teo tala on Starting Over, Grandpa Sweaters, and His New Single “last red light”

Most, if not all, musicians can’t say they left a job at Google to pursue their music career instead.

Most musicians aren’t teo tala.

California born and bred, the self-described “soft boy storytelling” artist blends the bedroom pop of Rex Orange County with the “sad internet teen” vibes of Conan Gray to create a genre that is completely his own. Tracks like “down bad” and “let them go” employ the 2016-esque ukulele craze with a modern touch, making each song the epitome of timeless nostalgia.

The latest in his discography is “last red light,” where tala channels the atmosphere of late night drives where only the memory of someone sits in the passenger seat. We sat down with the 23-year-old singer ahead of the single’s release to talk about his inspirations, the intoxicating influence of Disney Channel Original Movies, and what’s next on the horizon for the rest of this year.

Starting off, your name, teo tala—is that a stage name? Is that your real name? Is there a story behind it?

Yeah, so it is a stage name. I’ll start with the first name, which is Teo. That was actually my childhood nickname growing up. If you ever go to one of my family functions or potlucks, everyone’s calling me Teo. So naturally when they go to a lot of my shows now, it’s a very natural thing for them. Then Tala has a double meaning. So the first meaning is that I’m full Filipino-American, which is something I’m super proud of. And Tala in Tagalog, the Filipino language, means “bright star.”

That specific name meant a lot to me just because I grew up really attached to the starfish story. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but basically it was something that my aunt actually showed to me when I was really little. It’s basically about a little boy who’s on the beach, and there’s a bunch of starfish on the sand. He’s throwing each starfish into the ocean one by one to try to save them all. An old man walks by and he’s like, “You’re not going to save all the starfish.” And the boy’s like, “Well, it doesn’t matter. I just saved that one and that one and that one.” I take that same approach in life and in music: that even if it’s one person listening to a song, if that mattered to them, that means the most to me. I’m going to try to reach who I can reach and save who I can save. So that’s a big one for me. And then the last double meaning is that Tala is actually the name of my parents’ wedding singer at their wedding.

I read that you used to work at Google before leaving to pursue music. Was there a specific situation or something that happened that prompted you to leave? Or was it just like, “All right, I’m out of here. I’m going to do what I want to do.” What were the thoughts behind that?

I want to first and foremost say I thought it was a great place to work. Food was great. Benefits were great. Everything was really cool. But I think within the midst of my job, it was really challenging for me because I didn’t feel connected to it.

On my end, I was lucky enough to find music through all that struggle. With the hours that I was doing and the work I was doing, I think my body and my soul were itching for something to feel tied to again. Naturally that was music. Another fun fact I like to share, too, is I was lucky enough that my Google office also had a music studio. I found myself there a lot. I think that’s where I discovered that this is something that really means a lot to me and that I love to do. I don’t think it’s anything against the company at all, but it’s more so just that I found music through all the struggle. I realized, through that job, music is where I want to be.

Another fun story I like to tell, too is, when I was little, I’ve had a bunch of different dreams, but one of my dreams actually was working at Google. I wanted to be The Internship; I wanted to be Owen Wilson. I think I realized, in the midst of working at Google, that was no longer my dream, and there was another dream that meant a lot more to me at that time of my life and at this time in my life, too. That was the reason for the shift. I was running to music rather than running away from Google, if that makes sense.

No, that makes perfect sense. I feel like if you never would have worked there, you would have spent the rest of your life wondering like, “Oh, what if I did go?” Going and realizing you didn’t want it is probably way more beneficial than having not gone at all, in my opinion.

I think the same way, too. I think that was the right choice for me, for me to go. It was something I still was able to do. So I’m glad I was able to.

So do you think working there, because it wasn’t tied to the music industry, influences your music now at all in any way?

I would say yes and no. For context, I’m originally from Southern California. I also went to college in the Bay Area, so I’ve been a California boy my whole life. I rep California, 1000%. I love California so much. And for Google, I actually moved to Chicago.

I wouldn’t say it necessarily was the job that influenced my music, but I think it was moving away from California for the first time and experiencing life as an adult that really influenced some of the writing that I do. Whether that was meeting people romantically, meeting new friends for the first time, navigating what my life would be like as someone in my early 20s, no longer being a student. Those experiences influenced some of the writing for sure and the direction I took my music.

Moving towards talking about your music, how would you describe it to someone who has never listened to it before and has no idea about your vibe?

Me and my team talk about this all the time, but we like to think we coined the term “soft boy storytelling.” That’s the way I would describe it. It’s a little melodramatic, but it’s really easy on the ears. I’m definitely within the indie pop, bedroom pop genre, but to describe it to someone who’s never heard it before, I would say that. I’d like to think of my music as timeless in a way, where if you are 41 years old and divorced, or if you’re 18 experiencing love for the first time, you can relate to something. I like to think of it as a relatable soundtrack to get you through that random Wednesday afternoon or whatever that was for you.

And then artist-wise too, I would say it’s like Rex Orange County meets Conan Gray for me. Those are two big influences on my music. Overall, how I’d also describe it is very honest. I think my writing style is very “dear diary,” like this is what I need to say and I’m just gonna say it. That’s something that I’m really proud of, too, within my music: of always being honest and always using it as my truth serum.

You’ve performed your whole life. Are there certain ways that you think music and the songs that you write have grown with you as you’ve grown up, too?

