November 17, 2020 • 28 mins
Sammy Jaye sits down with singer and Tik Tok phenomenon Dixie D’Amelio! They talk about everything social media – from cancel culture to building a community and cyberbullying. They also talk about her new music, her relationship with sister Charli and how her life has dramatically changed over the past year!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey guys, it's Sammy J. And welcome to my podcast.
I hope your day is going great. For this episode,
we have Dixie Damelio as our guest. She is the
absolute sweetest, talk about music, cancel culture, how to or
at least try to have a healthy relationship with social
media through new podcast with Charlie, and so much more.
If you haven't already subscribe, leave a Commoner review. I
(00:22):
would love your feedback and also follow me my Instagram's
added Sammy J. It's I T S S A M
M Y J A y E. I cannot wait for
you to lists to this episode. I hope you enjoy.
Hi Dixie, Well, thank you so much for coming on
my podcast. Of course, I was thinking about this and
I know you just graduated last year. I'm currently senior
(00:43):
in high school, and your life has changed completely from
what it was a year ago. Today you graduated high school,
you're out in l A, You're doing music, you just
came out with your first single, you're working on an album.
How has this transition been? I mean, this time last year,
I still have my snapchat memories come up. And this
time last year I was on the bus to field
(01:05):
hockey games. I didn't even do TikTok like at all.
I didn't post a video I was on in I
watched it. I was a fan, and it's insane, like
I already was getting already gone to college. I was
doing field hockey, doing school, and that was about it.
I had no idea. I mean, obviously I had no idea,
but how everything changed so quickly, it's just crazy. I
(01:27):
think it's so cool that you're living out in l A.
How do you like it? Oh? I like it. I
feel like I just love the East Coast a lot.
I hate how there's no rain here because I love
like raining days. But it's really I love the rain.
It gets I hate to say it, but it does
get boring being perfect every day like the sun. Totally
(01:48):
get that. I totally get that. I lived in New York,
so I I know how you feel, so you're enjoying
the perfect weather. Have you been recording music at your house?
So over quarantine? I was him in Connecticut and my
manager had a studio in his house, and it was
crazy how we did it. But I don't think I
ever was in the same room with him once because
(02:08):
we were just like I didn't leave my house for
two months, but I was terrified to even walk outside.
So when he was like, we need to come record,
I was like, okay, like I've never done this before.
I don't know what to do, but okay. So I
would like go to his house and change all my clothes,
like go into the room, and then record for like
(02:29):
eight hours. And we did that a couple of times,
and that's how I started on music. And then now
it's we realized, like it's a lot safer than we thought.
So I've just been recording a lot in um studios
and how has it been. Did you Did you ever
think that this is what you're going to pursue as
a career this time last year? Absolutely not. I didn't.
(02:50):
I I didn't muse it growing up, and I loved
it and I sang and did like musical theater, but
I never thought I was willing to do anything more
with it. I was like, Okay, I did music for
like I don't even know how long, a very long time,
and then I moved on to sports and I was done.
I was going to college, never looking back on that.
And then once this all started and both of my
(03:12):
managers were in the music business, they were like, just
try it like you used to do it. I was like,
all right, I mean I'll try it, Like why not? Yeah,
So now I'm very happy that. Um everyone convinced me.
So you're working in an album right now? Um? Yes,
new stuff coming very soon. Album. At some point I
(03:34):
think I don't know like how it all works. I mean,
people explain it to me and I'm like, okay. Well, also,
like if you've never experienced that, you just kind of
go like you gotta trust who's telling you what to do.
My whole life is just going with the flow, which
I love because I just think that's so much more fun.
Well yeah, and also it allows you to be able
to have these like life changes that you wouldn't have
(03:57):
normally had. Were you surprised by the response from be
happy just with how many people related with it, not
with how many people related to it. I just thought
I was. I was terrified. I thought people are gonna
like when I first posted the singing video of me
singing it, I was like, if this does bad, I'm
never releasing anything every again. I will never sing a
(04:21):
single note. But when it got very good reaction, I
was like, Okay, I can do this, I just need
to do it. Yeah, I think, especially if you haven't
sang in a long time, that must be so nerve racking,
just like releasing a song for like how many of
these that like eighty eight million people now? Uh like
(04:42):
on everything? I don't even know. But it was terrifying
because I don't even sing in front of my family,
Like I would sing in the car, but I wouldn't
even sing in the shower because someone might hear me.
And now I'm here, I'm like, okay, the Irons racle,
the Ironies sterical. Next. So when people are your friends
(05:02):
now ask you to sing, can you do it? Or
is it just like no, no, I don't do it.
Or if someone like I play songs like that, I'm
doing for my really really close friends, like two of
my friends, and that's about it. Everything else. If like
I'm out and someone plays be Happy, I'm like, oh
my god, stuff, like my heart drops. I get so nervous.
