A North Georgia-based musician recently released a new single now available on all streaming platforms.
Singer-songwriter Rebecca Skelton has been writing and recording songs for just over a year. A Hall County native and Sophomore at Georgia State University working to pursue a career in music full-time, Skelton’s latest single “Lackluster” is a part of her decade-long journey into the world of music. She recently spoke with AccessWDUN about her work, recalling her first memories with music at the age of seven.
“I remember asking for a keyboard for Christmas when I was seven years old, and obviously my dad got it for me, I've been so blessed,” she shared. “...But ever since then, I got that keyboard and I started playing songs by ear, and [my parents] wanted to enroll me in piano lessons. And so I took piano lessons for [about] nine years, before I stopped, but I still learned on my own.”
Skelton also sang in her school’s chorus in middle and high school, and joined the worship team at Lanier Hills Church in Gainesville where she currently sings and plays the piano. However, Skelton said after graduating from Chestatee High School in 2023, she found herself writing original lyrics for the first time. After gaining support from friends and family, she decided to record her work and release it through a six-song EP titled “in my head,” which made its debut on platforms in August.
“I remember when I first wrote my song, ‘addicted’,” she recalled. “[It] was the first song I've ever written…And I remember I tried to write songs before then, and those accidentally got out and absolutely discouraged me… I wrote it on my ukulele because that's all I knew how to play at the time. And I just started dumping, like, it just flowed out of me, and that's how every song I write goes.”
‘in my head’ was created in partnership with Jimmy Weaver, who produced and mixed the project, as well as her friend Gigi Ucles, who helped her to create the overarching sound of the EP. The project was partially recorded at GSU’s recording studio, while other tracks, including “lackluster” were recorded and mixed at Lanier Hills.
“I'm so lucky to have finally a producer who sees eye to eye with me and also sees the vision that I'm seeing,” Skelton said. “And I feel like not a lot of artists get that… all three of us, just hear it all together and are really passionate about the song. Gigi and Jimmy really love the songs.”
‘delusional’, the EP’s lead single, has accumulated over 1,000 streams on Spotify since its release. Skelton releases her music independently, meaning she is not currently signed under a record label. She promotes her work via social media by posting snippets of her songs, covers, and music tutorials on Instagram, YouTube and Tik Tok. Skelton explained while navigating trends and algorithms is not her favorite part of the process, she hopes to build a community through a love of music.
“I want to get to a point where I can establish a connection with a fan base, and I want to create one, and I do have a lot of people who support me in that way,” she said.
Skelton’s YouTube channel currently has 1.75k subscribers, while two of her Tik Tok videos of her performing her songs received over 100,000 views.
“I'm really thankful, I'm grateful, and I'm blessed,” Skelton said. “... I honestly just thank Jesus for all this, because I could not have done it without him… I'm surrounded by talented people all the time, and I'm surrounded by passionate people all the time, and that is really inspiring, and that's all I could ever ask for. And I just hope that whatever comes out of this, it will all be for good. I really hope I'm spreading a powerful message that will inspire others.”
Skelton is currently in the process of recording her first full-length album, which she plans to release in 2025. The next single for that project, “let it all go” will be available to stream in January, 2025. Skelton said she also plans to release a music video to accompany the single, which will be a collaboration between herself and Sam Morgan, a Gainesville-based filmmaker.
“[Sam] is really talented,” Skelton said. “I've seen him work behind the camera. I've seen his artistic vision, and I honestly trust him with it.”
Skelton’s music is available to stream everywhere, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2024/12/1275568/meet-rebecca-skelton-a-local-singersongwriter