We all have those artists and songs we hear that strike the right chord and make us fall in love at first listen. They’re the reason we refresh social media pages, tour schedules, and Spotify profiles — because we can’t miss a single release. This is Love at First Listen — a series introducing you to the emerging, and established, artists with new music guaranteed to upgrade your playlist.
Nominated for Songwriter of the Year at this year’s CMAOntario Awards and already dubbed an Artist on the Rise by Pure Country Radio, Genevieve Fisher is racking up buzz within the country music scene. While she’s hard at work on a concept album due out later this year, Genevieve has gifted fans with “Now We’re Talking,” a heartwarming country bop about falling in love with a boy from the bar and building a life together—a story that meets Genevieve exactly where she is in life right now.
To celebrate the one-month anniversary of the song’s release, Love at First Listen connected with Genevieve to get the inside scoop on recording “Now We’re Talking” in a closet, balancing mom duties with songwriting sessions, and what to expect from her next.
Let’s talk about “Now We’re Talking.” As it heads out to Canadian country radio, tell us how you landed upon this song and what it means to you.
My producer Jason Massey was one of the co-writers on the song along with Steven Lee Olsen, MacKenzie Porter, and Lydia Vaughan. Back in the summer, I had reached out to him asking if he had any potential songs that would be a good fit for a radio single. He sent me this one, and I fell in love with it right away. The first thing I asked was, “But is it up for grabs?” Sometimes you get a song sent to you, but it might be on hold or whatever. So, he reached out to MacKenzie and was like, “Hey, do you have any intentions of recording this one?” She went back to her people, chatted with them, and she said, “No, it’s up for grabs.” So, I was very happy to get my hands on the song. I actually met my husband in a bar called Cowboys and we’ve been together ever since, so the lyrics of the song really hit home for me.
I read that you and Steven Lee Olsen have collaborated before, so this song must have been extra special.
On one of my first writing trips down to Nashville, I actually co-wrote with him and Jason Blaine. So, that was — my gosh — back in 2011 or maybe even earlier. He’s just a phenomenal guy and songwriter, and he’s hilarious as well.
What we all love about music is that because it’s so universal, something you didn’t necessarily write can still resonate with you. How would you relate that to “Now We’re Talking,” and are you hoping this song is going to manifest future collaborations with that great country bunch?
The last verse of the song talks about having two kids, a couple acres or two… My husband and I recently built a house out in the country, so you’re right that certain songs you don’t write can feel like they are your song because of just how much you can relate. I would love to collab with MacKenzie Porter in the future. And with Steven, I haven’t written with him for a while, but it would be great to get back in a room together for sure.
“Now We’re Talking” was produced in Nashville, but you recorded your vocals at home in your closet! How do you make the space cozy and conducive to getting clean vocal cuts?
I started recording vocals at home when COVID hit, which was a whole new ballgame for me. I’m not a techy person at all, but I get cozied up in my closet and I’ll throw blankets and towels down to dampen the sound a bit more, though the clothes help as well. It’s just a good spot, but hopefully down the road, I’ll build a little home studio and have it as my writing and vocal space.
You’re officially in your “mom era” but I know you still have a lot of music left in you. How are you embracing and balancing being a mom with everything around being an artist?
I think it’s just finding that happy medium. This is a time in my life that I’ll never get back, so I want to make sure I’m super present for my sons, but music is still such a part of me. I do a lot of my writing now from home, which makes it a bit easier to work on music. I also really want to show other independent female artists that you can absolutely still have a baby and be successful. Some days are harder than others. Some days my brain is like, what is happening?
Are you able to sneak “Now We’re Talking” or one of your other singles into a car playlist or have it on around the house? How do your sons react?
I laugh because I’m like, [my son] Cal should know the words to that song even though he was like three months old when I sang it. But [my other son] Harrison’s kind of funny. He’s three and he hasn’t quite grasped my voice yet. So, he’ll hear a song and be like, “Mama, is this your song?” I’m like, “No. We’ve got to work on this, bud. You’ve got to be able to decipher my voice from someone else’s!” But it is cute.
Not only is it resonating with all ages, but “Now We’re Talking” is such an upbeat and fun love song that’s practically begging to be performed live! What do you have in store musically for the rest of the year?
My first show of the summer is actually Canada Day in Grand Bend, Ontario, and I’m super pumped about that. They expect thousands of people, so that’ll be a ton of fun. I have more shows later in the summer that I haven’t announced yet and hope to add more as I ease back into this. It’ll be fun to bring the boys to the shows as well.
From what you’ve written for your next project so far, what is the vibe shaping up to be, especially compared to what fans have heard from you before?
Some of the songs are a bit slower and more emotional. I feel like in the past, I’ve been so focused on releasing fast, fun, upbeat, party drinking songs, whereas right now I’m just rolling with this time of my life. One of the songs that I wrote with my good friend Shantaia is about my son Harrison and we wrote that a few years ago, but it hasn’t been released yet anywhere. Another one of the songs is like Chris Stapleton and that very soulful vibe, and that’s more of a love song. I feel like when people listen to this album, it truly will be what I’m hoping, which is to have the different parts of my life have different sounds as well.
