Starting out as a female artist in the music industry at a very young age surely comes with lots of challenges. But it also comes with a chance to follow your dreams, when you know you have it in you to succeed. Zoe Wees got that chance when auditioning for the German version of The Voice Kids being only 14 years old. She knew she could sing and, with the help of her former music teacher and now full-time manager, she got her voice out there for the world to hear. I am pretty sure you have heard her songs Control or Girls Like Us on TikTok or on the radio playing on rotation. And if this is your first time hearing the name Zoe Wees, this is your sign to look up her music and buy a ticket to one of her shows while you’re at it.
To those who have followed Zoe’s journey from the start or have discovered her during the pandemic, she has been an artist everyone can relate to. Listening to her lyrics, you can find your own truth and relate to her experience in your own way. Especially her song Control made fans around the world connect to her story when it went viral on TikTok. Thousands of users have shared their own stories and, as the artist behind the art, it is such a beautiful testimony to the power her music has. Being only 20 years old she knows exactly what she wants and is very mature for her age.
Getting the chance to have her as a guest on my podcast, I can definitely confirm that. She has a great sense of humor, but can also get very real when it comes to sharing advice around mental health and talking about the female future of the music industry. Even though she has been through a lot already, she was able to take that into her artistry and create music that can heal those who have felt lonely for the longest time. How beautiful is that?
Hearing fans sing her lyrics back to her at shows is what Zoe loves the most. While writing songs is extremely therapeutic for her, screaming them back to the artist is just as healing when you’re a huge fan of someone’s music. Opening up about the most vulnerable parts of your story can be scary, because you never know what the world’s reaction is going to be. Especially when it is so personal to you. But it often takes these kinds of songs to change someone’s life for the better or to just finally feel heard. Zoe has been the kind of artist, a lot of young people connected with and relate to due to the pure honesty her art carries.
When she shared her latest single Daddy’s Eyes, a storyline so personal to Zoe, the comments went crazy. Who would have thought that so many people could relate to YOUR story? That is the power of music and the importance of honest lyrical expression. You can feel someone else’s pain just by listening to it and it can help lost souls find their way back home. No matter where you are in the world, music connects people of all ages and backgrounds. It is something so universal that the positive effect of it can be as crucial for me as it is for you.
There is a new generation of incredible female musicians not only taking the music industry by storm, but shaping its future as a whole. Artists such as Zoe Wees, Tate McRae, Mimi Webb and Lauren Spencer Smith will be the powerful forces the industry needs to become a more accepting, diverse and female driven space. A place where girls like us feel represented, empowered and valued for what we contribute individually and as a united front.
ROARA Magazine 