Julian Daniel at The Drake Underground. You can also expect my next single sometime this fall!
For more on Tilsen, visit https://www.tilsenmusic.com