Solya knew who she wanted to be from a very young age. Born in West Texas, the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist wrote lyrics and poetry at just four years old, started playing piano at six, and picked up the guitar at 14. “Growing up in a remote small city, I had to make my own form of entertainment,” she says. “I had to be creative.” When she listened to her parents play vinyl records by artists like Warren Zevon, Harry Nilsson, and David Bowie, she could hear who she wanted to become. “When I heard “Starman,” I knew I wanted to be like David Bowie when I grew up. I saw myself in him even as a little kid,” she adds, noting that the song sealed her fate. “I never considered doing anything else. I wasn’t interested in anything but music.”

Her decision to pursue music led her to attend a music camp at the University of Central Oklahoma’s Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM). “I was 16, and it really lit a fire within me,” she says. “It was the first time I played music with other people.” At the end of camp, Solya and her parents sat down with Scott Booker—manager of her favorite band, The Flaming Lips, and CEO of ACM—for advice. They asked if she should go to college for music. He told them that she just needed to start recording. So, she did. “He asked if I’d been writing anything original, and I was like, ‘Yeah’. He told me to record it and put it out there. Even if it wasn’t studio perfect. I just did it in my bedroom. I made my first three songs.” She learned how to use Pro Tools and got to work with her synthesizer and guitars. “When I make a song, I hear every layer of the music in my head,” she says.

Solya self-released her first EP, Fever Dream, featuring the songs “Will You Return,” “Butterfly,” and “Endlessly” in 2023. Her DIY bedroom hits immediately resonated online, and she started growing an engaged global fan base before she even graduated from high school. Each track she released did better than the last, with her singles “Roadkill” and “Heaven” eventually leading to her most-streamed track up to that point, “Tear Me Apart.” “I promoted the hell out of that song and it really took off,” she says, noting that she’d post videos on social media with the song as a soundtrack multiple times a day. At that point, she started entertaining interest from record labels who saw the online reaction to her songs, but she didn’t find a good fit until she spoke with VERSION III. “They gave me free rein to be creative and put out what I wanted to put out. And they've assisted me in being able to tour.”

In the fall of 2024, Solya embarked on her “Bugs and Butterflies” 21-date co-headlining US tour with the artist Baby Bugs. Most dates sold out, and they continued that streak with four fully booked dates in the UK, followed by Solya’s sold out headline show at the iconic Troubadour in West Hollywood. She also released her project Jewel Box in 2024, and one of the EP’s tracks, a melancholy waltz called “We Say Goodbye,” became a surprise TikTok trend.

Still, the success of her EPs and singles couldn’t satisfy Solya’s desire to release a full studio album. “I wanted to move it out of my bedroom and into a studio,” she says. “That took a lot of courage for me because I was so controlling over everything with my music. I wanted it to be exactly how I wanted it and I had a hard time trusting other people with my songs. But then I talked to Danny Reisch (Khruangbin, Local Natives), my producer. He really cares about the artistry behind music.” She also worked with Jason Chronis (Tele Novella, Voxtrot) who played bass and slide guitar on the album. After finishing up her first tour, she wrote 10 songs in the span of just four months and recorded them via analog equipment over 10 days in Lockhart, Texas. The result is her debut album Queen of Texas.

The album combines Solya’s taste — the vocal delivery of Patsy Cline, the cutting lyrics of Fiona Apple, and the ingenuity of David Bowie — with her propensity for 1950s rock ‘n’ roll and a “western flair” that pays homage to her love of classic country arrangement and, of course, her West Texas roots. The collection of songs tows the line between serious and light-hearted, exploring themes that range from chaotic love to the isolating experience of being a queer young woman growing up in a small, conservative place.

In the album’s echoing lead single, “Tell Me It’s Over,” Solya slowly drawls, “You could’ve had it all,” over vintage guitar parts, following that revelation with the scathing commands, “Tell me it’s over tell me we’re done/ Tell me you never said I was the one.” The track was drawn from experiencing a toxic relationship and what it feels like to finally find the strength to leave. “When I wrote ‘Tell Me It's Over,’ I was kind of angry,” she smiles. “It’s definitely a breakup song and I felt inspired by the melodies of the ‘50s. But more importantly, it’s an angry breakup song. I felt empowered. I wasn’t upset about it. It was just like “I don’t care about you.”