(05:24):
Even though everyone's already heard it, Like all my friends
have already heard, I still hate like then hearing it
with me there. Yeah, it's hard to hear the sound
of your own voice. Yeah that too. Yeah, Like when
I'm just like editing, like these podcasts. I'm like, I
don't why am I doing this. I don't like the
sound of my voice. I don't know how I'm doing
this right now. I feel like there's so many parts
(05:45):
to music and creating music that I don't even know yet,
Like even touring. I've never toured before, and that's like
a whole other, huge part of it. Are you excited
to actually sing live in front of people or is
that just nerve wracking. I don't know if I would
get scared about that. I think I would have nerves,
but it would be like exciting nerves sometimes, like the
scariest things don't scare me, and the little things scare me,
(06:08):
So I feel like I might be fine. I know
exactly what you mean that. There are some singers that
I've talked to and they can like do Madison Square
Garden and it's no big deal, but then like singing
in front of ten people they can't do. It's like
that weird juxtaposition where it's like I don't even know
what to do at this point. But be Happy is out?
You just released like a remix of it. With the
(06:30):
pandemic and the crazy year, we've been having. Has making
music been your main creative outlet. It's definitely like recording
and all that is probably one of my favorite things
to do. Um, it's kind of took a while to
find something that was interested in and not even since
social media just like ever it's like I usually just
(06:51):
I'm like, okay, are we done, Like I'm bored of
this whatever moving on. But with music, I just haven't
felt that at all, which has been nice. Do you
have any other outlets that you used to try and
just like escape, get away, relax yourself or has that
just been music even though it is work. I love
doing YouTube. I just think it's so fun because people
(07:11):
like my personality, which I was scared of because I
was just kind of I'm not one of those super like,
oh my god, here's what we're doing today's super fun.
Like I'm not that type of person. So the fact
that people kind of are okay with my mellow like
monotone voice and some of my videos, they really like
it and that's nice. So I don't have to put
(07:33):
on an act like I feel sometimes you have to do. Yeah,
I mean, I feel like it's refreshing for people because,
like you've said, a lot of YouTube. It's been like, hey, guys,
what's up today. It's like this totally like overhyped, not
really yourself, but I think that, you know, like it
shows your yourself. And also I think social media, it's
social media is so crazy. What has it been like
(07:55):
to gain such an intense audience and fan ends who
are like, you know, they're streaming your song, they're buying
your merch What has that been like to all of
a sudden have like all of these people like know
who you are. I don't even I really just I
don't think. I think about it enough. And then sometimes
(08:16):
when I'm doing I'm like why, I just say why
what happened? I wasn't doing this year ago? What the
heck happened? So that kind of hits me. But then
I'm like, it's kind of not crazy. Like I talked
to my fans like on Twitter a lot, and I'm
just in group chats with them, like telling them stuff,
and I'm like kind of forget that they are there
(08:37):
for me, and I'm like, oh my god, I feel
like I'm friends with them, which is nice. So it's
just kind of like I have a lot of friends. No,
I mean that's it. Is it ever weird when you're
out and people know who you are versus that didn't
happen a year ago if they didn't know you. It's
very weird. It's weird when I'm like when I see
people trying to sneak pictures of me, and I'm like,
(08:59):
I really like, I try to remember. I'm like, I
really hope I never did that if I saw a celebrity,
because it's so obvious because I've met like celebrities before,
like concerts or whatever, and I'm like, did I do that?
I try to think back on it because I'm not slick,
and it's definitely obvious. Pretend you're texting look, and it's
just exactly I definitely have done that before, or even
(09:21):
to like a guy, like if I thought he was attractive,
I probably took a picture and he definitely probably knew
intending to take a selfie. But you're really just like
angling it the wrong way. Yeah. I think I think
everyone's done that to some extent, if it's with someone
in the public eye. We have to take a quick break,
but when we come back, we'll talk about your new
(09:41):
podcast with Charlie and I want to talk to you
about having a healthy relationship with social media, if that's
even possible. And we're back, so I'm still trying to
find a balance with social media and to have a
healthy relationship with it, um, because as great as it is,
it can be toxic sometimes. So what tips do you
(10:04):
have to kind of not let the hate get to you,
but also to just like stay present even though your
job is so focused on being on the internet. Um,
I do a really good job at not reading the
comments anymore, Like it was hard in the beginning because
it's like, what are people saying about me? And sometimes
I still do it and I'm always like, sadly, I
(10:26):
wish I could stop this habit, but like looking at
tea pages looking at what people are saying, but like
on my personal post, if I know it's not going
to be good the comment section, I just I'm like,
it's if I see one thing I would close in,
it's like not worth reading the rest because I'm going
to get stuck in a loop of reading every comment
and it's not worth it because they don't know who
you are personally, so how can they have an opinion
(10:46):
on you? And that's also being going from a person
who was a fan and who was on TikTok and
had my opinions about people, and then meeting these people
and like, Okay, what was wrong with me? That's so rude?
