Country singer and actress Amy Wilcox is Nashville’s latest star. She has made her debut performance in A&E’s “Crazy Hearts: Nashville,” whose season finale occurs on March 8.
Born in Oklahoma, Wilcox moved to Nashville after years of singing and a degree from Vanderbilt University. Although she received a scholarship for soccer, Wilcox knew that singing was her main passion. Growing up, she performed with various church and a-capella groups, and coming to Nashville, she sang with cover bands at local honky-tonks. Her most recent solo performance happened last summer when she opened for American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler.
This year, Wilcox shines in A&E’s “Crazy Hearts: Nashville,” a reality show about several couples singing through their break-ups and romance. Along with actors Lee Holyfield, Leroy Powell, Hannah Fairlight, April Nemeth, Jimmy Stanley, Anthony Billups and music journalist Heather Byrd, Wilcox has found her place as one of Nashville’s beloved singers and actresses.
This April 11 and 12, Wilcox will perform at Vanderbilt University’s Rites of Spring Music Festival with rappers Chainz and Steve Aoki. Wilcox will release her latest EP in a few months.
Wilcox knows that music is not just the main goal for her career. It’s also impacting people that helps fuel her passion. Here, TheCelebrityCafe.com interviewed her on her advice for beginning musicians, her success as a country star and the pleasure she gets from blessing other people.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: What were some of your favorite moments on the show?
Amy Wilcox: It was fun. I think definitely the performances are really cool. They’re really exhilarating, being able to perform with such an amazing crew there. It was definitely my favorite part. You know, it was fun to just love these people I’ve known. For years we’ve been in the same song-writing community together. So being able to share it with them was also really great.
TCC: When you had your knee injury from soccer, was the switch from soccer to singing a natural progression?
AW: I’ve been singing before. I’ve been in an a-capella group for most of the time. It has all been a big part of me, performing as well. You know, being an athlete in college, it just really takes time commitment from you. I tried to do a birthday with an a-capella group, but I didn’t get the chance to get much time into music as I’d hoped. There were some months where I was pretty much held up in the basement. I was half trying to think about what I wanted to do with the car and really think about what I want to do. It just seemed like I would never forgive myself for not trying, but that’s the time when I would go back and learn to give it a shot.
TCC: Who is your biggest fan and supporter right now? Who helped you realize your dream?
AW: My family is incredibly supportive. I did a lot of musicals, and my grandparents, they all say as well. I have amazing, enthusiastic support from them. It was definitely very encouraging. To put myself in the music business was fulfilling. There’s a lot of ups and downs, you know, but I definitely couldn’t do it without them.
TCC: How did you get connected with A&E’s “Crazy Hearts”?
AW: The director of the company contacted a couple people that are in the music scene and requested a list of the up-and-coming people that they think would be good. Out of the blue, I got a call to do a Skype interview with Heather Byrd from the show—she was a liaison from the beginning. They met a bunch of people, and then they kind of narrowed it down. They liked the three groups of people they had already, and it kind of kept moving forward from there.
TCC: What advice would you give to musicians who are just starting out?
AW: For people, some get caught up in the glamor of music being in shows and events and stuff. Really it’s just about working hard and meeting as many people as you can and not giving up with you. There’s a lot of opportunities that you deal with that you work really hard for. Sometimes it helps to have hard work and luck. You got to keep going.
TCC: What is your biggest source of inspiration for your songs?
AW: I definitely write a lot about relationships. I really think that speaks to people, because whether it’s just friends or family or boyfriends or couples, the way people treat each other and interact is always a really interesting topic. Obviously it’s a lot easier to write a happy song, but I am in a really good place right now, and I’ve been writing a lot of more upbeat, more uplifting songs about just being in a good place and trying to celebrate good things happening in your life.
TCC: You’re going back to Vanderbilt University for the Rites of Spring Music Festival. Any memories flooding back to you?
AW: I am absolutely ecstatic about getting that opportunity. It’s a real accomplishment for me and where I am in my career. Looking back at everything from 2005, I never dreamed that I would be part of this…Getting to be on the same show with some of those people is so exciting for me. And as a veteran friend, with school coming back, I have a lot of people who are getting excited for me, and getting to be a part of that especially is really, really cool and exciting.
TCC: Did you ever see yourself in this position? When you started out as a musician, where did you see yourself five years ahead?
AW: In Nashville, I sang with a cover band and played downtown and all the honky-tonks…and obviously I would love to see myself opening for some big act, but I kind of, like, have to get there. It’s been a real cool couple of years been forming for business work and figuring out my style of music and what I want to do, and now I know that obviously it’s really want to do, and I want to be on the road…that’s an amazing feeling.
TCC: Do you have a favorite moment about your career? What gets you excited?
AW: Obviously I love writing the cool music…and having something that you’re actually really proud of is amazing. And then to turn around and record that song and have it possibly impact somebody, whether it’s getting them through a breakup or divorce or bad moment in life. Or something happening you’ve been seeing to the same couple and hearing people’s stories how something you created made their experience and some part of their life better. That’s the cool thing for me.
TCC: The season finale for “Crazy Hearts” is coming up soon. Where do you see the show going from here?
AW: I think it’s really cool how the show kind of captured a really transitional and pivotal point in a lot of our careers. It’s helped with a lot of things with the buildup of that throughout the season, and I was just really excited for where everyone’s careers are going and to see that as the season is moving forward. It’s exciting for everyone.
TCC: How has “Crazy Hearts” helped you as a musician?
AW: Just the exposure is so amazing. That was really the main reason why I wanted to do the show. Being able to get the music to people that otherwise I might not be able to. It was amazing to get connected all over the country and meeting people on social media, and getting people to hear my music all over the country is so amazing. It’s going to be so great to be able to go to all these cities, and I think people who are fans of the show are already fans of the music that they get to hear on the show. So that’s something in my career that I’ve been able to get. I mean, I’m able to get out on the road. I’m super excited about going on tour and connecting with people.
TCC: What have you heard from fans about your music and “Crazy Hearts”?
AW: Everyone who watches the show loves the show. I’ve had a lot of big fans and people who are really big encouragers of my music which is so exciting. It’s so cool to get to release a new song or new video or something about the positives of people. And you know…it’s nice for people to hear the music and be able to kind of understand you more.
TCC: In “Crazy Hearts,” you said you were more comfortable opening for Kellie Pickler than singing in front of smaller crowds in Nashville. What is your most comfortable singing situation?
AW: There’s so much I have gotten. I did have a lot of space when I first started, and working through that is a really great thing. But what really helped was that the company got me to play with the same band members, and having that comfortability offstage with the people who are ushering. It has been an amazing experience for me just getting to interact wildly with the crowd and with my band members, and it makes it more of a show rather than just someone singing, than just a musician. Our band is incredible, and it’s really fun getting to build that with them.
TCC: Do you any final words for our readers?
AW: Just that it’s so exciting to be on the show, to get myself out there…and I’m really excited to get my music later this year, and the people who work with the social media and the new album later this year.
Photo Courtesy of Amy Wilcox