We were lucky to catch up with Nicole Sophia recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I hope people will remember me as someone who made them feel seen—not only in moments of perfection and joy but also in moments of imperfection and messiness. I hope my honesty, vulnerability, and authenticity create space for people to ask themselves the hard questions and be okay with the messy answers. I also hope my lyrics are spoken about in the same breath as lyrical greats like Joni Mitchell.

Nicole, 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?

My name is Nicole Sophia, and I am a songwriter and performer. My work is to translate and alchemize complex, messy, and universal experiences into authentic, captivating music. I perform and write for my own project, as well as for other artists. I’m especially passionate about writing lyrics and topline melodies.
I gravitated toward songwriting at a young age, despite not coming from a musical family. The urge to write songs was intrinsic and intuitive; it’s simply how I process the world. Songwriting has always been a safe space where I can bring every part of myself. It’s a place where I can question, explore, and feel deeply. I’m not always someone who handles ambiguity or imperfection well—I can be a bit of an emotional perfectionist. Writing songs is one of the few times in my life when I can truly love and embrace all of the complexity, messiness, and nuance of being human. I strive for my songs to create that same space for others.
You asked what makes me exceptional, it’s a scary question to answer—not because I don’t know the answer, but because it feels vulnerable to acknowledge my own gifts. But fuck it, vulnerability is badass. From the bottom of my heart, I believe I’m a truly exceptional lyricist. Lyricism is a gift I’ve worked hard to cultivate, and it’s a real talent I bring to the table.
I believe my lyrical prowess, combined with my willingness to sit in and explore the mess of life with honesty, curiosity, vulnerability, and authenticity, is what sets me apart as a songwriter and performer. I’ll write about it all—the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful. I don’t need to make myself look good in the writing process. Looking good is kinda boring. I’m much more interested in being honest.
I am most proud when my songs help people know and love themselves a little more. That’s what matters most to me—creating music that resonates deeply with people and helps them feel seen.

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

The tagline of my project is “vulnerability is badass,” and I believe that with my whole heart. Vulnerability is the scariest, bravest, most rewarding thing you can do. It’s an act of service to yourself and the world around you. And it’s fucking hard. I thought I was really good at it, but I’m not sure that I am.
Vulnerability also comes in many forms. It’s not just being willing to talk about hard things; it’s being willing to own your dreams and desires. It’s being willing to let people see and love you for who you truly are. Vulnerability is also about being willing to make mistakes.
I want to create space for people to be truly human because I think we are often too hard on ourselves for just existing imperfectly. I hope people hear my songs and think, “Wow, that is a person who has been through some shit. They’re not perfect, but they’re committed to getting a little better every day.”
I hope people hear my songs and realize it’s okay to live in the questions and not have all the answers. I’m not someone who has my shit together—I’m someone who is proudly and loudly figuring it out, one day at a time (despite the fact that my brain wants me to know everything right this second).
I hope people feel seen in their imperfection, messiness, joy, divinity, and humanity, and that my music becomes a safe space for them to explore every facet of themselves. Because that’s what we’re here to do.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

If you had asked me about social media two years ago, I would have told you I wish it didn’t exist. I used to resent it. It felt so hard to find my people in a sea of content, and it was discouraging to post into what felt like the abyss.

Today, I am incredibly grateful for social media. My presence took off after years of trial and error. Eventually, a very viral video connected me with my core audience.

My most viral video almost never got posted. I was working with a social media manager at the time, and she had been helping me post more consistently, which made a huge difference. However, I wasn’t in love with the content she suggested. My music and art felt so authentic, but somehow I couldn’t translate that into social media. I was trying to fit into the mold of what everyone else was doing.

I don’t exactly know how it happened, but I had some kind of internal, spiritual realignment. Something in me clicked, and for a moment, I took the pressure of perfection off myself. This led to me creating a week’s worth of truly authentic content. One of the videos I filmed was my “Put A Finger Down” challenge, which eventually led people back to my music. It was one of many videos I filmed that week, as usual. I put all the videos in a Dropbox folder to be uploaded, but then they just sat there.

One day, before heading to work for my restaurant shift, I remembered the “Put A Finger Down” video. I edited it and posted it without thinking much of it. I actually remember seeing very little engagement in the first few hours. Then, all of a sudden, people really started connecting with it. The video blew up, and I gained over 70k new followers.

Essentially, my social media journey required patience, trial and error, tenacity, and listening to my instincts. The “Put A Finger Down” video worked for me, but that may not be what works for you. I think the reason it worked so well was that I was leading with connection and making people feel seen. The intention behind the video was to find people who had lived experiences that would make them relate to my music. Yes, the video was about my music, but it was really about the listeners.

Personally, I believe my social media works best when I view my music as an act of service that helps people feel seen, rather than as a product I’m trying to push. And let’s be honest—I really do want people to see my videos and hear my music because I love music and I believe in my art. When I was willing to own that and be honest with myself, it shifted my perspective and took the pressure off me of trying to pretend I didn’t care. I care a lot—about my art, about people—and letting that care show up in my social media content has made a huge impact.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nicolesophiamusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolesophiamusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicolesophiamusic/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-sophia-408877312/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm1LLwsbvZ2Ked1nH5voTtw
• Soundcloud: https://found.ee/ns
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nicolesophiamusic
  All Music Streaming: https://found.ee/ns

Image Credits

Ian King, Hannah Lyvers, Angelo David