Rising Country singer-songwriter Nick Hickman hails from Knoxville, TN and he recently released his addictive new single Tipsy.
The lead track from his forthcoming EP Let Em Speak, Tipsy is a perfect blend of classic and modern Country with Nick’s distinctive voice driving the melody and allowing him to stand out from the pack.
I caught up with Nick to find out all about Tipsy, discuss his EP release, and to find out what he considers to be the biggest challenges over the course of his career so far.
Hi Nick. How are you and where does this Q&A find you?
I am well, it’s been a whirlwind with the release of Tipsy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Your new single is called Tipsy. Tell us about the track and the story behind it.
Tipsy is important to me. I have been told for a while now that I write “fun” songs, which isn’t a bad thing, but I have been told that I have not been truly vulnerable with my writing/music yet. So I made myself very vulnerable on this new project. Tipsy is a real situation that happened to me. I fell in love with a girl and after we broke up I was still in love and she wasn’t… but she would still call me late at night when she was tipsy, and I would go running. So it took a lot to shake that scenario and move on. Tipsy is a peek into what I went through. A broken heart can make for good writing.
Tipsy is taken from your new EP Let Em Speak. When can we get the EP and how did it all come together?
The new EP Let Em Speak will be available April 14th on iTunes and all other digital outlets worldwide. It came together nicely. There is another song on the EP called Bottle Away that came from the same situation as Tipsy. It took 2 songs for me to tell the story haha. The 2 other cuts Deuces and She Rolls Out Of Bed were written by hit writers in town. We felt that it fit the project and the direction that we are headed, so we cut them. I can honestly say they fit me, so it was a no brainer to cut them.
When did you know that you wanted to be an artist?
I knew sometime in college that this is what I wanted to do. When you get to that college level you have to find yourself and discover what you are good at and equipped to do for the rest of your life to make a living and be happy. It was then that I realized this is what I want to do and am equipped to do.
You moved to Nashville in 2014 to pursue your career. How have you found the city and what would you say have been the biggest challenges of taking your career to the next step?
Nashville has been great, I can honestly say I am the artist I am today because I moved to this town. It makes you the best you that you can be. Everyone here is better than you, so you have to get better in order to hang. I would say the biggest challenge in taking the next step is exposure. I haven’t met too many people that do not love the music, it is just getting the music to a broader audience. We are working on that now.
Your music is influenced by a number of great artists. How do you manage to make sure that your sound is distinctive and stands out in the genre?
That is the easy part, I do me. I do not write songs to match other artists, or to sound like another song. I literally just write what I feel and the melody that is in my head. That is usually how it starts, I will get a melody in my head and start writing.
Have you started thinking about recording a full-length album to follow the EP release? When might we expect it to arrive?
I will probably continue to do the EP thing. Financially it is what I can do right now. However I can honestly say I do not cut songs that I do not believe in my heart could be a single. I try to only cut the best of the best. So all of the EPs I release, in my opinion, will be 4 potential singles… no filler songs.
When can your fans next see you performing live?
I will be all over touring. We will probably hit at least 20 states this year minimum. I am trying to get everywhere I can. I will play anywhere, anytime, any day haha. I love to perform and want to get in front of as many people as I can.
Country music is really beginning to take off here in the UK. When will you be coming over to play for your fans here?
I will be over there as soon as possible. I would LOVE to come over and play… I mean LOVE to.
What else do you have coming up in 2017?
2017 is going to be our push year. We are gonna push as many singles to country radio as we can, play as many shows as possible, and be visible. It is gonna be a year of hard work, but I am ready for it.
Nick’s new single Tipsy is out now and his EP Let Em Speak is released on 14th April 2017. Listen to Tipsy below:
[brid video=”107878″ player=”531″ title=”Nick Hickman Tipsy”]
