If you’re obsessed with Madison Beer, you are probably already aware of Neriah Fisher, known mononymously as Neriah. The 24-year-old singer-songwriter joined Beer for ten stops on the West Coast portion of the Spinnin Tour, spanning from May 31st through June 13th. But did you know that in less than two years, this California artist released three EPs and a debut album (times two, if you include the deluxe edition) completely independently? Or that she went viral this year with a song she released in 2022? With over 700K monthly listeners on Spotify and her sophomore album ready for release, Neriah is poised to make a big impact on pop music in 2024. Lucky for us the singer was able to sit down with r/popheads to talk about touring, the new album, her songwriting process, and even a little bit of romance. Here’s what she had to say…
On touring with Madison Beer and Upsahl…
N: It was a dream, that tour. [Madison Beer and Upsahl] were both the sweetest people ever. Every single night I would be like, “This is the biggest show that I played in my life.” The largest room I had ever played before [the Spinnin Tour] was like 500 people. Going from 500 to a sold out show at the Greek was so insane. It was so much fun hearing such a big room scream back lyrics. I was like, “Oh my gosh, I’ve never been here. How do you guys know these songs?”
On how she managed to release three EPs, a debut album, and a full-length deluxe in under two years…
N: I would write every single second, if I could. I love what I do so much that it never feels like a job and I’ve never been exhausted from it. I think I’m very good at being able to still find inspiration. I’m not worried about telling people exactly what’s going on [in my life.] If I get in a fight with my boyfriend tomorrow, I will write a song about it the next day. I think [it’s about] just being able to write about everything openly and honestly, and being as vulnerable as I can. It’s definitely important to make sure you’re still living life, and you’re still having fun time with your friends and your family and relationships and stuff. Because it definitely drives so much inspiration to everything. There’s so many different times in my life that I need songs to be written for myself. And I’m like, “If this helped me, it’s going to help someone.”
On the difference between releasing an EP and releasing an album…
N: The other EPs were never written to be an EP. They were kind of just singles that were bundled together. And I think for an album, it’s a project that I’m cohesively writing from start to finish and trying to tell that story. I think, overall, [an album is] supposed to be listened to from top to bottom to tell that story. I’ve learned to ask myself, “Are these all songs that you want to come out? And they all have the same purpose together? Or are these just songs that you want people to listen to?” So you throw them into an EP.
On exploring new sounds for her upcoming album…
N: [This album has] a lot of love songs. I didn’t even know I had it in me to write love songs, but I’m in the happiest relationship I’ve ever been in. And that was such a fear of mine. I was like, “Everyone wants me to be sad, because I write the best music when I’m sad and depressed.” And now I’m writing happy music that I love. I think there will definitely be at least one sad song [on the new album] because I have to bring back those roots. But I’m in such a different place in my life than I was on my last album. [The new album is] very summery, very honeymoon, very 80s. They’re all super upbeat, which was a big change for me. It was really fun to be able just to experiment with that new vocal tone and all these new sounds. It’s my favorite body of work I’ve ever worked on in my life. If everything stays as planned, we’ll get the new album before the end of the year.
On finding her happiest relationship ever in the studio…
N: He produces all my music. One of the first songs we did together was “Unfinished Business,” and he’s been my producer for the last two years. We were just friends for a very long time. And then going through my last relationship, we wrote probably 60 songs together to do that 24 track album [Cause of Death.] And we’re just like, “Oh my gosh. We’re the same person. We have the exact same experiences and we just believe in the same things.” I think being able to create music together is another layer of the experience that just makes it so special. And it was so fun to be able to write [the new album]. He’s so funny. He doesn’t even really listen to lyrics. He’s on the production side, so half of the songs he didn’t even know they’re about him until I was like, “These are all about you.”
On balancing romance with professionalism…
N: I think we figured out a good balance of that. When we’re in the studio, we are not dating. We write a lot together for other artists as well, and some people don’t even know we’re dating, because we are so professional about it. And we will never do a session unless it’s planned and scheduled by our teams in the calendar. I think that’s something that’s been good to keep that balance, because me, I’m like, “It’s one in the morning! I want to write! Let’s go!” And he’s like, “We’re not working right now.”
On writing the lead single “First Time”…
N: Once [my producer and I] had decided what sound we were going to do, we spent a lot of time writing instrumentals that we would just listen to. Then we would just write a verse or write a chorus. We weren’t really finishing anything because I really wanted to figure out where Neriah fits in that [new sound.] So the first session that we actually had was “First Time.” And I feel like “First Time” is such a great title for the first song. It really told the story of how we’re making this whole album.
