Rising Stars: Meet Claire Ernst of East

Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Ernst.

Claire, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
From the moment I learned to speak, I’ve been singing, dancing, and writing. My family is all in love with music; my mom and dad met on tour for Mary Wilson in the 90s. My dad is one of my biggest inspirations musically. He is the best pianist I have ever known, and even though I might be a bit biased, I know the world would agree if they saw him play. I wrote my first song in second grade, and it’s just stuck ever since then. I’ve listened to different music genres growing up, from Kacey Musgraves to Stevie Wonder, J Cole, Yebba, and 1975.

Coming to Nashville was the best decision I’ve ever made in my 21 years on this planet. The best friends I’ve made, the experience I’ve gained, and the opportunities I’ve taken part in are so surreal!! As soon as I got to school, I met two people who changed my life, John and Lulu (hi). Lulu and I started making music in her dorm, and I was so beyond impressed and in awe of how many talented people I was surrounded by. This sparked such inspiration in me; I remember the first year sneaking videos and voice memos of my now guitar player, Jackson, and sending them to my parents, saying, “can you even believe this person exists.”

Junior year I happened to have a lyric writing class with Chris Dubois, who owns SeaGayle Publishing here in town. After a few weeks, he emailed me asking to zoom and offered me a deal. At first, I was like, ‘who is this dude offering me a deal after hearing like two songs’ but after months of working with him and meeting the team and realizing how much belief they have in me, we signed in May of 2021. Since then, I’ve been writing around town and making music which is the epitome of what my dream was as a second-grader. So now I’m here, just graduated and in a new apartment, just trying to figure out who I am and what I want to say, so no pressure.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have faced some challenges so far, but I think the biggest challenge as an artist is not undermining myself. I think creative people, especially creative women, can be afraid to be a big voice in the room. I’ve learned how to quiet those imposter syndrome thoughts, but I’ve also known from many people that they never go away. We can be so hard on ourselves, comparing numbers to our peers trying to do the same thing. I mean, it’s crazy that now in the music industry, every day, we can measure our “success” by monthly listeners. It is difficult not to fixate on that, not to define success as how many streams a song has, but how much I love that song or project. If I’ve learned anything about the music industry, it will not be a smooth road, and my passion for music might be the only constant in this always-changing and developing world, but I’m more than okay with that.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve been signed with SeaGayle Music Publishing for a year, and it’s been the most incredible journey. I’m a writer and artist there, so I’ve just been doing loads of cowrites with such talented people, and I’m having the time of my life!!! Lately, I’ve been diving much deeper into my R&B side and creating some of my favorite songs these past couple of months. I’m so excited to get this EP out in July; it has 6 tracks I’m incredibly proud of, two already out with 4 brand new ones. I’m mainly excited to get this out so I can start putting together an album. Since this year has just been spent writing, I have an overload of tracks that I truly love, so now comes the process of picking which ones, which is the fun part. I’m most proud of the community I’ve built around me. Somehow I’ve found such beautiful people in this town: my best friends, band members, publishing team, and family. These people have allowed me to live my actual dreams and have always believed in me. I don’t know what I did in my past life or life to deserve this, but I have never been more grateful. Making music has always been my heart and soul, and sharing that with the world makes me so f*cking happy. The process of my most recent track, “Flowers,” was the most fun I’ve had making a song ever, from top to bottom, and it just makes me so inspired and excited for all that’s to come.

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
When it comes to risk, I’m a Virgo, so I love rules. I’m not sure if this is what you meant by risk, but since the third grade, I’ve always struggled with body image issues. I remember being 10 or 11 years old and telling my mom that I didn’t think I could be an artist because I wasn’t skinny enough or pretty enough. I think the biggest risk I took was on myself back then. Music motivated me through this mental battle of self-image that I, of course, still deal with and will always have to deal with. Knowing from such a young age how difficult this career path can be, especially as a woman, simply putting myself and any artist putting themselves out there is my definition of risk.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claire.ernst/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-95G2TXj_I_Llf71RPNWIQ
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2WFgy3nW0RPCr856bifSkY?si=5Vm5LtVlQne-pGCbZ2yMMA

Image Credits
Lily Nelson Luis Ernesto Julia Mitchell