Why would I do that? Because I don't know who
they are. I don't know their personality. Because sometimes people
have an audience so they act a certain way on
the internet that's not really them. I can't even imagine
(11:08):
what it's like to just I've been trying to be
more cautious of this as well, because sometimes you know,
if you're in a friend group and they they aren't aware,
they'll say these things like do you hear about selling
so I saw this video and so and so, and
I'm like, okay, um, like do you know them? Like
is that? Did they really say that? It's it's like
trying to find that balance. Has it been hard people
(11:30):
knowing so much and trying to know so much about
your personal life? Um? Yes and no, just because like
I know that comes with it and people are interested,
but it's annoying when yes, you can know, but it's
not really your place to have an opinion on it.
And a lot of the internet is just very bandwagon,
(11:52):
I would say, so if one person says something, everyone
else says it and that's when it just gets a
lot and it's like, but have they met you in person?
And it's so hard to not try to explain yourself
on every single thing. Even if you do explain yourself,
it's like people are never going to Yeah, you can't
please everyone, and that's what I think. It's been the
(12:13):
biggest lesson out of all of this. I've been trying
to figure that out as well, and it's it's hard
because like I want people to, you know, like like me,
and like I don't want you to think this about me.
But it's like, at the end of the day, I
can't control what you think of me. If you know
who you are, that's all that matters. I mean, obviously
you want people to have a good like the idea
(12:36):
of you, and when they think of you, you want
them it to be a good thought. But at the
same time, it's like if you can't, some people just
don't like you. Yeah, Like there's people who are who
have said things like when Charlie had the hype and
now this year when everyone is kind of like, oh Charlie,
like we love her, blah blah, blah and I they
(12:57):
like used to hate on her. They're like, I just
didn't like her because other everyone else inould like her
and because I was jealous, and that kind of coming
back around it makes me happy. It obviously like back
then it sucks seeing all the hate she's getting, but
now it's like, Okay, well everything changes. I feel like
a lot of people everyone has gone through that time
(13:19):
where everyone hates them and then the next day everyone
loves them and you just kind of have to wait.
You just kind of have to go with it. But
it's also hard because you know the people that aren't
talking all this stuff about people, it's like they if
they would be in those shoes, like if they could.
It's it's it's that jealousy that I think a lot
of people have to remember. And it's not even just
(13:39):
like on social media. It's if people have something that
you want. It's a hard balance. I think it was
like almost a year and a half ago, but I
shut my phone off for two weeks because my xaety
was just so bad. I had so much extra time.
I learned how to play the ukulele. The time I
had on my hands was shocking. Do you ever just
(14:00):
out off your phone. I try, I really try to,
but then like I would shut off my phone and
then I'm like, oh my gosh, I have so many
um like notifications or my home screens a mess, and
so would have an excuse to get back on my
phone and like be saying I was helping myself, and
then I end up like on TikTok or Instagram. Also,
(14:22):
I'm like, I have a lot of time. I have,
like the time where I'm working where I'm not on
my phone, and then I've time with my friends who
were like they won't let any of us be on
our phone. When we're hanging out, we're not on our phone.
So that time where I am chilling, I'm like, okay,
well let me just see what's going on. Yeah, I
am still a teenager, and every teenager is like obsessed
with their phone, so exactly. And also like TikTok is
(14:45):
like a hole that when you go on for one minute,
you're going for two hours. Yeah, you can't get out
of it. What do you think of the do update
on the iOS fourteen? I don't know. I wanted to
do all the cool things that I was doing to
their phone. I never figured it out, so I was like, okay, whatever,
it looks so complicated, but it looks so cool. When
people were like posting there, I don't know. I'm trying
(15:07):
to figure out if I like it or not. I tried,
I asked. I was like asking my fans to explain
it to me because they all had such cool ones.
And then no one did it enough where I could
figure it out. So I was like, okay, whatever, I
just want. There's nothing more satisfying than seeing like an organized,
like home screen. In my opinion, she was like aesthetically beautiful. No, no,
(15:29):
what's it been like working and doing music during the pandemic.
I say this all the time because people ask me
like how is everything, Like how is your life change?
And like everyone's life changed. I don't. I mean it's good,
but I don't know what it could be. And I
think that's what's the exciting part, because once all this
kind of calms down, I think my life is going
to be insane. Yeah, but traveling and like meeting people,
(15:54):
Like all I want to do is like meet my fans.
And I was talking to my friends last night and
they're like, we've never even got a chance. Because everyone
was planning tours and then two days later the whole
country shutdown, like the whole world shutdown. So I just
can't wait to get back into that. Okay, the first
thing that you do, the pandemic ends. First thing you
(16:14):
could do anything. I want to go to Italy with
my family in Italy anywhere, uh not Rome? I agree.
