More Than Influence: How the Music You Love Helps You Find Your Voice

"Who is your biggest musical influence?" A question every artist comes across in their journey. The music we are surrounded by growing up shapes our music taste as we know it today. Our early influences are like roots and as we grow, our tastes branch out reflecting on who we become and the experiences we live through.

Bruno Mars grew up surrounded by funk, Motown, and rock'n'roll. The music he creates today is built on these sounds from his past. In a previous interview, Mars spoke directly to this idea: "It's not a secret. We wear the inspiration on our sleeves. What is the point if us, as musicians, can't learn from the guys that've come before us? What did they do?". Musical influence isn't something that we should shy away from- it's something to embrace. Mars encourages artists to lean on their inspirations to learn more about their craft, honoring the past while shaping it for the future.

As we grow and experience more of life, we naturally start connecting to music in different ways. Artists tend to blend the music of their upbringing with newer discoveries to speak to their current selves.

Olivia Rodrigo, a Disney alum who broke into the pop world with raw, heart-on-her-sleeve anthems, shows a deep awareness of the artists who came before her. Rodrigo has been open with her early connection to artists like Taylor Swift, Lorde, and Paramore and you can hear each one of these in her music today: the lyrical precision of Taylor, the minimalistic emotional depth of Lorde, and the pop-punk punch of Paramore.

Her debut album, 'SOUR' blends soft, piano-led ballads with grungy, guitar-driven tracks like 'Brutal'. It's a patchwork of influence but each feels authentic and unique. What makes Olivia stand out is her ability to take sounds that have been around for decades and shape them into the soundtrack of a young woman coming of age in real-time. With her sophomore album, 'GUTS', we see her influences deepen. There is a clear pull toward 2000s alt-rock matched with self-aware humour. Here, she's not imitating her heroes, she's responding to them.

Musical influence is less about mimicking their sound and more about building on what came before you. As Bruno Mars said, it's about asking "What did they do?" and

then reimagining it in your voice. So the next time someone asks you, "Who's your biggest influence?", maybe the question they should be asking is "Who helped you find your voice?".