To an outsider, being a pop star looks pretty fun. It’s all glamorous get-ups and catchy hooks. But Canadian-Australian singer-songwriter Nicole Millar has been crafting memorable pop music since 2013, and understands better than most the endless hours of hard work that go on behind-the-scenes. And while creating a certified bop isn’t always fun and games, putting together her recently released single, the sassy pop and R&B influenced ‘Favours’, was a decidedly enjoyable process for Nicole.

Surprisingly, given the track’s polished sound, it was recorded in her mum’s garage which was fashioned into a makeshift studio, causing confused passersby to stop throughout the day and ask her what she was doing. (Creating a banger, obviously.) Catch the video for ‘Favours’ and our chat with Nicole below.

Hey Nicole! Can you tell us about yourself and how you got into making music?
Heya, it’s been a long process to get where I am today and I’m still learning. I was really shy as a child, I wouldn’t talk to anyone but I always knew I wanted to perform. I would hide myself in my room and sing and dance to songs on my cassette player. A girl at school persuaded me to go to a music camp during school holidays and that’s where my love for singing started. My teacher told my mum that I had something special and I should continue and that’s what I did! I went to a performing arts school for two years to get confident and that’s where I got to record a song I wrote to GarageBand loops. I then put this song on Myspace Music then to SoundCloud and that’s when Cosmos Midnight came into contact with me to write a song together and it kind of all spiralled from there. This is definitely a long story short, because let me tell you I had some really bad songs out there first.

You recently released your new single ‘Favours’. Can you talk us through how that song came together?
‘Favours’ was written in my mum’s garage. I couldn’t find a studio for a session I had set up with Kilter and Muki and I thought, Oh well let’s just set something up in the garage. It was very D.I.Y but it made the vibe nice and chill and inspiring—studios can be so sterile sometimes. Muki and I wouldn’t shut up about certain people that had been getting on our nerves and we thought, Hey let’s write about it in a sassy, fun way. And that’s what we did haha. It was a really fun day because we had the garage door open and sometimes random people in the neighbourhood would walk in and ask us what we were doing.

What’s a favour someone has done for you lately?
Haha I can’t even think of any… probably my boyfriend helping me record vocals haha.

What’s something you’re obsessed with right now?
I’m going to sound so boring, but I received a cold pressed juicer as a present and I can’t stop using it haha. That and Call of Duty.

What’s your favourite song to perform live at the moment?
Has to be ‘Favours’. I love playing new songs in my set, I can’t wait for more.

What’s an album or song you’ve had on repeat this month?
070 Shake by Modus Vivendi and Don Toliver, they make such amazing music.

What do you hope 2020 has in store for you?
I just want to keep releasing music, I’m still exploring sounds and writing so hopefully more music will come and I’ll be able to tour it around the world.

For more on Nicole, follow her here.