I think Rome is the equivalent of like Times Square. Yes, yes,
yes it is. I went there and I was like,
this is so overrated. It is the most touristy place.
(16:36):
I was like, why is this thing? No? I went
to Rome like on a school trip, but I want
to go with my family. But I went and I
was like, yeah, this is like Times Square exactly. It's
just I love Um. I loved it. It was fun,
but I just I don't think it was like fun
to go again because I want to go, like to
Milan or Um I went to. When I went, I
(16:58):
went to Rome, Sorrento and Cook. Have you go to Florence? Yeah?
I heard that was really good. I don't want to
go to Naples. I think Naples is nice. Yeah, because
my dad is like almost he's like really Italian and
he's never been. But me and my mom and my
sister will have so I want to go together as
a family. You got it. My brother was doing a
semester abroad in Italy right when the pandemic happened, so
(17:20):
he had to like fly home. Luckily his area wasn't infected,
but it was like the craziest thing just to see
how much the world changed with all of that. A
lot of the people that have watched his podcast, I've
been getting dams from and they've talked about, you know,
because life is now on social media, especially with the pandemic.
It is, you know, cyber bowling has been a thing,
(17:42):
and I feel like it's increasing a lot with cancel culture.
What advice do you have for those people who are
struggling with it and are letting it affect them and
those people and what advice do you have to people
who are saying those things behind the screens? I think,
just like again, same thing. You know who you are
as a person, I don't. I don't know. I just
(18:05):
know everyone switches up constantly, so there will be one
days where you're hated, one days when you're loved. Just
I try to reach out to anyone who's getting a
lot of hate or just not doing well, and you
can tell on the internet because you need to sometimes.
So I just try to do my best to support people.
(18:27):
But it's hard and it's hard to find real people
out here, especially I feel like when when I go
to l A, it's hard to find those people who
are you know, are real and not. It's not just
trying to be friends because you have followers. You're like
for the Cloud, especially out in l A, a lot
of its business motivated. I mean, I feel like that
does happen, But for me, I kind of have a
(18:49):
different case because no one really comes up and it's like,
let's make a TikTok because I don't know any of
the dances. I just like kind of post what I want.
So I'm friends with everyone, and I think people just
know that I don't use anyone. I rarely post with
other people and I I just kind of do my
own thing. So but I do see it for other people,
like if Charlie or Addison walked into the room, everyone
(19:12):
kind of is like, how's your phones out? Like what's
going on? I'm like, okay, I mean I think that's
good because, like, you know, you're not a dancer. I'm
I'm a terrible danswer. You're trying to learn to TikTok
dance for me is impossible too. I can't do it.
I can't do it for the life of me. We
have to take one more quick break, but when we
(19:33):
come back, we'll talk about your new podcast with Charlie
College and a very cool charity that you're involved with.
And we're back. So you and Charlie have started this podcast.
I have so many questions. First of all, how's it going.
We do argue a lot, so we're trying to get
past like the we need to do all, we need
(19:54):
to do this, but like we need to focus and
get this done. Even though I just piss you off
or your CROs We're gonna wipe the tears and do it.
And it's not even like, oh, we're like, we have
a lot of things that we love talking about. We're
fun talking about. Like even just yesterday, she said something
and she went back and forth with me for like
two minutes. I was like so mad. I was like,
(20:14):
you need to apologize to me, and she was like,
I didn't do anything, and then we went back and
forth and then we finished the podcast and we're fine.
But it's like doing it with a sister is so hard.
I can only imagine. I had my brother on for
one of the episodes because he's like a basketball geek,
and we had Kevin Lum and I was like, Okay,
this is great because it will earn me some like
(20:35):
sister points, like getting him to talk to Kevin love.
And also we probably won't fight, and luckily we didn't
because I feel like we have a little bit of
a different dynamic because he is older. But it's trying
to find that balance, like working with your family and
something can be hard. Sometimes it's like nice when it
goes when we're together and it's um, like we're having fun,
(20:57):
but if if either one of us is in the
slightest mood, it's like oh god. But then we get
home and we're fine. It's like, why don't we just
argue it's just sisters, but like exactly, that's like sibling stuff.
But I feel like that's what people like to because
it's like it's not We had like a small back
and forth or in our last podcast and I was
trying to explain something to her and she was not
(21:17):
getting it, and people were posting in like this is
so funny and like no, I was actually so mad
because she wasn't understanding what I was saying. But like
like that's why I think, but that's that's sisters, and
I think that's what's great is like you guys, don't
hide it because I feel like a lot of people
act like they're great, but it's like they're sibling rivalry.
Always if you have a saying you have a sibling,
you know? Yes? So how long have you been doing
(21:40):
the podcast so far? Um? I think we've been doing
it two months? Maybe do you have a favorite conversation
you've had with her that's stuck out or that has
had a lot of interesting response? Not really, I mean
there's some, but like stuff that isn't out yet just
because we kind of we we did like a few
week because of just trying to figure out what we
(22:01):
would do, what we talk about, and now we kind
of have the hang of it, so they're gonna just
get better and better. Like the first one I listened
to it was like, oh my god, what are we saying?
