Q&A: Caroline Romano Speaks on Social Anxiety After New Single “Guts”
MOST OF US TEND TO LATCH ONTO — particular artists because of the way their music speaks to your ears and souls. It could be because they speak on what we’re exactly going through; perhaps it's the rockstar image that makes them look like gods. For alt-pop singer Caroline Romano, her persona’s relatability is all too real for us. Her newest single, “Guts,” is an introvert’s anthem that is sure to be our musical spirit animal.
Succeeding her previous single, the pop-R&B collaboration “Fight a War” with Julian Rose, “Guts” sees Romano returning to basics with a frenzied indie-rock production. Opening up within the visceral feel of the instrumentation, Romano copes with her social anxiety, wondering if she’s doing way too much by being transparent in public. She feels the heat, singing, “I’m throwing up my story / While he’s looking at the door / And I hate the smell of Clorox, but my guts are on the floor / So I guess I’ll clean them up.”
“I’ve always had this thing in social settings — especially at house parties, bars, or really anywhere with pretty strangers — where I feel like people can see right through me, like I’m completely transparent,” she says of the single. “So, in some terrible attempt at compensation, I’ll say too much or drink too much. I end up spilling my guts to people as a form of free therapy — or self-sabotage, I’m not sure which it is. And then I watch them watch me dig myself further, with my guts on the floor in front of them. That’s how I end things before they’ve even started, and that’s what this song is about. It’s frantic and eager and frustrated all at the same time.”
Credit: Hannah Kik
Coming from a blue-collar upbringing in rural Mississippi, Romano got out of her bubble upon relocating to Nashville at the age 17 to commit to her music career. She quickly struck gold with the single “I Still Remember (R3HAB Remix),” which broke into the Billboard Dance Chart. Shortly thereafter, she received more blessings with singles such as “Jagged Stars” garnering 150K streams, as well as performances alongside Shawn Mendes and Why Don’t We. Shaking it off as just the start, Romano continued to polish her songwriting abilities, crafting a witty and hopeful perspective on the ups and downs of modern youth and romanticism.
Fully arriving last year with her debut album, Oddities and Prodigies, a 16-song snapshot of her triumphs over depression and heartbreak across ballads and fiery pop-punk bangers, Romano has crowned herself as “the loudest sort of introvert.” Readying herself with a new EP this summer, read below as Luna sat down with Romano to learn about the creation of “Guts,” the artist’s openness with social anxiety, and next chapter of her sound.
LUNA: Take us into the creation of your single “Guts”! Hearing that this track goes into your struggles with social anxiety and the fear of saying too much to other people, how comfortable do you feel in handling this as a musician versus being in situations around others outside of your craft?
ROMANO: It’s odd because I definitely tend to feel less socially awkward when I’m doing something with music. I’m somewhat able to turn off that side of my brain that makes me overthink everything I’m saying. Music, and being in any sort of creative setting is where I’m a lot less reserved, it’s really the only time I ever feel like myself. “Guts” was written about what happens when I’m not “the girl who makes music.” When I’m just Caroline, talking to pretty much anyone is really hard. I’m a lot more insecure. I just feel awkward in my own skin in most settings where music isn’t involved. It’s funny how that works, and that I’m really only able to talk about it through a song like “Guts.” It’s the only way I know how to.
LUNA: With warm reception and support from your fans, do you think this gives a boost in your self-confidence in dealing with anxiety and introversion?
ROMANO: I’m always so grateful for any positive reaction to my music. It truly means the world to me. However, I think I’ll always be my biggest critic, and my own mind will always be my biggest obstacle. I’m not sure there will ever come a day when I don’t second-guess myself just a little bit. I often find myself anxious to make sure that I keep beating the previous record, anxious to continue impressing people. I guess I don’t really mind it in that sense, as it allows me to grow as an artist and a person. I think my confidence and ability to hide my anxiety have definitely improved with time and the support of people who like my music.
LUNA: Is there any sense of pressure that comes with the pride of having the moniker “the loudest sort of introvert”? Especially when it comes to representing your fans and how you want to continue to grow in your career?
ROMANO: For me, I think the most important thing I can do is just be completely transparent in everything involving my music. “The loudest sort of introvert” is how I’ve always felt, and I think there are so many other people who feel the same way. It’s who I am, so it’s what I write about. If I was anything else, I’d write about that. As long as I’m being honest — and I mean brutally honest — with myself and everyone else about who I am, I think that’s all that matters. Frightening honesty is what makes good music, and it’s what I try to live by in what I create.
LUNA: Going back to when you first moved to Nashville from Mississippi, was there a moment when you feared you would be too overwhelmed by the idea of opening up to more people in the music industry and entering a larger world of sorts?
ROMANO: It was more of an excitement, really. I just couldn’t wait to jump in it all. Nashville was big and it was scary, and that’s all I ever wanted. From the first time I visited the city at 13, that’s what I loved about it. The idea of being a part of something so difficult and overwhelming and beautiful was what I dreamt of.
LUNA: How has the release of your debut album, Oddities and Prodigies, impacted your life and career since then?
ROMANO: Somewhat recently I’ve started saying that Oddities and Prodigies didn’t change my life, but it did change me. It was, I believe, necessary for me to release those 16 songs last year. Freshly 20, I feared I was growing up and not growing at all, and I just felt like I had to say that while I still could. The album didn’t do any crazy numbers — it didn’t really change much about my life. However, I learned so much about myself and about what I wanted to do with my life in writing it. I’ve found that it really connected with the people who did hear it, and that’s all I could ever ask for really. It was my chapter one — everything I’d learned up to the age of 20. It was simply everything I’d ever wanted to say. I’m very proud of Oddities.
LUNA: Seeing how you run the gamut from indie rock to ballads, as evident from debut and the rest of your catalog, what is it like to dip your toes into R&B with your previous single, “Fighting a War”? Could we expect more forays into that genre from you in the future?
ROMANO: “Fighting a War” was so much fun to be a part of for so many reasons, but I think the fact that it was a different lane than what I’m used to is what I really loved about it. From the little experience I have in the R&B world, it all feels very stream of consciousness, “if you want to say it, say it,” with its writing. It’s really just whatever you want it to be, and I’m obsessed with that approach. I’d definitely love to keep experimenting with that world.
LUNA: After landing a Billboard charting single so early in your journey, is the desire for getting onto the charts again an expectation that you have in mind as you continue to make music? Or are you at a point as an artist in which your success is not a sprint, but a marathon instead?
ROMANO: I’ve been actively releasing music since I was 14/15 years old, so for a while it definitely felt like I was sprinting. I’m 21 now, and the idea of it being a marathon is sometimes still hard to wrap my head around, but I’m getting better at it. It’s easy to look back and feel like you were once further along in your career at a younger age than you are now. I feel like that a lot from an industry side of things, but it really does just take time. I’m not chasing a chart or a number right now. I just want to make better music today than I did yesterday. I’m just focused on making music that connects with people, and really connecting with and playing shows for the people who do become fans. That to me will always feel bigger than any industry metric of success.
LUNA: Following your newest singles, what do you have in store for the next chapter in your sound?
ROMANO: This next chapter feels more indie–hyper-pop to me than Oddities. I’ve kind of stripped things back from a rock-centered sound to a bit of a softer feel. It all just goes down to what these next few songs I’m releasing are about. Chapter two is a bit lighter and prettier and more tragic than the debut was. I’m very excited for what’s coming.
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