Today’s spotlight artist is a star in the making. Dylan Conrique has been on the music and the acting scene, since she was a young girl. Now, in her early 20s, Conrique is making the best music of her life, as well as, the most honest music she has ever released. We chatted with the singer-songwriter about her upbringing, her move to Nashville, and of course, everything she has coming soon.

“I was born in the Bay Area, but I grew up in Northern, California. I listened to country music on the radio getting dropped off at school every single day. Country music has always been something that I listened to all the time,” began Conrique.

At an early age, the singer was mesmerized by artists like Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, and Jason Aldean. She recalls listening to it every single day going to school, and finding some early inspiration in the story-telling aspect of the country genre. “My mom used to own a horse stable in the Bay Area, so I have country roots, and my parents are in Texas now, and me and my brother live in Tennessee, so a lot has changed, but we went back to our roots with that.”

The Turning Point:

At around eleven years old, her family recognized her natural talent, and they picked up and moved to Los Angeles, California. “We moved to Los Angeles for music and acting, but the acting kind of took over because who was doing music when they were eleven year old touring, so I got signed to a label when I was fifteen, but I wasn’t sure what kind of music I wanted to make, but naturally I was writing Pop music because everyone in LA thrives on Pop music.”

Conrique found a ton of success in the acting sphere, but was starting to feel disconnected from her music, despite signing a deal at just fifteen years old. “Then I hit this wall at some point in 2023 I would say, where I felt like the music I was making wasn’t really true to myself. I felt like my ballad were starting to lean a little more country and I started to write some more stuff that was from the heart. My writing was just changing.”

The songstress started taking trips to Nashville in 2024 and writing with songwriters there. “I started writing country music, and I was immediately obsessed with it. I knew it was authentic and real to me because I wasn’t getting sick of the songs and I was enjoying performing them at well. It just came easy to me,” she shared, adding, “I make heartbreak country. […] I’m great at writing break-up songs and sad songs. One of my biggest influences right now is Ella Langley.”

After being in LA for a long time, Conrique moved back to the Bay Area temporarily before making the big moves to Nashville. “I moved back home after being in LA for a long time. I had lived there on my own for a couple of months, but it wasn’t really working for me anymore. […] I had already taken a couple of trips to Nashville, and done weeks of writing, so I felt like there was a sign for me to do something. It was a big move. I never thought I would leave California, but I love living in Nashville now.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, Conrique has set her sights on a career in country music, where she can be herself and share her true stories. “When I went to Nashville, I finally found my sound,” she shared.

Despite loving her journey now, the singer has had some trials and tribulations, since moving to town to start over in her career. The mixed feelings about her journey had led the singer to create some of her most honest and vulnerable music to date, including her latest single, “Polaroid.”

“I was about four months into living [in Nashville], and I feel like I hit a reality check. It was a little humbling driving around the city seeing billboards of people putting out albums. I was feeling a lot of emotions about starting over in the industry. It felt like Nashville is a ten year town, and it was weird because I had put so many years into LA, but those don’t count in Nashville. It was a bit humbling, reality check,” she shared.

The experience led her to feeling emotions she didn’t know she would feel. It was a glass-half empty experience for the singer. “Because it was so inspiring, but humbling, it made me so sad that I was starting over, and I hated that feeling. I was being negative about it, and before my session, I was balling my eyes out, and I was on the phone with someone just venting to them. […] I was in a state trying to figure it out. It was a lot, so I went into the session, and it was kinda obvious that I was crying, and Nicole was like, well, “it’s kind of like a polaroid. When you take a picture, it’s not clear until it’s developed.” And after she said that, it kinda all made sense.”

Her single, “Polaroid” was born out of this experience. “I kinda wrote it for myself, but I also wrote it for anyone else who’s starting over, and feeling like they are not on the right path.”

This is just the start for Conrique, who already has more music and live performances coming down the pipeline soon. Stay tuned, and make sure to jump on the bandwagon — she’s one to look out for!

Connect:

To keep up with Dylan Conrique, follow her on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter.

Dylan Conrique’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.