But now I'm I'm excited now that we get to
talk about Now that we know we're going to talk about,
what are you going to talk about can we say anything,
UM just kind of like kind of responding to hate
(22:21):
on there, but all like using it as a way
to talk about things. If we're getting um a lot
of comments about it, we'll talk about it on there
and address it there so people couldn't hear our voices
and it's not just like a comment on a post.
And then also like interacting with our fans UM and
stuff like that, just try to make it more interactive,
(22:43):
which is exciting. Yeah. I think that's super exciting. Especially
it's the way where you can control your own narrative
of what you want to say and if there's any
miscommunication or any people's opinions. I think that's really cool
that you're doing that. Yeah, definitely. So Okay, I have
to ask. I know you've been doing, You've been doing
on YouTube videos, you have the podcast, now, you've been
(23:05):
doing music, which has been awesome. Is there anything else
that you're working on that you're super excited about for
I don't know, Like I feel like everything just comes
so fast I forget what I'm doing. I think that's
it for right now. Probably March or something. We'll get
in there somewhere before Christmas. What do you ever want
(23:27):
like your own clothing line. Yes, definitely, that's kind of
what I wanted to do anyways, Like without social media,
I was my dad was in the clothing business, so
I love that. So hopefully at some point, once I
get more settled down and not like moving um around
all the time, I definitely want to work on that.
Is that where you're what you're going to go to
school for. I was going to school for business and management,
(23:50):
and that was kind of my hope at some point
to be in the clothing business. That is so different
from what you are doing now completely. Would you ever
go back to that? Um? If we want to try
college at some point, I say, like everyone's like, oh,
she didn't go to college, but it's always going to
be there though, Yeah, I mean this was It's like
(24:10):
college is a once in a lifetime experience. I'm like,
so is this I don't know, I just feeling exactly.
I feel like college is always there. It's always there,
but like the opportunities you're having, they can go away.
M and I would love to go to college, like
I was so ready to go. The only reason why
I didn't end up going is because it was going
to be a lot of traveling, which I didn't think
(24:31):
was a good idea for like my family or the
people I'd be around. So it was like, take a
gap year, see what happens. I'm considering taking a gap year.
Do you have any tips or advice on the college
process and your thoughts on gap years? Because I know
a lot of people listening our seniors right now. For me,
I'm more of a visual learner, so same doing and
(24:53):
experiencing things helped me so much more than anything else,
like being in class or reading books online. I was
or reading books. I was like, I just feel like
I could be doing something more that I'm more interested in.
I know I'm not going to be doing anything with this,
So I stayed back sophomore year because I switched schools,
so I had an extra year all of senior year
(25:15):
to take all elective classes, which was very nice because
I kind of got to found what I was interested
in and I really loved like engineering and um what
other classes I take? I took poetry, which I found
interesting and and having that experience was awesome. So if
you're going to take a gap year, maybe like go
(25:36):
to a community college and like take elective classes or something,
just so you can try to find what you're interested in.
That that's what I'm thinking about doing. I think it
just depends on what happens with the world. And I
kind of also want to see what happens because, like
I am about saying, like school and all of this,
it's during a pandemic, so I kind of want to
see what could happen if I just like work for
a year, you see, like what can happen. And also
(25:59):
about call, I feel like there's such a idea college
you need to go to the best school, like community
college is like you can't go to community college. There
was no problem if you like work and whatever you're doing,
it doesn't matter how you get there. There's people who
one goes to community college, one goes to an IVY league,
and they both end up with the same job. It's
like it's how much work you put into it. And
(26:22):
I feel like it's just given such a bad rap,
like you have to go to this school to be
this person, and that's not true. You have to get
straight a's, And it's like I try to remember like grades,
like do your best, but that's all you can do
at the end. Of the day. It took me three
years to finally get like good grades and figure out
(26:42):
how I learned, and some people just it takes a
long time to figure out how they learn. So it's
just kind of you need to put the work in.
There's nothing you can do with like not putting the
work in. But once you figure it out, it makes
life a lot easier. Yeah, I couldn't agree more and like,
there's nothing there's no better way to learn than just
by doing. That's what I like to think. So for
this season, what I wanted to do, Like many others,
(27:04):
I've been feeling very helpless UM with the state of
the world that we're in, and I want to focus
on highlights some charities that I think are really great.
Are there any charities that you've been working with or
that you're aware of that you just want to spread
the word about. Um. Actually, I'm working with a charity
UM with best Friends the Dog fostering an adoption. So
(27:28):
I'm fostering a dog for two days and just trying
to raise awareness for it. So, oh my goodness, that's
I want to foster a dog. I'm fostering it, but
I'm really considering keeping it honestly, it's it's like it's
like a trial kind of yeah, and my puppies bored
by herself. I think she needs a friend, so we'll see.
