Kayla DiVenere On Capturing Young Adulthood In Her Songwriting

"Small Talk" is a newly released single by Kayla DiVenere. The single is an alt-pop song with introspective lyrics perfectly capturing the highs and lows of young adulthood. At just 20 years old Kayla’s honeyed vocals tell the story of a secret crush she has on her brother’s best friend. In conversation with Clique, Kayla shares that “Small Talk” is about a secret crush she had on her brother’s best friend ever since she was 14. She created the song a longing to have more than 5-minute fleeting conversations with him every time he would come over to her house. She let her imagination run wild and found herself aching for the kind of love from a John Hughes romance movie… the boombox at the window, playing his favorite mixtape, that kind of secret love. After rewatching every romance movie to exist, it was absolute torture to continue entertaining meaningless small talk with her brother’s best friend, so she decided to write “Small Talk” in an attempt to pour her heart out and make sense of her desire for something more.

CLIQUE: What excites you the most about your new single “Small Talk” being released?

KAYLA: I wrote "Small Talk" about a secret crush I've had on my brother's best friend ever since I was 14. I’m very excited to make him listen to it and maybe he’ll even figure out it’s about him. I also just love the little world I created with “Small Talk” of a vintage 80s romcom movie type of love that I believe everyone deserves!  

“I have endless notes on my phone of little idea snippets, concepts, or lyric ideas that I get from my everyday life. I get most of my concepts from ranting to my friends, dialogue in TV shows or movies, or even just overhearing snippets of someone’s conversation in line at a coffee shop.”

CLIQUE: What is your song writing process like?

KAYLA: I have endless notes on my phone of little idea snippets, concepts, or lyric ideas that I get from my everyday life. I get most of my concepts from ranting to my friends, dialogue in TV shows or movies, or even just overhearing snippets of someone’s conversation in line at a coffee shop. When I actually sit down with the intention to write a song, I start with a concept that feels right to be in the moment, pick a couple of chords that feel cohesive, and start spitballing melodies. Then, I pretty much just fall into a creative hole and black out until the sun goes down and the song is fully written! 

CLIQUE: The song comes from a crush you had on your brother’s best friend, can you tell us more about that?

KAYLA: “Small Talk” is about a secret crush I’ve had on my brother’s best friend ever since I was 14. I created the song in my longing to have more than 5-minute fleeting conversations with him every time he would come over to our house. I let my imagination run wild and I found myself aching for the kind of love from a John Hughes romance movie… the boombox at the window, playing his favorite mixtape, that kind of secret love. After rewatching every romance movie to exist, it was absolute torture to continue entertaining meaningless small talk with my brother’s best friend, so I decided to write “Small Talk” in an attempt to pour my heart out and make sense of my desire for something more.

CLIQUE: Who is someone you would love to collaborate with in the future?

KAYLA: I'm obsessed with Dominic Fike's music and it would be a dream to collaborate with him in the future! His melodies are so sticky and his flow is crazy.

CLIQUE: As someone who is an actress, musician, singer, and model, how do you balance these different aspects of your life?

KAYLA: It can definitely be a lot sometimes, but they all feed my soul and that's all I could ever ask for. I love working hard, especially on things I love, so even though things can get really busy, it's never a bad thing. Although I do try to spread them out as much as I can and make sure to also leave room for experiencing life, because without experience, I can make no art. 

CLIQUE: Do you feel as though your different interests such as singing and acting are beneficial to each other?

KAYLA: I totally think they go hand in hand. Singing and acting are so similar yet so different in many ways. They allow me to tap into different parts of my vulnerability and character, and just all around make me a better person. 

“As soon as I take my thoughts and emotions and transform them into lyrics for a song, it almost feels like I’ve physically plucked my worries out of my body, making me feel 10 pounds lighter.”

CLIQUE: Do you find that capturing young adulthood to be something that helps you navigate it yourself as you are writing about it?

KAYLA: Writing helps me understand myself so much. It’s one of my favorite forms of self expression. Anytime I go through anything, I always feel so much better after I write about it. It’s so odd, it almost feels very physical to me. As soon as I take my thoughts and emotions and transform them into lyrics for a song, it almost feels like I’ve physically plucked my worries out of my body, making me feel 10 pounds lighter. I love listening back to my demos a million times over, screaming out the lyrics in my car, and it feels like I just made my own personal yet relatable song that makes me feel a little less alone! 

CLIQUE: What is the greatest piece of advice you have been given about songwriting?

KAYLA: The greatest piece of advice I've been given about songwriting is to just keep doing it. It's really easy to get stuck on songs or fall into a creative block, but as long as I just keep doing it, it brings me to a place where I can take a couple steps back once in a while and see how far I've come in my writing, and that is just ever so inspiring. 

CLIQUE: What was it like working with producer/songwriter Jordan Witzigreuter (The Ready Set) and songwriters Maia Kelly and Zach DeGaetano

KAYLA: Jordan, Maia, and Zach are some of the dopest people I've met in the music community! We understand each other so much on a deeper human level which goes hand in hand with understanding each other on a musical level. We also get into so many deep conversations every time we write (complete opposite of small talk!) and it's just the best thing ever. 

CLIQUE: What do you have planned for your future? What is next for you?

KAYLA: So so so much new music that I've been working on is going to come out in 2024, and I can't wait for everyone to hear. I also just did my first show last month, and I'm looking forward to doing so many more!

Listen to Kayla’s single “Small Talk” on Spotify here.