Olivia Somerlyn

Olivia Somerlyn
Background information
Birth name Olivia Somerlyn Hollins Christensen[1]
Born (1994-06-04) June 4, 1994
San Francisco, CA
Genres Pop EDM
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Voice, piano, keyboard, guitar
Years active 2010–present
Associated acts Nick Jonas
Big Time Rush
Victoria Justice
Jessie J
Karmin
Lindsey Stirling
Lights
Website oliviasomerlyn.com

Olivia Somerlyn Hollins Christensen (born June 4, 1994)[2] known professionally as Olivia Somerlyn, is an American pop singer-songwriter, best known for her 2014 single "Parachute".

Early life and education

Somerlyn was born and raised in San Francisco, California.[3][4] She started writing songs when she was 13.[4] While attending high school in San Francisco, she spent weekends in Los Angeles in an effort to meet people in the music industry.[2][4] She resides in Los Angeles.[5]

Career

Somerlyn writes or co-writes all her own music and lyrics,[6] and plays piano, keyboards and guitar.[3] Her songs range from straightforward pop to danceable pop to piano ballads.[5][7] Her self-titled debut EP was released in 2010.[8] The music video for the single "I'm Just Fine" was featured on the homepages of MySpace and MySpace Music, AOL Music and JSYK.[9]

In 2013, she released her third single, "Better With You".[3] That year, the music video for "Before It Began" was voted the #1 video on Musiqtone's music video countdown, receiving over 2 million votes.[9]

In 2014, she released the single "Parachute", which she co-wrote with Nick Jonas, who also produced the song.[10] After debuting at number 45 in August 2014,[11] the song reached number 1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in October 2014, with remixes from Jose Nunez, Steve Smart and Reid Stefan.[12][13] The music video for the song premiered on Billboard's website on October 20, 2014. Somerlyn did her own stunts and designed her own costume for the video, which was shot in the desert outside Los Angeles.[4][14] Also in 2014, Somerlyn was selected as one of 25 participants in Macy's third annual iHeartRadio Rising Star Program, where singers compete for the opportunity to perform at the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas in September 2015.[15] She was voted into the top five, finishing as a finalist.[16] Also in 2015, Somerlyn released "OXO", which was her second number one on the US dance chart.[17]

Somerlyn is managed by Kevin Jonas, Sr.,[10] and she is signed with Creative Artists Agency.[2]

In August 2016, Paul Gore, who directed the music video for the Katy Perry song "Rise", was accused of stealing the concept for Perry's video from the music video for Somerlyn's song "Parachute". He has denied stealing the concept.[18]

Performances

Somerlyn has toured the UK with Jessie J and Lawson, including two shows at The O2 Arena in London, and has also opened for the Jonas Brothers.[6][5] She toured with Big Time Rush and Victoria Justice on Live Nation's 2013 Nickelodeon Summer Break Tour of over 30 cities in the United States. She then toured with Big Time Rush again in Central America and South America.[6][9][19][20] In 2014, she was the featured performer at Sony Pictures Classics' annual Oscar Pre-Awards dinner party.[15] She also performed at that year's New York Fashion Week, at shows for Charlotte Ronson and Isabella Rose Taylor.[21] In 2015, she opened for Meghan Trainor in Glasgow, Manchester, London, Birmingham and also for the dates in Europe for Trainor's That Bass Tour.[22] She also opened for Lindsey Stirling in the same year in the United States.

Honors

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

References

  1. ↑ “Person Details for Olivia Somerlynholl Christensen, "California Birth Index, 1905-1995” FamilySearch.org.
  2. 1 2 3 “Olivia Somerlyn Interview,” Zach Sang and the Gang, July 1, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Melissa Ruggieri, “A chat with up-and-comer Olivia Somerlyn,” Access Atlanta, July 29, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Elias Leight, “Exclusive Premiere: Olivia Somerlyn’s ‘Parachute’ Video,” Billboard, October 20, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Brendon Veevers, “Interview: Olivia Somerlyn,” Renowned for Sound, December 3, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 Kaitlin Cubria, “10 Things You Need to Know About Singer Olivia Somerlyn,” Teen.com, July 1, 2014.
  7. ↑ “Olivia Somerlyn Collaborates on ‘Parachute’ with Nick Jonas!” Fanlala.com, May 6, 2014.
  8. ↑ Melissa Marini, “Artist to Watch: Olivia Somerlyn,” therockwar.com, September 4, 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 Russ Weakland, “Six Things You Never Knew About Rising Star Olivia Somerlyn,” Hollywoodlife.com, July 28, 2013.
  10. 1 2 Michelle McGahan, “Olivia Somerlyn + Nick Jonas Announce Her New Single ‘Parachute’,” PopCrush.com, April 29, 2014.
  11. ↑ Gary Trust, “Chart Highlights: Sam Smith’s ‘Stay’ Hits No. 1 On Pop Songs,” Billboard, August 18, 2014.
  12. ↑ Gordon Murray, “Clean Bandit No. 1 on Dance Chart: No Place They’d ‘Rather Be’,” Billboard, October 24, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Dance Club Songs," Billboard, November 1, 2014.
  14. ↑ Claire Stern, “Fine Tuned: Olivia Somerlyn On Her Ethereal Wardrobe in the ‘Parachute’ Music Video,” InStyle, November 1, 2014.
  15. 1 2 Rachel Ho, “Interview: Rising Pop Sensation Olivia Somerlyn,” Musichel, May 18, 2014.
  16. 1 2 “Olivia Somerlyn Talks Macy’s iHeartRadio Rising Star & Working With Nick Jonas,” Shine on Media, June 21, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Hot Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  18. ↑ Mike Gatting (August 8, 2016). "Director of Katy Perry's "Rise" denies stealing the concept". Global Express News. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  19. ↑ “TeenNick Top 10: Interview With Olivia Somerlyn,” TeenNick.com, May 10, 2013.
  20. ↑ “Meet New Singing Sensation Olivia Somerlyn!” Extra, June 19, 2013.
  21. ↑ Eddie Roche, “STYLE260 Announces NYFW Plans,” Daily Front Row, August 29, 2014.
  22. ↑ Virginia Van de Wall, "Meghan Trainor Announces Opening Act for Her 'That Bass Tour'," J-14, April 6, 2015.
  23. ↑ “TeenNick Top 10: Olivia Somerlyn on Songwriting,” TeenNick.com, May 17, 2013.
  24. ↑ “Next Up – Olivia Somerlyn,” KIIS-FM, April 10, 2014.
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