(27:51):
I've been trying to convince my family of that for
such a long time, like our dog needs a friend.
Thank you Dixie for coming on my podcast. Thank you
so much. It is so fun. Thank you guys so
much for listening to this week's episode. As always, subscribe,
leave review or a comment. I always love to hear
(28:13):
your feedback. If you haven't already, follow me on Instagram,
it's at It's Sammy J. That's I T S S
A M M y j A y E d M
E feel free. My d M s are always open
to you guys, and don't forget to follow Dixie on
everything Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, It's aid Dixie Damelio. As always,
thank you guys so much, and I will see you
(28:34):
next Tuesday. By
Hey guys, it's Sammy J. And welcome to my podcast.
I hope your day is going great. For this episode,
we have Dixie Damelio as our guest. She is the
absolute sweetest, talk about music, cancel culture, how to or
at least try to have a healthy relationship with social
media through new podcast with Charlie, and so much more.
If you haven't already subscribe, leave a Commoner review. I
(00:22):
would love your feedback and also follow me my Instagram's
added Sammy J. It's I T S S A M
M Y J A y E. I cannot wait for
you to lists to this episode. I hope you enjoy.
Hi Dixie, Well, thank you so much for coming on
my podcast. Of course, I was thinking about this and
I know you just graduated last year. I'm currently senior
(00:43):
in high school, and your life has changed completely from
what it was a year ago. Today you graduated high school,
you're out in l A, You're doing music, you just
came out with your first single, you're working on an album.
How has this transition been? I mean, this time last year,
I still have my snapchat memories come up. And this
time last year I was on the bus to field
(01:05):
hockey games. I didn't even do TikTok like at all.
I didn't post a video I was on in I
watched it. I was a fan, and it's insane, like
I already was getting already gone to college. I was
doing field hockey, doing school, and that was about it.
I had no idea. I mean, obviously I had no idea,
but how everything changed so quickly, it's just crazy. I
(01:27):
think it's so cool that you're living out in l A.
How do you like it? Oh? I like it. I
feel like I just love the East Coast a lot.
I hate how there's no rain here because I love
like raining days. But it's really I love the rain.
It gets I hate to say it, but it does
get boring being perfect every day like the sun. Totally
(01:48):
get that. I totally get that. I lived in New York,
so I I know how you feel, so you're enjoying
the perfect weather. Have you been recording music at your house?
So over quarantine? I was him in Connecticut and my
manager had a studio in his house, and it was
crazy how we did it. But I don't think I
ever was in the same room with him once because
(02:08):
we were just like I didn't leave my house for
two months, but I was terrified to even walk outside.
So when he was like, we need to come record,
I was like, okay, like I've never done this before.
I don't know what to do, but okay. So I
would like go to his house and change all my clothes,
like go into the room, and then record for like
(02:29):
eight hours. And we did that a couple of times,
and that's how I started on music. And then now
it's we realized, like it's a lot safer than we thought.
So I've just been recording a lot in um studios
and how has it been. Did you Did you ever
think that this is what you're going to pursue as
a career this time last year? Absolutely not. I didn't.
(02:50):
I I didn't muse it growing up, and I loved
it and I sang and did like musical theater, but
I never thought I was willing to do anything more
with it. I was like, Okay, I did music for
like I don't even know how long, a very long time,
and then I moved on to sports and I was done.
I was going to college, never looking back on that.
And then once this all started and both of my
(03:12):
managers were in the music business, they were like, just
try it like you used to do it. I was like,
all right, I mean I'll try it, Like why not? Yeah,
So now I'm very happy that. Um everyone convinced me.
So you're working in an album right now? Um? Yes,
new stuff coming very soon. Album. At some point I
(03:34):
think I don't know like how it all works. I mean,
people explain it to me and I'm like, okay. Well, also,
like if you've never experienced that, you just kind of
go like you gotta trust who's telling you what to do.
My whole life is just going with the flow, which
I love because I just think that's so much more fun.
Well yeah, and also it allows you to be able
to have these like life changes that you wouldn't have
(03:57):
normally had. Were you surprised by the response from be
happy just with how many people related with it, not
with how many people related to it. I just thought
I was. I was terrified. I thought people are gonna
like when I first posted the singing video of me
singing it, I was like, if this does bad, I'm
never releasing anything every again. I will never sing a
(04:21):
single note. But when it got very good reaction, I
was like, Okay, I can do this, I just need
to do it. Yeah, I think, especially if you haven't
sang in a long time, that must be so nerve racking,
just like releasing a song for like how many of
these that like eighty eight million people now? Uh like
(04:42):
on everything? I don't even know. But it was terrifying
because I don't even sing in front of my family,
Like I would sing in the car, but I wouldn't
even sing in the shower because someone might hear me.
