“I still have little elements of that inside of me,” Paige explained. “You’ll see me on some videos partying and having fun, but it’s all about moderation. Before, I was just a mess. So I think that’s kind of the message that I’m about to send in the actual album. It’s like a graduat[ed] version of what I started with on my EP, so hopefully, people get that.”
Paige is staying clear of toxic relationships and partying, and uses her life experiences to express herself through music.
“They’re two different lifestyles. It’s like saying you’re on a diet but you’re eating pizza every day. If you’re going to be an artist you really have to turn it into your full-time job and be around other people who are doing the same things so you can network,” Paige said.
“Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of room or time to make a lot of friends so it can be kind of lonely and that’s why you see a lot of artists going through so many problems but in the end, it’s really worth it.
“It’s very satisfying seeing all the hard work you put in, pay off. It’s not for someone who is easily insulted or who don’t have that type of drive. It’s definitely not something you want to waste your money or your time on unless you’re really 100 percent sure [about it].
“But it wasn’t like I didn’t put the work into it before, it’s just that now I’m taking it seriously. I’ve relocated to the right areas and I got rid of some friends that were weighing me down,” she said.
Balance became important and Paige made it a point to not allow her desires for success to destroy her personal life.
“I wanted to be an artist so bad and I wasn’t doing [music] … I wasn’t doing it on a successful level so I got myself into trouble because I was so discouraged,” Paige shared with rolling out. “I would be like, ‘Fine, if I can’t do that then I’ll just go over here and party and drink my sorrows away.’ So what ended up happening was that I woke up one day and I realized … that the only way I was going to be successful with music and not lose my life over it was if I actually focused and put the alcohol away,” the artist admitted.
“As I got older I realized that I really have to do this myself. I just can’t rely on a label or a manager to just make it go poof and make it happen. So once I did that, it really turned into a job, then it started saving me and keeping me focused,” she said.
Paige recently released a new single “Ring, Ring” which details the tribulations of sending an ex-lover to voice mail. The song infuses pop and hip-hop and reveals how she can bounce between multiple styles.
“I write every genre, so you’re going to hear influences of all different types of genres. … I know a lot of labels that really want me to hone in on just one style but if you hear one song you’ll think it’s like hip-hop-pop and if you hear the next song it’s like a hip-hop-pop, alternative. It’s kind of like 21 Pilots how they have a little bit of all that stuff in them,” she said.
Paige’s story serves as an example of how lives can be saved through song. Regardless of what happens, she believes that it’s always important to trust your instincts.
“Nothing is worth your life,” she said. “A lot of the situations that I look back on I was so dramatic. I would be like, ‘Wow, I hate everything, I hate everyone, I hate God.’ I would blame God for a lot of things and I got through it somehow that night. I realized, that five years later, I barely remember what I was upset about. Everything happens for a reason. You might feel like your heart is broken and it’s just the worst thing that could ever happen to you. But, sometimes things are just really weird how they play out. It could’ve been the best thing that happened to you and you don’t even know,” concluded Paige.
Words by A.R. Shaw
Photos by Torian Priestly
