Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nikki Sova. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nikki, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I definitely knew from a very young age that music was going to play a significant role in my life. The influence I received from family and friends growing up, I think, was really important for my future visions as an artist and creative. My mom was always singing around the house and with her brothers, all of them being so talented. Music really was the focal point of my childhood. I picked up on the passions the people around me carried and it was from there where my own love for the process really began. From begging my parents to buy me a guitar, stubbornly refusing lessons so I could learn on my own, and then to writing songs about anything and everything I could think of, my desire to purse this seriously grew. However, it wasn’t until I graduated college that I started to take the small steps of making that a reality for myself. As most people do, I met some of my absolute best friends in college- people I now truly feel are more family than they are friends. Two of those people, John Wilcox and Dean Maddox, were the catalysts of my start as an artist. Without getting too mushy gushy, John and Dean believed in my music and I far before I ever did. They helped me tremendously in finding my niche as a singer/songwriter and have produced every song I have to my name- I give them all the credit in the world for lighting that fire in me and I am very thankful for them both. When the world shut down in 2020, I was out of work and full of ideas. Although I was living in Pittsburgh at the time, I made my way down to Nashville for a few weeks to work with John and Dean on my first album, “5 Minutes.” I’ll spare you the details and summarize with this: those few weeks were probably the best in my life. So good, in fact, that the following year I, too, moved to Nashville to further pursue the “dream.” And so it began.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

First and foremost, it is important to note that I was born into a relentless and hard-working immigrant family. My mom, dad, and sister were refugees of the Yugoslav War and swiftly made their way to America. In 1994, they landed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where I kindly made my grand debut two short years later. The city of Pittsburgh, along with my family, have molded me into the person I am today- strong, diligent, driven, and passionate. Coming from an ethnic background made me feel very different from a young age. I spoke a different language than the kids around me, I listened to different music, and I had different traditions and customs than most. Being different was understandably hard at such an impressionable age and often times I felt like I didn’t really fit in. I think this is why I gravitated so much towards song, music, and art. Not only was it already so prevalent in my family, but it was also an outlet. It was, and continues to be, the greatest escape. Music is therapeutic no matter the emotion- happy, sad, angry, lost, confused, you name it. As I got older and was able to understand those emotions, I would write to cope. Whether it be a poem, a story, a diary entry, or the attempt at a song, it was what got me through the good and bad. From there I immersed myself in every genre of music, constantly listening to anything from rap to country to pop to R&B to classic rock. Sure enough, all of those styles can be heard in my music now and I believe that is what sets me apart. With that being said, I would consider myself a versatile artist who refuses to be put in a box. Like I said before, I write based solely on a feeling- how that manifests melodically and rhythmically just is what it is. Though the confidence I have in myself as a performer is my biggest downfall, I have always been proud that, regardless of anything else, I have stayed true to myself. It has been a little while since I have put out some new music, but I am looking forward to changing that this upcoming year in 2024! I have grown so much as a writer in the past year and have quite a lot of new things to share- hopefully that includes some live performances around town too! For now, you can find my music on all streaming platforms under the name, “Nikki Sova,” or on instagram @thenikkisova.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding thing, by far, is being able to connect with people. Music is a universal language. It can bring people from all different walks of life together in unison. Not to be cheesy, but that is so incredibly beautiful to me. To be honest, that is what inspires me to keep writing, singing, strumming, and creating. It is so special when someone listens to my music and tells me that they can relate. I try not to write for others, meaning I don’t write specifically to please anyone, but rather to release my own emotions. Most times, it’s very vulnerable putting that out into the ether knowing others are going to hear and digest my words- it’s like publishing your diary for the world to read. Even though it is often times scary letting your voice be heard, the ability to connect with others is beyond worth it and absolutely priceless. My music is of course meaningful to me, but knowing that it serves meaning to others might be even more special. Similarly, meeting other creatives and musicians is equally as rewarding. Living in Nashville has been the perfect way to meet others with the same interests, passion, and drive- not to mention the amount of talented people you get to cross paths with and work with.

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

Caring what people think. Point, blank, period. The subconscious thoughts of constantly worrying about what others are going to think about you can eat you alive. Unlearning this has changed my mindset significantly in the most positive ways. I think this is an innate habit that all of us possess naturally as humans- regardless of whether you really want to or not. You will always have self-inflecting and negative thoughts of yourself in the back of your head that stem from what you think others perceive you as. I struggled a lot with these negative thoughts of myself and I realized that it was all rooted in what I thought others saw me as rather than what I actually believe to be true of myself. This affected me so much especially in the creative process. Whether it be writing, recording, performing live, posting instagram videos- I noticed that I would always have this pit of anxiety in my stomach about how others would take it. “Are people going to like this song?” “Are people going to think I sound horrible?” “Am I going to mess up?” “What is everyone going to think?” After a lot of self-help books (Atomic Habits- James Clear was incredible) I slowly started to unlearn these self deprecating habits. Although it is something that you will probably never fully unlearn, being aware of that negative voice in the back of your head and learning ways to quiet it down helps significantly. I, for one, still possess so much stage anxiety and find it really difficult to perform live, however, unlearning these types of habits have contributed to the personal growth needed in order to beat those same anxieties. Speaking of, my last single called “Breathe,” tackles similar subjects and working through anxiety.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenikkisova/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nikkisova1634
• iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/nikki-sova/1542411576
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1iEjYbEw45dNNIsDVQ8l0K

Image Credits
Victoria Cubelic