And now I'm here, I'm like, okay, the Irons racle,
the Ironies sterical. Next. So when people are your friends
(05:02):
now ask you to sing, can you do it? Or
is it just like no, no, I don't do it.
Or if someone like I play songs like that, I'm
doing for my really really close friends, like two of
my friends, and that's about it. Everything else. If like
I'm out and someone plays be Happy, I'm like, oh
my god, stuff, like my heart drops. I get so nervous.
(05:24):
Even though everyone's already heard it, Like all my friends
have already heard, I still hate like then hearing it
with me there. Yeah, it's hard to hear the sound
of your own voice. Yeah that too. Yeah, Like when
I'm just like editing, like these podcasts. I'm like, I
don't why am I doing this. I don't like the
sound of my voice. I don't know how I'm doing
this right now. I feel like there's so many parts
(05:45):
to music and creating music that I don't even know yet,
Like even touring. I've never toured before, and that's like
a whole other, huge part of it. Are you excited
to actually sing live in front of people or is
that just nerve wracking. I don't know if I would
get scared about that. I think I would have nerves,
but it would be like exciting nerves sometimes, like the
scariest things don't scare me, and the little things scare me,
(06:08):
So I feel like I might be fine. I know
exactly what you mean that. There are some singers that
I've talked to and they can like do Madison Square
Garden and it's no big deal, but then like singing
in front of ten people they can't do. It's like
that weird juxtaposition where it's like I don't even know
what to do at this point. But be Happy is out?
You just released like a remix of it. With the
(06:30):
pandemic and the crazy year, we've been having. Has making
music been your main creative outlet. It's definitely like recording
and all that is probably one of my favorite things
to do. Um, it's kind of took a while to
find something that was interested in and not even since
social media just like ever it's like I usually just
(06:51):
I'm like, okay, are we done, Like I'm bored of
this whatever moving on. But with music, I just haven't
felt that at all, which has been nice. Do you
have any other outlets that you used to try and
just like escape, get away, relax yourself or has that
just been music even though it is work. I love
doing YouTube. I just think it's so fun because people
(07:11):
like my personality, which I was scared of because I
was just kind of I'm not one of those super like,
oh my god, here's what we're doing today's super fun.
Like I'm not that type of person. So the fact
that people kind of are okay with my mellow like
monotone voice and some of my videos, they really like
it and that's nice. So I don't have to put
(07:33):
on an act like I feel sometimes you have to do. Yeah,
I mean, I feel like it's refreshing for people because,
like you've said, a lot of YouTube. It's been like, hey, guys,
what's up today. It's like this totally like overhyped, not
really yourself, but I think that, you know, like it
shows your yourself. And also I think social media, it's
social media is so crazy. What has it been like
(07:55):
to gain such an intense audience and fan ends who
are like, you know, they're streaming your song, they're buying
your merch What has that been like to all of
a sudden have like all of these people like know
who you are. I don't even I really just I
don't think. I think about it enough. And then sometimes
(08:16):
when I'm doing I'm like why, I just say why
what happened? I wasn't doing this year ago? What the
heck happened? So that kind of hits me. But then
I'm like, it's kind of not crazy. Like I talked
to my fans like on Twitter a lot, and I'm
just in group chats with them, like telling them stuff,
and I'm like kind of forget that they are there
(08:37):
for me, and I'm like, oh my god, I feel
like I'm friends with them, which is nice. So it's
just kind of like I have a lot of friends. No,
I mean that's it. Is it ever weird when you're
out and people know who you are versus that didn't
happen a year ago if they didn't know you. It's
very weird. It's weird when I'm like when I see
people trying to sneak pictures of me, and I'm like,
(08:59):
I really like, I try to remember. I'm like, I
really hope I never did that if I saw a celebrity,
because it's so obvious because I've met like celebrities before,
like concerts or whatever, and I'm like, did I do that?
I try to think back on it because I'm not slick,
and it's definitely obvious. Pretend you're texting look, and it's
just exactly I definitely have done that before, or even
(09:21):
to like a guy, like if I thought he was attractive,
I probably took a picture and he definitely probably knew
intending to take a selfie. But you're really just like
angling it the wrong way. Yeah. I think I think
everyone's done that to some extent, if it's with someone
in the public eye. We have to take a quick break,
but when we come back, we'll talk about your new
(09:41):
podcast with Charlie and I want to talk to you
about having a healthy relationship with social media, if that's
even possible. And we're back, so I'm still trying to
find a balance with social media and to have a
healthy relationship with it, um, because as great as it is,
it can be toxic sometimes. So what tips do you
(10:04):
have to kind of not let the hate get to you,
but also to just like stay present even though your
job is so focused on being on the internet. Um,
I do a really good job at not reading the
comments anymore, Like it was hard in the beginning because
it's like, what are people saying about me? And sometimes
I still do it and I'm always like, sadly, I
(10:26):
wish I could stop this habit, but like looking at
tea pages looking at what people are saying, but like
on my personal post, if I know it's not going
to be good the comment section, I just I'm like,
it's if I see one thing I would close in,
it's like not worth reading the rest because I'm going
to get stuck in a loop of reading every comment
and it's not worth it because they don't know who
you are personally, so how can they have an opinion
(10:46):
on you? And that's also being going from a person
who was a fan and who was on TikTok and
had my opinions about people, and then meeting these people
and like, Okay, what was wrong with me? That's so rude?
