We were lucky to catch up with Frankie Orella recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Frankie, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I’ve always loved telling stories, but some stories are just harder to tell.

When I was 17, my mom passed away after a five year battle with breast cancer. I’ve always found it easy to talk about the facts of what it was like to have a sick parent, how it affected our family dynamic, what the funeral was like, etc. I think staying on the facts and not getting into the emotion of it all was a helpful (at the time) protection mechanism.

In 2020, I was in the middle of releasing a 5 song project called “The Stages Of Grief”. The goal of these songs was to help give people words to what they were feeling while walking through loss. It was meant to normalize their experience…make them feel less isolated and alone.

In the middle of releasing that project, I started writing some of the most honest, and painful songs I had ever written. For the first time, I felt like I had tapped into the actual emotions I felt about events that happened in my childhood that went beyond my mom and her sickness.

In February of 2022 I started releasing these songs and sharing more of my story. Dysfunctional relationships, coping mechanisms, debilitating anxiety, disassociation…there’s a lot of things I touch on in this EP. Four of the five songs are out in the world, and the fifth one is coming in January. It has meant the world to me to release something so incredibly personal and have people I don’t know connect to me and my story because of music.

I’m passionate about mental health, and I believe that connection is really important. Humans are wired to feel a sense of connection and belonging, and if I can give that to someone through these songs, I feel like I’m doing something good in the world.

Frankie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi! I’m Frankie Orella, and I’m an artist/songwriter/musician.

I’m a Nashville native and have been surrounded by music my entire life. My dad is also a musician and I started singing with him when I was four. He is a huge Beatles fan, so my earliest musical memories are their records. They still strongly influence my writing today, along with Lana Del Rey, Eisley, and many more.

A lot of my early years were spent leading worship music in churches, which is something I still do. Doing that is actually what got me into the Nashville songwriting community and has allowed me to meet some of my favorite collaborators.

I signed a publishing deal in 2021 where I focus on writing songs for the church, and songs for film and tv. I love that I get to live in a few different worlds when it comes to writing songs.

As an artist, my goal has always been for my music to normalize the hardest parts of the human experience – to be the friend who sits with you as you share your deepest pain and lonely thoughts. If you are passionate about mental health, honest story telling, and probably too much vulnerability, you might enjoy my music.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

It always comes back to wanting people to feel seen and understood. I feel like I spent years feeling like an absolutely crazy person because of the depression and anxiety that felt like it was literally choking me. I didn’t grow up in an environment where we talked about what was happening and how we were feeling. I felt like I had to put on a show and make everyone around me think that I was doing great.

If a song of mine makes one person feel like they are seen and understood, that feels like a win to me. Life is too short to go around pretending. I want people who listen to my music to feel freedom and safety to own their journey, and where they are in that journey.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Looking back, I think I grew up with a scarcity mindset. I always compared myself to other people in their talents, jobs, accolades, etc. I felt like I had to be the best, and if I wasn’t the best, I had no place at all. There was only so much opportunity to go around, and if I didn’t get whatever the newest opportunity was, I should just stop doing what I was doing because clearly, it wasn’t enough.

It’s sad to look back on those years, and I’m so grateful for the unlearning that has taken place, and continues to take place in my thinking.

I think seeing the value in people’s individual stories has helped me a lot. I know, and actually believe, that I bring something completely unique to the music industry simply because of my story, and how I see the world. That rings true for every single person, and I think the days I really believe that are the days I feel happiest and most fulfilled in what I’m doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://frankieorella.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frankieorella/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frankieorella
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/frankieorella

Image Credits
Spencer Holleman