From Miley Cyrus to Taylor Swift, countless household names have come from Nashville, proving that the Tennessee city is a hub for more than just country music.
The next artist on the radar? NORA.
Releasing her debut single “Kiss My Ass.” on Nov. 14, NORA.kicks off her career with an unapologetic breakup anthem. Its catchy chorus and driving verses, powered by NORA.’s polished vocals, guide the song, all the while leaving room for the confident lyricism that anybody can sing along to.
Hailing originally from Pennsylvania, NORA. has reclaimed her musical identity by leaving corporate America in the dust and chasing after her passion. Between the fiery debut “Kiss My Ass.” and the freshman EP Just Words., releasing in January 2026, NORA. shares that she’s one thing above all else: relatable.
Just to dive right into it, your lyrics for “Kiss My Ass.” are very Sabrina Carpenter-coded in the conversational wittiness and I-don’t-give-a-fuck mentality. But who would you say are your musical inspirations, both sonically and lyrically?
I would say I really love Maisie Peters’ lyrics. I think she’s super sick, and she’s not afraid to be a little bit vulnerable in her lyrics. I also do love Sabrina Carpenter. I wouldn’t say that a lot of my music is inspired by her, but I think “Kiss My Ass.” definitely takes some inspiration from her. I would also say Leon. She’s so good, as well as Violet Skies, someone else that I really take inspiration from. I think what I really love is songwriters who are very honest and tell it how it is. That speaks to me the most, so that’s what I try to do in my music as well.
It’s very, very obvious, because I was listening to the single, and I was like, “I love songs that are like that, that kind of just don’t beat around the bush and just get straight to the point.” And I definitely got that from “Kiss My Ass.” So how would you then describe your own sound? Do you think you kind of blend the genres of the artists that are your inspiration, or do you think you put your own twist on it?
I think my songs are super lyric-forward. And then whatever melody I end up coming up with, I come up with. I would probably classify myself as maybe indie bedroom pop. That’s where my songs start, always. I think, especially with this song, we kind of experimented a little bit. I think I would say indie pop slash [my] inspiration from folk and country, living in Nashville. So I think it kind of blends those two together, if anything.
That’s so funny. I was just going to ask if being in Nashville influences your sound, because I definitely picked up a little bit of a country twang in this.
I mean, I’m here almost—what? Five years now, which is crazy. But I think I definitely have taken inspiration from that. Also, my dad used to listen to country growing up. Me and my brother took inspiration from that as well, because obviously what you hear shapes you. I would say living here [influenced my sound], definitely, because you’re doing writers’ rounds, and a lot of the time it’s super country-forward, which is sometimes kind of different and makes me a little bit nervous. Sometimes I feel like every stage in Nashville isn’t necessarily my stage, just because I think people are expecting country and whatnot. So I think I definitely have incorporated that, but I’ve stayed true to my indie pop roots.
So then you also left your nine-to-five job to pursue music, which I’m sure is going to be super inspirational for other musicians who are in a similar position to you. What would you say, though, was the breaking point where you kind of decided that you needed to follow your passion instead of doing corporate?
I went to school for the creative entertainment industries. So I kind of went with, like, “Okay, if anything, I want to work in the industry,” but the main goal was always to be an artist. I think when I graduated and got the corporate job [at a tour marketing company], I was like, “Okay, wait. If I’m spending so much time on marketing other people’s tours or whatnot, I’m never going to have the time to do it for myself.” So it was kind of like a, “Well, fuck it.” I’m gonna do it, and I’m gonna do the serving job, and that’s not new to me at all. I’ve served before. I kind of wanted to grind it out and give it my best shot, or else I’d regret it forever.
…It’s scary just because there are friends of mine when I go back home, who are on a completely different path than me—some might say further along, and I mean that in terms of, okay, they’re stable. This job that they have, they can move up in the company, whatever. My parents have always been super, super supportive, but…this career is kind of odd, you know? It’s not like what your parents think you’re gonna do. So, I think that part was scary—other people’s perception or perspective on what I’m doing. But I want it bad enough that I was willing to do that. It hit a point where I was like, “No, this is what I want,” so I need to do it for me.
What advice would you give to people who are in a similar position and want to pursue music but perhaps are just too scared to take that leap? What would you say to them?
I would question them: how bad do you want it? And if you really want it that bad, then, as corny as it sounds, you really only have one life. You might as well just go for what you wanna do. There’s no way I could have lived with myself if I knew that I didn’t at least try. I think that’s super important. And even if they don’t want to take the risk of leaving their job, then just bust your ass after hours to make it happen. The leap is hard, but I personally think it’s very, very worth it. My mental state and everything have been so much better since.
So you kind of mentioned growing up listening to music and stuff like that, but how would you say that you originally got into music? Have you always loved it and always loved creating it? Or is that a new development? How has that journey been for you?
I’ve always loved it, to be honest. I have so many embarrassing videos of me on my mom’s VHS singing in front of my closet doors for nobody and pretending it was for millions of people. And the lyrics were terrible at that age, of course. But I always wanted it, and I always loved doing it. I was a theater kid through and through. I was in school choirs. Any chance that I got in school to do music, I was in it. Like, let me trade out that class for a choir class, for sure. Any chance I got. I also did dance, and I can recall listening to Michael Bublé. That was my mom’s guy in the car. She would play his CD over and over again, and I just loved it. I loved the drama of it all.
I think lyrics started coming more in probably seventh, eighth grade, and that was when I was starting to feel like, “Oh, I’m feeling so many emotions. How do I get this out?” That’s when I started actually having lyrics that made sense.
Your debut EP is coming out early 2026. So what can listeners expect from that? Without giving too much away, what kind of sneak peek can you give?
I think there’s variety on there, that’s what I would say. Aden Gray produces my stuff, and when we went in, we were very experimental, and so I think there are a lot of different songs for different interests that people have. There’s a lot of variety, and I think people will be surprised. After “Kiss My Ass.” I think there’s more different stuff in it.
That’s awesome. I know this is kind of a big question, but where do you hope to see your career in, like, five years, 10 years? What does success look like to you, starting so fresh?
I think success for me would be touring. That’s my main goal. I don’t know what capacity that means, but I just love going to a concert and feeling like I was understood by the artist singing. That would be my dream come true, if I were on stage, and I was looking at someone, and it was like, “Oh, you get me.” That would be super cool. So, I would say touring in any kind of way. My thing is, success would just be people actually liking it and understanding it.
Is there anything else that I haven’t specifically asked that you want to share or cover, or express?
If I were to say anything, I think it’s interesting because if people met me, I think they would be like, “How the hell did this girl write this song (“Kiss My Ass.”)?” I don’t come off super fiery. But these are all the things that I would have and should have said if I were a little bit more confrontational. I just think it’s interesting, and it’s a funny tidbit. I’m much more naive than this song gives, and I kind of love that because it’s me getting the chance to be like, “No, I can be this way.” I’m having these thoughts, and things that I wouldn’t say in person, I’m gonna say in this song.
