Getting to Know: Music Artist, Elena Coats

Hello everyone, I am here today to show you an interview I did with singer and songwriter, Elena Coats! She is from Southern Idaho, like myself, and she is a fantastic singer and songwriter! She's already accomplished really cool things like singing with alternative band, We The Kings, came out with EPs on music apps like iTunes and Spotify, has a Youtube channel, and has performed at so many venues across the country! I was curious in how she works, what made her become a musician, and how she is growing now. Check out this interview and go give her a follow because she is definitely talented and worth it!

​Also, shout out to Nicole Catherine Photos, another Southern Idaho friend and photographer for her beautiful photos that she took of Elena. Check her out on Instagram and her site for more photos from her and her info.  

Here is all of her social medias and I really do hope you check her and her music out on music platforms!
Instagram- @elenacoats
Twitter- @elenacoats
Website- ​http://elenacoats.com
Spotify: Elena Coats

Photo Credit: Nicole Catherine Photography

​I interviewed Elena last month and am so happy the way it turned out. So please check out her and her awesome music and I’m looking forward to what’s next for her!

1. Mariah: When and why did you start playing instruments and singing?
    Elena: I started singing at a very young age. I honestly don’t remember a time where I wasn’t constantly singing around the house or along to the radio in the car. I never really thought of it as something I was actually good at until people started paying attention, but even before then I always just felt music consume me. At about six years old I started taking piano lessons, and at nine I began guitar lessons as well. It just felt like the most natural next step, and I was so eager to learn.

2. Mariah: What instruments do you play? I've seen you play piano and guitar!
     Elena: I don’t take lessons anymore, but I’m still always playing my piano and guitar. I teach myself a lot and mainly play by ear.

3. Mariah: How did you get into song writing? What's the process like?
     Elena: I started songwriting at the age of twelve. My whole life I have been so influenced by music from all different eras and genres, and I guess I just decided that it was my turn. I had something to say and I wanted people to hear it; even if they were just silly little songs about my friends or just being my middle school self!

4. Mariah: Do you have people that inspire you to write songs? Also, who inspires you in life?
     Elena: My writing process varies now, but in the beginning I started by studying the structure of other artists’ songs. I really payed attention to the order of everything and how it was said. I knew I needed two verses, a chorus, and a bridge, and I knew where they all needed to go to write a complete song. I knew what lines needed to rhyme and which parts of the songs needed to feel bigger. As for lyrics, a lot of times they just flew out of me. I don’t even know where they came from sometimes! Of course they were simple, but I just wrote about what I was feeling in the moment and it worked. At the time I wrote most of my songs to the guitar. The lessons I took really helped me here because I knew how to identify the key of the song and what chords I was supposed to play. I would come up with melodies and lyrics to the chord progressions I was playing. The people who really inspired me when I was writing were artists like Taylor Swift and Sara Bareilles, who I still very much look up to today. Usually when I’m writing now, my process is always different. Some of my songs are written on the piano, some on the guitar,  and some are written to a track. It really just depends on the day!

5. Mariah: You've started singing publicly at a pretty young age at schools and events in our small town and I remember watching you sing the National Anthem at a pep rally in middle school! How did you feel about performing and even singing your own songs to friends and an audience?
     Elena: I’ve always loved the feeling of performing. I would get nervous right before I went on stage, which still always happens, but as soon as I step out there and start playing, it just fades away. What’s funny is, I feel like I have more fear now than I did then! I was so fearless and would play for anyone who asked. Of course I still will now, but I’m definitely more comfortable in front of bigger crowds. Honestly the bigger the better, which seems totally backwards, but small settings always make me more nervous. I think maybe it’s because they’re more personal and you can make eye contact with everyone in the room. On top of that, most of my songs are written about my own personal experiences or feelings, so it’s almost like handing someone your diary and watching them read it!

Photo Credit: Nicole Catherine Photography

6. Mariah:  Is there a milestone for you that you felt like you made your break in the music industry and how did you feel in that moment?
     Elena: I do feel like I’m still waiting for that one big break that launches my career, but there have been a few big moments that have really given me that push to the next level, and gave me that feeling of — wow this could actually happen for me. The most prominent of my accomplishments so far has been my work with We The Kings and all that has come from it. Hearing Sad Song on the radio was a really big one for me. I’ve waited for that moment for so long that it almost doesn’t even feel like it’s real or that it even happened! It’s still hard to believe.