On being independent and releasing “First Time” through DistroKid…
N: I’ve never had a label. I had a deal before with a distribution company for all my other music. “First Time” was the first single that we released through DistroKid. When I first started, I was like, “I want to stay independent. It’s really important for me to own my masters.” I write all my music. I went to school for marketing. I need to have control. I’m a control freak. I can’t have someone telling me what I can and can’t do. [With ‘First Time’] we actually got the most support we’ve ever gotten on any release, which is so exciting and so amazing. There’s so much power and freedom in being independent. When I first started releasing music, they were like, “You’re never going to get on playlists if you’re independent. You’re never going to reach a million monthly listeners.” And I was like, “Okay, that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”
On her 2022 single “Unfinished Business” which went viral this year…
N: It’s the song that just keeps on giving. We had an Instagram video get to 30-something million and it was literally a video of me in the parking lot just singing the pre-chorus. I think that’s just a song that everyone feels like, “This is my life. This is exactly how I feel.” Those are the lyrics that I’m the most proud of writing. We wrote “Unfinished Business” in 30 minutes. It was the quickest song we’d ever written. I remember going home from the session and playing it over and over again. I texted my producer and I was like, “This is done. Can release this tomorrow?” I knew it was going to be a special song.
On working with Toosi on the “Unfinished Business” remix…
N: That was a really fun story. He found one of my songs that I had released and he sampled it. And he was like, “Is it cool if I release this?” And I was like, “Oh my gosh, I’m honored. Of course.” So we ended up releasing that first and then we built a relationship. Then we wanted to do a more R&B-leaning style of “Unfinished Business.” So we asked him, “Would you want to do a verse?” We kind of went back and forth, and he sent the verse and I was like, “This is perfect.” It was super fun. He’s lovely.
On her songwriting process…
N: I have an ongoing list on my phone that has thousands of titles, concepts, random blurbs. With “First Time,” I had that title for a long time and I didn’t really know what I wanted it to be about until I was like, “Oh my gosh, I want this exact concept.” Sometimes I’ll write a title down with a concept in mind. Sometimes I’ll just write a title down and then later, I’ll journal on it and see what comes up. But I always come into the session with at least a concept or a title. I feel like every song has a different story, and a different way that it comes to life.
On writing for other artists…
N: When I’m writing for myself, I’m so picky. But with another artist, whenever they come into the room, it’s like a therapy session. They sit down and I’m like, “So what’s going on? What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you? What’s the best thing? What do you want to write about?” I feel like it’s just so easy for me to hear their story and be able to put it into words. I just fell in love with writing for other people. I think it’s always fun to hear someone else’s perspective and see what inspiration that draws.
On her dream collaborations…
N: I’m a huge fan of Julia Michaels. I’m obsessed with her. I think [she is] the person I look up to the most. Also Lauv. I was obsessed with him for such a long time. He’s so good, so talented. I’ve been listening to a lot of Japanese House lately. And Coldplay.
On the women in pop who inspire her…
N: Chappell Roan – I’ve been obsessed with her since a few albums ago. She’s so talented, she slays it. Gracie Abrams. Billie Eilish – Her last album was just unbelievable. Sabrina Carpenter – I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve listened to “Espresso” or “Please, Please, Please.” There’s nothing she can’t do. It’s been a blast to be able to listen to everything people are doing and how they’re making it their own.
On getting followed by SZA on Instagram…
N: I was refreshing the page like, “This must be a glitch. Something is wrong.” Everyone was texting me like, “Oh my gosh, I cannot believe what just happened.” She commented on one of my reels like, “You’re my favorite writer right now.” I was freaking out. We will DM every once in a while. It’s so crazy. I’m like, “There’s no way this is real.”
On calling her fans the Noodles…
N: I’m obsessed with ramen. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was always a joke because I would post a bunch of videos of me, eating my noodles. I think I was on an [Instagram Live] one day and [the fans] were like, “Can we be called the Noodles?” And it kind of just stuck. So now, on our Discord [channel], they’ll just constantly be sending pictures of everyone making and eating noodles. It’s become this whole thing. I told them at the end of this year, I’m gonna get a noodle tattoo and a lot of them wanted to get it with me.
Interview conducted by AJ Marks and Anna Pollitt via Zoom. Written by Pop Apologist, Anna Pollitt. This write-up was originally posted to the Popheads subreddit on 07/05/2024.
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