I remember being in 6th grade specifically, and my sister had bought a ukulele because she had a crush on somebody. She used it for like a couple of weeks, and it just sat around. I was like, “If you’re not going to use it, then I’m going to use it.” That’s where I picked up playing the ukulele, and that’s probably my best instrument. That’s also where I learned how to sing. Growing up, there was also a lot of influence from my family. My grandma’s a singer. She’s awesome. And growing up Filipino, there was a lot of karaoke at every potluck or every family event. So I grew up singing all the time. I remember being really little and loving High School Musical. I would gather my aunts, my uncles, my cousins, and I would like to have everyone watch me perform “Bet On It” from High School Musical 2. That was my thing. I’ve always been pretty theatrical, in that sense. I think that’s where the performer got brought out of me.

The music itself and how it’s grown with me is that in high school and college is where I discovered writing for the first time. Junior year English class for me was a big moment, specifically because no one in my class liked annotating poems but me. I loved getting the chance to annotate a poem. That was my favorite thing ever. Then in college, I started to write my own stuff. I ended up being in a band for a little bit and writing all of the music. I think that grew with me in my writing. Then when I got to Chicago, that’s where I realized, “Okay, this is when I want to do my own thing and see how I can explore this and see where it’s going to go.”

You mentioned High School Musical, which is definitely a growing up classic. Are there any other movies, TV shows, books that really resonate with you that may influence your music?

When I was little, all of my favorite movies and shows were always music related. I loved all the Disney Channel ones that had music. I love Lemonade Mouth.

Oh my gosh, yes.

Yeah, fire. Great songs. They’re my influence.

No, literally. They’re still on my playlist. They’re so good.

I loved those. My first ever concert was actually the Glee concert. So that was huge for me. There was also a very specific movie called Bandslam with Vanessa Hudgens that I also really liked. I remember loving that movie. But overall, I want to say I always gravitated towards things that had music.

I think one other thing, too, that also influenced me is my best friend from middle school through high school was actually in musical theater. That was something that I think subconsciously has influenced me a lot. I think because of her, I’ve listened to a lot of different musical soundtracks. Something I find special a lot about musicals and getting inspiration from them is how they can tell a story while also still being able to emote really effectively.

Do you have a favorite musical?

I actually was just visiting two of my college buddies in New York. I don’t know if this is my favorite right now, I think it’s up there, but I just watched this new one called Maybe Happy Ending with Darren Chris from Glee. I thought it was just so beautifully poetic. So that’s a big one. If not that one, I really like Dear Evan Hansen. That’s fire. So I would say those two for sure.

Shifting to your new single coming out, “last red light,” what do you think sets that track apart from your previous singles that you’ve released or from your previous EP?

I would say something that’s super special about “last red light” to me is it is the first song I’ve had where everything was done in California, where everything was recorded for me. So I wrote it here, recorded it with my producer here. And then also something really special about it is the single cover and all the footage that we filmed for it was also filmed, like, 10 minutes away from my hometown. That was also very beautiful to me. This was one of the first songs where the city I grew up in was used as an inspiration for it. That was very special to me. Over time, I’m definitely still growing and loving writing, but I really like how I wrote this one. So I think the writing on it is also very special and personal to me.

You’ve mentioned Conan Gray and Rex Orange County as inspos. Is there anybody specifically that you’re listening to right now that you think has influenced “last red light”?

I was a really big fan of the production and the writing of ROLE MODEL’s recent album, Kansas Anymore. I really liked that one. I liked the way that he was able to kind of storytell while still keeping an acoustic song engaging and upbeat. That was a huge influence for me. And funnily enough, I’m a big fan of all three of them, but Sabrina Carpenter, Joshua Bassett, Olivia Rodrigo are influences for me. For this specific song, there were some Joshua Bassett songs that I really liked and took some inspiration from as well. So those are my top two, Joshua and ROLE MODEL, for this one.

And then you mentioned that the song is inspired by your hometown. Is there a specific situation that happened that you can talk about that inspired the song and the lyrics?

In Chicago, what I lowkey missed the most—don’t get me wrong, the weather was crazy. I could never do that again—but I missed driving a lot. I didn’t have my car out in Chicago. When I came back home, I loved driving so much. I was just driving around my hometown and city and was thinking about all the things that had happened in my life. I would pass by certain locations and even traffic lights that I used to frequent a lot with somebody I used to be romantic with.

That for me inspired the rest of the song. The whole vibe of it is you’re reminiscing everywhere you used to go and the last red light you used to get together and now that person is not only long gone out of your life, but also physically gone, like moved to a new city and is really far away. I took that concept and built it off of that.

Kind of like an off-topic question, but I was stalking your Instagram, and you say you’re a self-proclaimed grandpa sweater enthusiast. Can you describe for me what your ideal grandpa sweater would be? Or if you already have it in your possession, what is it like?

Gosh, do I have one with me? I was just in New York and I wore one that I really liked. That’s my favorite. But my favorite grandpa sweater. Okay, so fun fact, I actually do own a lot of my grandpa’s old sweaters, so I have a ton of his, but I like them like a little cropped. I don’t like them like super baggy. I’m getting really specific.

No, I asked. So please give me all the details.

I like some cropped to my waist, and you can still see my belt. I love a pattern, but not too intensive a pattern. I like one, too, that doesn’t necessarily scream at you, “Oh, this is an old person’s sweater.” It gives, “Oh, like that was vintage.” Those are the main things that I look for.

After the release of “last red light,” what’s the rest of the year looking like for you? What’s on the horizon? Do you have any more singles coming out? Are you playing shows? Is there an EP? What’s up for you?

I have another song coming out in June that I’m super stoked for, and we pretty much have releases planned for the rest of the year. Something special—I can’t spoil it just yet—but before Christmas time, we have something really special coming. Then shows wise, my other big news, this is getting announced hopefully pretty soon, is I’m gonna be playing the Viper Room [in LA] for the first time. I’m gonna actually be playing that on my 24th birthday. That’s something that’s super special to me. Then I usually play shows locally, pretty much monthly in the West Hollywood/LA area.