7. Mariah: Back in 2013, you collaborated on a song with the popular alternative band We The Kings, called Sad Song, which is soooo good by the way! How did that go with working with Travis and the band and how did that happen with you collaborating with them?
    Elena: I met Travis very randomly through someone we had just met, that happened to be a friend of his. She ended up showing him my music and he immediately wanted to meet. We met up the next day and by the end of the meeting he was already asking if I would like to come to a couple of their California stops on their tour, to sing Demi Lovato’s part on their duet “We’ll Be A Dream”. I couldn’t believe any of it was even happening. I’ve been big a fan of the band since their first album and just meeting Travis was already crazy to me. After our meeting, we met up a couple of times for some music related events he invited me to, and also to write in the studio. This is when “Sad Song” came about. He literally called me up one day and asked if I would sing on a track for their new album. Of course I said yes, and a few days latter we were in the studio recording. Since then, I’ve gone on tour with them, I’v been featured on another one of their tracks called “XO”, I’ve gotten to perform with them at different events, and have even had the opportunity to sing with them at the Vans Warped Tour. The song has gone on to be their most popular song on Spotify and has been certified Gold, which is absolutely amazing! All around I’ve been so grateful for the opportunity I have been given to work with them. Everyone in the band, and everyone who works with the band has become my music family and I’m so thankful for that.
 
8. Mariah: What is your favorite song that you've written so far? 
     Elena: The producer I work with now, Blake Healy, was introduced to me by Travis one of the very first times we met up. We started writing together right before I went on tour with the band in 2016, and all of the songs I currently have out have been co-written with Blake. I love every song we’ve written together, but I think my favorite is probably “Lowkey”. It’s the first song we wrote and put out together, and I think I love it so much because when we wrote it, I finally felt like I’d found a producer who understood what I wanted, which is really important to me. It came together so effortlessly and easy, and that was a great feeling. Another one of my favorites is one that I haven’t released yet, but it’s really personal to me and a little different than what I have out right now, so you’ll have to be on the look out for that one!

Photo Credit: Nicole Catherine Photography

9. Mariah: What were your inspirations for your more recently released songs like "One Last Song" and "The Way She Moves"?
    Elena: With each new song we write, we’re always trying to experiment with something different, whether it be the storyline or the sound of the song. “The Way She Move” started out with us wanting to write a song that had an 80’s synth vibe. From there we came up with this story of an outsider looking in on a girl who’s constantly trying to fill a void, but when she’s consumed in the music and in her groove, everything fades away and she feels free of her troubles. “One Last Song” was different because it was mostly written when Blake brought it to me and asked me to be apart of it. It was originally supposed to be for another artist, but as soon as I heard it I absolutely fell in love, and new I wanted it. As it worked out, we ended up finishing the song together and I got to release it as my own! To me it’s such an uplifting song about finding the ones who really understand you. It’s about knowing each other’s flaws and differences, and at the end of the day, still picking each other. 

10. Mariah: How do you like and manage with living in both Los Angeles and Idaho? 
      Elena: I’ve been going back and forth from Idaho to Los Angeles for the past seven years, and of course it’s had it’s ups and downs, but I’ve always tried to see it as an adventure. I’m really close with my family and being away from them is always hard for me, so when I’m in LA, I’m constantly trying my hardest to be in the studio and working as much as I can, to make that time away from home worth it. Lately I’ve been spending more time in Idaho, which has been really nice. Sometimes I need to take a break from all of the craziness for a while! I’m still constantly working on music though and plan to get back out to LA here soon! I actually just released a new song in October called Over & Over, so if you haven’t had a chance yet, make sure to go check it out on Spotify or Apple Music! It’s a really fun one!

11. Mariah: What's next for you? What do you see yourself doing in the next couple of years?
      Elena: I’m hoping within the next couple of years I’ll have finally picked one place to be, instead of living in two places, but I know that no matter where I land, I will always be pursuing music. In the meantime, I’m going to keep writing and recording, and hopefully that will bring more opportunities to travel and perform! I would love to start touring again soon! I think as long as I keep working at it and believing in myself, things can only get better from here! As I’ve learned, one opportunity always leads to the next so really there’s no saying where things will actually end up, but I am beyond excited to find out!
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Photo Credit: Nicole Catherine Photography

I just want to thank Elena for letting me interview her for my blog! She is so kind and talented and deserves the best! Please go check out her music, her new song 'Over and Over', and her social medias. Links are above in the beginning of the interview.

xo