ACORN recently dropped her second pop single titled “Space”, but Undiscovered Nashville first discovered ACORN as Alexandria Corn, a country singer-songwriter. We had the opportunity to catch up with ACORN to discuss the new single and why she decided to begin this pop project. Corn’s journey that landed in her in Music City has taken a huge turn. Please keep reading to learn more about Alexandria Corn, or ACORN, as her friends call her.
From a Shy Little Girl to Loving the Stage
Alexandria Corn grew up in New Hartford, New York, a suburb of Utica. It was in upstate New York that a shy little girl developed her love of the stage. Corn said, Most people think I am from Los Angeles since I moved Nashville from there. However, I am from New Hartford, New York. My family is not musical people, but I grew up around music. My mom always had her rock stations on, and my dad’s favorite band was America. Growing up listening listen to rock and classic rock, it’s kind of weird that I started doing country and now pop music.”
Listening to Alexandria’s story, I found it interesting how she ended up pursuing a music career. The singer-songwriter said, “I was shy growing up. I almost didn’t speak to anyone besides my close family and my sister. One day when I was seven or eight, I was singing something. My dad said, why don’t you try singing because you can actually carry a tune. I thought there was no way I could sing in front of people. The thought of it scared me. However, when I was in middle school, someone suggested I do the talent show. But I thought I could never do it. At the time, I loved The Blackeye Peas. I was a die-hard Fergie fan; in fact, my old email was Fergfanforever. When Fergie came out with “Big Girls Don’t Cry, that was the song I decided to sing in the show.”
Somehow, Alexandria gained the courage to get on stage. Fortunately, that decision would pay off the young girl. Corn said, “My mom was scared for me to do the show, and I was too. My mom said, I can’t believe you are doing a talent show, but if you do, take some vocal lessons first. She found an incredible vocal coach, and my choir teacher also helped me. I still can’t believe it, but I won this talent show. It was at that moment that I decide to take singing seriously. I actually loved being on stage.”
New Hartford to Los Angeles to Nashville
After winning the middle school talent show, Alexandria Corn would begin on her path to eventually bring her to Nashville. After winning the talent show, ACORN said, “I continued taking vocal lessons, working with my choir teacher, and I did a lot of musicals. During high school, I auditioned for American Idol. At sixteen, I was proud to get through the first two rounds.” The judges eliminated Corn right before Hollywood Week. The Voice would also come calling, and she said, “They call me every year.”
For someone as involved in musical theatre as Corn became, you might wonder why she didn’t choose New York. The singer-songwriter said, “I moved to LA after college and lived there for about 3 1/2 years. I wanted to make music out there. At the time, I was making country music. I went to school for musical theatre, but I didn’t want to move to New York City because that life is too hard. I didn’t want to audition every day and not be able to live comfortably. However, my first year in LA was extremely rough. I shared a one-bedroom apartment with three other people. We converted the living room into a bedroom. That was fun.”
Interestingly, while many people think of LA as the place for pop music and Nashville as the place for country, there is a vibrant pop scene in Nashville and a country scene in LA. Corn described her LA experience. She said, “It took about a year and a half to figure out the country scene in LA. I met Tyler Rich and Curt Chambers out there, and luckily for me, they took me under their wing. They set me up with many contacts, and I ended up hitting hard the last two years there. I began playing a lot of festivals like Coastal Country Fest and Country Fest in Wisconsin.”
Why did Alexandria Corn become ACORN?
Alexandria Corn moved to Nashville two years ago to continue pursuing a career as a country singer-songwriter. Corn’s last show in 2020 was at a writer’s night hosted by Undiscovered Nashville and Radio SoBro. She had just released her single, “Cheated Better.” However, she wasn’t content. The singer-songwriter said, “It seemed like as soon as I moved to Nashville, I was playing all these writer’s rounds, but I felt like I was getting drowned out. It was discouraging. However, I got a call to open for Eli Young Band. Unfortunately two days later, Covid caused the shows to be canceled. That was my last straw!”
During quarantine, Corn had a lot of time to think, and it was during this time she released “Lie to my Momma,” her last country release. Corn explained, “I am the kind of person who wants to grind. I want to play and sing. When I released “Lie to My Momma,” I lacked the motivation to push the song. I was talking to my friend, Khiana Meyer, about feeling uninspired. Something felt off to me. So, I had this idea. What if I did something? Maybe nobody has to hear it; perhaps it’s just for me. I asked Khiana if she would write two pop songs for me. I said, let’s write and record them. Even though I wasn’t sure if I would release them, but I thought if not, I would have them for myself.”
At this point, how many of you are wondering why Corn released the pop songs under the name ACORN? Well, keep reading. Corn said, “When I was little, my nickname was Acorn. People called me that through college, and even now, my friends call me Acorn. I wanted to incorporate that into an artist’s name somehow. I already had a little bit of a following in country music, so I didn’t want to completely change my name. People would be lost. I decided to keep my country releases under Alexandria Corn and use ACORN for my pop project.”
ACORN: Behind the Pop Music
It is typical for an independent artist to be responsible for financing and marketing their releases. It is impressive for those who excel. ACORN said, “My friend, Khiana Meyer, sent me this song called “Bitch.” I liked it, so I decided to record it. There wasn’t a plan for this pop project. My friend, who is a photographer, flew in from LA. I wanted some new pictures and a new look for this song. What if this project was a joke, but we decided to release it to see what happens. After the response to the first single, I am now taking it seriously.” To date, “Bitch” has more than 90,000 streams on Spotify since its release in November 2020.
ACORN Releases a New Song, “Space”
ACORN released “Space” on January 29, 2021. Khiana Meyer and Tasji wrote ACORN’s new single Meyer also produced the song. ACORN said, “When I first moved to Nashville, I was having lunch at Hopsmith, and Khiana was my server. I kept thinking she looked familiar to me. I had seen a video of this girl playing a song acoustically, and all I saw was the chorus and the hook, but I liked it. So, I sent her a DM. I showed Khianna’s picture to my boyfriend, and he said that’s her. When she came back, I said this might sound weird, but I think I follow you on Instagram. I said, is your name Khiana? She said yes!”
The music scene in Nashville is a small town in a big city. ACORN meeting Khiana Meyer is a prime example of this. The singer-songwriter continued, “I said, Khiana, I am obsessed with your song, “Space.” Khiana and I have become good friends. About two years later, Khiana asked me if I wanted to cut “Space? This whole pop project is just the two of us. The current plan after this release is to release a single every month. I have been writing a lot, and we have almost finished most of the songs.”
Fun Facts with Alexandria Corn/ACORN
As a music fan, I always find it interesting to learn more about an artist. However, so many have such a polished social media presence. Who is the real person? Corn shared some lesser know facts about herself. The singer-songwriter said, “I am a professional equestrian rider, and since I could walk, I have been riding horses. My first job in LA was as a trail guide. I worked at three different stables while in LA. At one of the jobs, we would take people up to the Hollywood sign on horses. If I didn’t make music, I would want to own stables. Also, I am a foodie. I love to rap, but I am not very good; however, I think I am a great rapper after some tequila.”
If you need horseback riding lessons, ACORN might be your girl. If not, you can give her music a listen on Apple Music and Spotify. Please follow her on social media to keep up with ACORN and her move into pop music.
