Hollie Col is the singer-songwriter brightening up our Spotify playlists, so we caught up with her to find out more about her sunny indie-pop sound.
Since releasing her debut EP in 2018, Col has racked up over six million streams on Spotify and 10 million views on YouTube.
An artist who draws on her lived experience to inform her music, she is passionate about “normalising” same-sex storylines and providing the representation she didn’t see in the industry while growing up.
Her latest single ‘Forgot to Love You’ is another honest musing on struggling with the romanticism of being single in your twenties.
“Being in a relationship when you’re young and entering your twenties can be extremely difficult because you are presented with this glamorous narrative of flings and one-night stands, and you have to reckon with ‘missing out’ on that,” Col said of the track.
To celebrate the recent release of ‘Forgot to Love You’, we had a chat with Hollie Col as part of our Get To Know series.
Check out ‘Forgot to Love You’ by Hollie Col:
How did your artist name come about?
Short story: My last name is a handful, so I cut it in half. Longer story: I was struggling with what to call myself, because I knew I didn’t want to use my full last name. I saw that my brother had just started an Instagram account and shortened our last name to Col, so I stole the idea from him. He makes sure I know it too.
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How would you describe your music to your grandma?
My grandma is pretty hardcore, and my music is pretty tame so I wouldn’t hold back in describing it. I would tell her it’s a kind of guitar-infused pop music. A lot of counter melodies, funky guitar riffs and a lot of love stories.
Tell us about a few of your tracks; their titles and what they’re about?
‘Forgot to Love You’ is my latest single. It’s about giving into the narrative of being single and reckless in your twenties and ruining a good relationship in the process. It’s for the people who did the breakup-ing and regret it, rather than for the breakup-ee (there’s a lot of songs for them already)!
The single before this one is called ‘She Knows’, it’s another song about losing someone you love. But this time it’s addressed to the person they date next. It says “you don’t know her like I do and she knows it”.
What do you love about your hometown?
I’m a massive sucker for nostalgia. So I love everything that has a memory attached to it. I love the culdesac I played in as a child, and the local shops we used to walk down to for hot chips after school. I love the memories of getting my P’s and hitting up every Maccas drive-thru in the area with my best high school friends.
Career highlight so far?
I would have to say playing The Enmore Theatre opening for one of my favourite bands in high school, Kodaline.
Fave non-music hobby?
I love anything outdoors. I love playing sport, kicking the footy or soccer ball around. I played in the local Oz Tag comp with my friends, and not to brag but we DID win the comp.
What’s on your dream rider?
I don’t really have one, to be honest. I would have to say just lots of tea and lots of honey.
Dream music collaboration?
Taylor Swift, for SURE.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Living somewhere suburban and somewhat secluded with a wife and kids, still making music that I love for a living.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
Hmm, good question. Anything Hannah Montana. ‘Torn’ is a banger too.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
To take a second to sit in my achievements. I have a tendency to already be focused on my next goal and not really stop to soak it in when I achieve something I’ve always wanted to.
What’s one obsession you have that no one would guess after listening to your music?
I have become obsessed with women’s soccer. I don’t think that would be too much of a shock, because I love anything women do haha. But definitely getting more and more into women’s soccer, so I’m LOVING the Olympics.
For more on this topic, check out the Indie and Pop Observers.
Check out ‘She Knows’ by Hollie Col:
