Rachel Young has spent far longer than “One Night Only” in the music space. From growing up doing musical theater to attending a performing arts school, Young has always been drawn to music.
Young, a senior majoring in public relations, wrote her first song in middle school and hasn’t stopped since. Constantly writing music, her voice memos and notes apps are filled with lyrics and ideas.
“I really got hooked on the storytelling aspect of [songwriting],” Young said. “It became my way of processing.”
When it comes to writing songs, Young plays around with the order she does things in, sometimes starting with melody, and other times getting inspired by poems or lyrics.
“I love a nice chord progression,” Young said. “I tend to find chords that I like on my keyboard at home and then I just start writing as if I’m pouring all my thoughts out. When I first started writing, I would start with poems, and then I would put that to music. But lately, I’ve been writing music first, which is kind of a nice change.”
Young said she loves to collaborate with her friends on musical projects. She mentioned her producers, songwriting partners and band members are all people close to her.
“My [friends and I] will go to the Thornton practice rooms and lock ourselves in there for hours and write,” Young said. “Then we come together and show each other; my favorite part is getting to see my friends’ reactions to my work and also hearing their stuff.”
Young’s friend and musical collaborator, Lauren Rintoul, a senior majoring in music industry, seconded the notion that collaboration is key.
“Working with Rachel is so fun, she’s my best friend,” Rintoul said. “We play each other our stuff, and I just get so inspired listening to her. It’s super nice to be able to share a passion with someone that you love so much.”
John Thornton, a senior majoring in business administration, raved about Young’s process and writing style.
“[Young] is very in touch with her emotions,” Thornton said. “She brings her musical theater influences and translates [them] seamlessly to pop music. We’ve written some stuff together, recorded some stuff together. It’s been super fun to support each other on the songs we’re putting out.”
When asked about her inspirations, Young gave credit to a wide variety of influences, from older guides to more recent artists. Growing up, Young was surrounded by old Broadway and jazz. She said she loves things that are lyrically driven or tell a story, but lately Young has been really leaning into production.
“I love Ella Jane, Taylor Swift, obviously, and Billie Eilish,” Young said. “I think there’s just so much young female talent in the industry right now. It’s so crazy to get to be a part of that.”
“REARVIEW,” Young’s debut single, is an indie pop track about the rose-colored glasses she wears when it comes to an ex.
“I’m a perfectionist, everything I wrote, I was like, ‘Is this good enough to put out?’ [‘REARVIEW’] was the first one that, after it was all produced, I could put this out. Even though it’s not perfect, it was something that I was proud of,” Young said. “One of my friends said listening to the lyrics helped him get over his breakup. If I could help somebody else get over something, that would be so cool.”
“One Night Only,” Young’s second release, is a spooky rock track about a bad decision where Young asks “If it’s just for one night only, is it seven years’ bad luck?”
“‘One Night Only’ is definitely super different,” Young said. “It was done by April, but I decided I wanted to wait for Halloween to release it. [The producer] just kind of took [the song] and ran with it. He had this whole idea to make it like more of a rock song, which is something that I had never leaned into. It was never something I thought I could do.”
Young’s music career is just getting started, and she has some big plans for the future. She said she is excited for her first live performance Oct. 10 with Breaking Sound LA at Adults Only.
“I’m most looking forward to my first show ever, I’m really excited for it,” Young said. “I’m always writing songs to process my daily life, I want to keep collaborating. I’m so lucky to go to a school that has so many talented producers and songwriters.”
