INTERVIEW: Starley on The Meaning Behind 'Call On Me'

There's a reason why she's called Starley -- she was born to shine. The Australia native's addictive debut single "Call On Me" received a catchy new remix from Australian DJ Ryan Riback, which landed the song in the top 10 in Australia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and the UK. "Call On Me" also reached No. 10 on the US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, and has achieved Platinum status in Australia and New Zealand, and Gold in Canada. Needless to say, Starley's off to a bright start, and she tells us there is more on the way, and is about to head out on tour with Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson. 

We recently caught up with Starley in Los Angeles, and during an exclusive interview, we learned about her debut hit single "Call On Me," how it feels to bring her music to America, what fans can expect next from her, and more.

[Buy "Call On Me" on iTunes]

"Call On Me" is a special song for Starley. Not only is it her debut single, but she wrote it at a time when she wanted to give up on music, and the dream of making music her career. 

On the meaning behind the lyrics in "Call On Me"

"The song was basically a song that I wrote in my bedroom, and it was about me wanting to quit music, and walk away from my dream. It just basically just poured out of me when I was kind of feeling at my lowest point in my life, and so it kind of was a way to comfort myself. I use music as like a therapy type of tool."

Starley is currently living between Australia and America at the moment, but tells us she may just move out here soon. The singer/songwriter is very excited to bring her music stateside. She says, "It's overwhelming that people are embracing my music so much, because America's such a huge place, and you just don't think, as an Aussie, that that's gonna happen. It's pretty exciting."

On what fans can expect from Starley this year

For fans just discovering Starley, there is plenty more where "Call On Me" came from. She describes her music as mainly dance/pop, but also creatively free -- meaning, don't expect the same thing. "I think I'm pretty free as an artist. I wouldn't say to box me into anything, but I'm mainly a dance/pop act, but within dance there are so many different variations of that, so I'm pretty open to doing whatever. So just don't ever expect anything [specific] from me. Don't expect the same thing."

What's next for Starley? She is out on tour through the beginning of May with Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson, but she's also in the process of working on an album and new singles. "I'm working on an album, and my next singles and everything right now, so you should get something from me pretty soon."