Photos by Sierra Brown-Rodrigues

TikTok fame can both launch and limit a career: we’ve seen some of the largest pop stars get their start on the platform and Taylor Acorn is the same.

However, the Nashville-based artist is carving her own path. After bursting onto the scene with viral TikTok covers, she has skilfully navigated the tricky waters of fame, ensuring her authentic voice shines through in her original music.

Before she got on stage in Toronto to begin her first headliner tour, I got the chance to sit down with her and talk about the tour, how she’s moved her career away from just TikTok fame, and some of her musical inspirations.

Taylor, you exploded onto the scene with viral TikTok covers, but your original music is now making waves. How do you ensure your creative voice isn't overshadowed by the very covers that made you famous?

Well, I tried to really be strategic in that in the sense of like making it known early on. I would sprinkle in my own music here and there and just be like, “Hey, I write songs too”. And, when I initially decided, I think I really just got fortunate in the sense of like, just having such an amazing fan base to begin with.

And, just hoping to connect in a way that I could outside of the covers. And so, that was like the biggest thing was just making sure that the music was genuine and it was authentic. And I think that kind of helped me get a really nice little fan base growing.

Adding onto that, do you think that the classification of a “TikTok star or a TikTok sensation” can be limiting as an artist? How do you hope to step into yourself as an artist, outside of just TikTok?

Yeah, I mean, that was definitely a little harder to navigate in the beginning because I think a lot of people would, when they saw me, they would associate me with playing, like, doing the TikTok covers and doing TikTok in general.

And I think a lot of it is just, like, making sure I'm going out and I'm playing shows and I'm meeting people in real life and, you know, going overseas and doing those things. I think it kind of separates you a little bit from all that. And in that sense, you can kind of distance yourself from just specifically only doing the TikTok stuff.

So we've just tried to do it where, you know, we're making sure that we're not only just connecting with people online, but we're doing it in person too. And I think that that's helped a lot, kind of get me out of that. Like, she's a TikToker. It's more or less like, yeah, she's, she's Taylor Acorn. She's doing her own music and she's writing music.

And so I think I just crossed my fingers, threw it out to the wind like,  This is me. Take it or leave it. And I think people have been really kind. Yeah, so it's been, it's been really awesome.

It must be exciting to be on tour, starting here in Toronto.

Yes! This is my first time headlining in Toronto. We’ve actually played in Toronto before. We played the Axis Club like three times in like six weeks or something it was kind of crazy.

But yeah, this is my first headlining tour first headlining show, it’s crazy. There’s a lot of nerves, obviously. I think going into a tour when there's somebody else, as the main act, you kind of have a little weight lifted off your shoulders. It's like, okay, I've got one job. I just got to hype people up.

Now it's like, okay, I'm the one who has to try to keep them engaged. And that's a really weird thing for me because I'm so the opposite of that, of wanting attention. So I have to kind of put a different face on when I get on stage and I’m still trying to like wrap my brain around the whole feeling of it and everything.

It's, it's just different, unique, different vibe. Yeah, it's, it's really weird to think like, Oh, this is I'm in charge of this now.

Your EP 'Certified Depressant' delves deeply into your own mental health journey. How do you navigate the balance between being open with your fans and protecting your personal space, especially during a tour?

It's always been a goal of mine to make sure that when I do write music, I'm being as authentic and genuine with how I feel at the time. And, I mean, I'm still navigating that, I’m still trying to figure out — you know, how to handle my anxiety, handle my depression. Especially when you're on the road, it's really easy to kind of get caught [with it all], especially with the social media side of it too.

And so, I think that's been the biggest thing that I've been trying to overcome. And I think writing about it has always kind of been a sense of therapy for me and it's, I think it's kind of given me a new confidence.

I know that like a lot of people are scared to share their personal lives and scared to share what they've gone through, but for me, I feel like it's been my biggest means of connecting with people.

And so I'm just, at this point now, I'm like, I'm an open book. Like what I'm going through, I'm going to write about it and we're all going to be able to kind of go through it together and feel it together.

Yeah, it's, it's hard. Yeah, for sure. It's a thin line, right? It’s a really thin line. I mean, obviously there are things that I don't talk about, like, who I'm dating and some other things.

But aside from that, like, I'm pretty open about my own personal struggles. And I want to continue to be.

I grew up listening to music and that was such a guiding factor for me. And I think I realize now that like, at first it was really weird because you have people coming to you being like, “I felt this and like, thank you for writing this”. And then in a weird way, I feel like I'm still, even though putting out this music, I'm still kind of alone in it, you know?

And so it is helping me just as much to hear these people come to me and say like, this is, this is a big deal for me. And it just kind of brings a little community of people together, and I don't know, it's just been really special.

Dropping out of university to chase a dream is a bold move that doesn't always pay off. What were the darkest moments of that decision, and what kept you going when things got tough?

Gosh, I think, you know, a lot of it is just the fact that I love music so much, like my whole life [is music]. You know, I've played sports and I've done other things and but there's music has always been such a constant thing for me and it’s always been the one thing that I could lean to whenever I needed, you know, a pick me up, or I needed to feel things, and, and so for me, I was just like, if I'm not doing this, I don't really know what I want to do.

And so I think that was the biggest reason why I left college — because instead of going to class, and, I was running track and field at the time too, and instead of like, focusing on all that, I was sitting in my room just playing music and making YouTube videos and stuff.

And so I think, honestly, it's just been getting a foot in the door and kind of getting to know the music industry because it's a whole other beast. It’s a very weird place, especially for so many people who are so emotional. It's a very hard industry and so I think that you know being able to kind of let go of the things that people might say that are negative online

There’s also the financial aspect of it too. Music is really expensive. And, you know, when I first moved to Nashville, I got signed as a writer, which I was very fortunate about. I had to balance that [job] while working a few other jobs and just trying to stay independent as well to [make sure] that I'm in creative control of the direction that I want to go and the music that I want to put out.

And so I think really just getting to know the music industry and getting to kind of be in it was really the hardest thing. You know, there's a lot of people in there that might not necessarily want the best interest for you. And I think that that's, a tough pill to swallow too, like, coming from such a small town. I'm just, you know, eyes wide open, like, a little baby deer just ready to work and do stuff.

You kind of have to protect your heart a little bit. I’m definitely [still] learning how to protect my heart and finding people that I trust and building just an amazing team. My team is truly so awesome.

The early 2000’s pop punk/rock scene was known for its rebellious spirit. How do you channel that same energy into your music while also evolving the genre for today's audience?

Honestly, I think it just,  I don't want to say it's just kind of like an instinct, but I mean, I am so heavily influenced by that music. Even early nineties grunge and rock like the Goo Goo Dolls and like Counting Crows and stuff like that. So I do just, I think I just kind of do it instinctually.

But, I put it in a way where, it's not as hard to understand. Yeah. You know, kind of add, like, that, that music, or that, those music elements into a just me telling my story and it's kind of just worked so far.

I have to ask as a, you know, as a fellow Canadian, I know you’ve said that you're heavily influenced by Avril Lavigne. So I had to ask - do you have a favourite Avril Lavigne song or a song that you always go back to?

I always listen to either Under My Skin album or Losing Grip. Those are my favourites like of the OG album.

I feel like I’ve loved to just like channel that energy because I feel like there's something so nostalgic about it too, which. To answer a little bit of the previous question too, like I think so many people crave nostalgia, especially nowadays and I do especially. So I just try to make sure there’s that [in my music]. It’s like maybe they've heard this before but maybe not, you know but I'm putting my own twist on it.