In “Movie Star,” Solya leans into painful yearning over ascending walls of sound. “I wrote it about not being able to be with the person you want because it’s not possible,” she says. “I wanted it to sound dramatic and cinematic, like the score of a classic Western film.” For fans hearing the song in person, the chorus “She looks like a movie star” strikes a chord. “When I play it live, people love it,” she says. “There were several people that got out pride flags and were waving them during the song. I feel like it made people feel seen.”

“Is This Love??,” the album’s second single, attempts to balance the somber mood of the rest of the tracks. “My mom was like, ‘You should write a song that isn't sad. Write a love song.’ And I'm like, ‘How am I supposed to write a love song when I don't love anybody?’ I ended up writing ‘Is This Love??.’ It sounds like a love song, but it’s written from the perspective of somebody who's never been loved in a healthy way.” For one of the song’s verses, she drew lyrical inspiration from one of music’s most legendary star-crossed couples. “The line, ‘I'll let you dye my hair a darker shade of black’ was inspired by Elvis Presley and Priscilla because they were in an abusive relationship and he would make her dye her hair,” she says. “I feel like a lot of people will play the song, and they’ll think it's a love song, but it’s not.”

“Born Wicked,” with its formidable, sing-along chorus and religious imagery, took Solya the longest to write. “It took me weeks and weeks to make verses that I thought were good enough. I finally figured it out, and I think it's my favorite on the album. The lyrics are rebellious and a testament to the queer experience, as she sings, “If I die for lovin’ her I can’t be erased/ I won’t change, I won’t change/ I was born wicked/ My love is a crime/ I don’t wanna be saved/ Nobody could try.” The song mirrors much of what Solya wants to emanate from her music and her desire for her listeners to feel less alone.

On the album’s glittery title track, Solya sweetly croons “I’d rather be alone” over pulsating synths, drawing up decadent visuals as she sings “Rhinestone lady, satin baby, always alone/ Sapphire necklace, queen of Texas, always alone.” The opener embodies the wistfulness and isolation the singer excels at translating into music. Still, she hopes the album allows her fans to find community. “I hope Queen of Texas empowers people,” she says. “I hope it feels the same way for them, that it felt for me when I was a kid listening to David Bowie and seeing myself in him. All I want is to be that for someone else.”

In support of her debut album, Solya also plans to embark on an extensive North American headline tour this year. It will be her first with a full band. Despite the busy year ahead, the 20-year-old has already started thinking about the follow-up to Queen of Texas. “I want to keep making albums,” she says. “I want to grow as an artist and expand my reach.” As her sound spreads beyond West Texas, Solya remains inspired by the music she grew up with and the desolate Southwestern landscape she considers home. “I think a lot of artists feel the need to move to New York or LA to be successful,” she says. “I don’t feel that I need to move to a big city because I draw inspiration from where I grew up. I just want to be the Queen of Texas.”

BOILER:
20-year-old singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Solya has been making music since she was just four years old, drawing inspiration from legends like Harry Nilsson and David Bowie, as well as the desolate West Texas landscape she calls home. In 2023, she self-released her first EP, Fever Dream, immediately captivating fans with her singular sound — reminiscent of the vocal delivery of Patsy Cline, the cutting lyrics of Fiona Apple, all layered over shimmering synths, 1950s rock ’n’ roll melodies, and the western flair of a country slide guitar. Her early success led to sold-out shows, including a headline set at the iconic Troubadour in West Hollywood and multiple dates in the US and UK.

Now, Solya has shared her most fully realized collection of songs to date with her debut album, Queen of Texas, out now via VERSION III. Produced by Danny Reisch (Khruangbin, Local Natives) in Lockhart, Texas, the album explores chaotic love, rebellion, and the isolation of growing up queer in a small, conservative town. With a North American headline tour ahead — her first with a full band — Solya is ready to bring her West Texas sound to the masses, but she has no plans to forget her roots. “I don’t feel that I need to move to a big city because I draw inspiration from where I grew up. I just want to be the Queen of Texas.”

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