Why would I do that? Because I don't know who
they are. I don't know their personality. Because sometimes people
have an audience so they act a certain way on
the internet that's not really them. I can't even imagine
(11:08):
what it's like to just I've been trying to be
more cautious of this as well, because sometimes you know,
if you're in a friend group and they they aren't aware,
they'll say these things like do you hear about selling
so I saw this video and so and so, and
I'm like, okay, um, like do you know them? Like
is that? Did they really say that? It's it's like
trying to find that balance. Has it been hard people
(11:30):
knowing so much and trying to know so much about
your personal life? Um? Yes and no, just because like
I know that comes with it and people are interested,
but it's annoying when yes, you can know, but it's
not really your place to have an opinion on it.
And a lot of the internet is just very bandwagon,
(11:52):
I would say, so if one person says something, everyone
else says it and that's when it just gets a
lot and it's like, but have they met you in person?
And it's so hard to not try to explain yourself
on every single thing. Even if you do explain yourself,
it's like people are never going to Yeah, you can't
please everyone, and that's what I think. It's been the
(12:13):
biggest lesson out of all of this. I've been trying
to figure that out as well, and it's it's hard
because like I want people to, you know, like like me,
and like I don't want you to think this about me.
But it's like, at the end of the day, I
can't control what you think of me. If you know
who you are, that's all that matters. I mean, obviously
you want people to have a good like the idea
(12:36):
of you, and when they think of you, you want
them it to be a good thought. But at the
same time, it's like if you can't, some people just
don't like you. Yeah, Like there's people who are who
have said things like when Charlie had the hype and
now this year when everyone is kind of like, oh Charlie,
like we love her, blah blah, blah and I they
(12:57):
like used to hate on her. They're like, I just
didn't like her because other everyone else inould like her
and because I was jealous, and that kind of coming
back around it makes me happy. It obviously like back
then it sucks seeing all the hate she's getting, but
now it's like, Okay, well everything changes. I feel like
a lot of people everyone has gone through that time
(13:19):
where everyone hates them and then the next day everyone
loves them and you just kind of have to wait.
You just kind of have to go with it. But
it's also hard because you know the people that aren't
talking all this stuff about people, it's like they if
they would be in those shoes, like if they could.
It's it's it's that jealousy that I think a lot
of people have to remember. And it's not even just
(13:39):
like on social media. It's if people have something that
you want. It's a hard balance. I think it was
like almost a year and a half ago, but I
shut my phone off for two weeks because my xaety
was just so bad. I had so much extra time.
I learned how to play the ukulele. The time I
had on my hands was shocking. Do you ever just
(14:00):
out off your phone. I try, I really try to,
but then like I would shut off my phone and
then I'm like, oh my gosh, I have so many
um like notifications or my home screens a mess, and
so would have an excuse to get back on my
phone and like be saying I was helping myself, and
then I end up like on TikTok or Instagram. Also,
(14:22):
I'm like, I have a lot of time. I have,
like the time where I'm working where I'm not on
my phone, and then I've time with my friends who
were like they won't let any of us be on
our phone. When we're hanging out, we're not on our phone.
So that time where I am chilling, I'm like, okay,
well let me just see what's going on. Yeah, I
am still a teenager, and every teenager is like obsessed
with their phone, so exactly. And also like TikTok is
(14:45):
like a hole that when you go on for one minute,
you're going for two hours. Yeah, you can't get out
of it. What do you think of the do update
on the iOS fourteen? I don't know. I wanted to
do all the cool things that I was doing to
their phone. I never figured it out, so I was like, okay, whatever,
it looks so complicated, but it looks so cool. When
people were like posting there, I don't know. I'm trying
(15:07):
to figure out if I like it or not. I tried,
I asked. I was like asking my fans to explain
it to me because they all had such cool ones.
And then no one did it enough where I could
figure it out. So I was like, okay, whatever, I
just want. There's nothing more satisfying than seeing like an organized,
like home screen. In my opinion, she was like aesthetically beautiful. No, no,
(15:29):
what's it been like working and doing music during the pandemic.
I say this all the time because people ask me
like how is everything, Like how is your life change?
And like everyone's life changed. I don't. I mean it's good,
but I don't know what it could be. And I
think that's what's the exciting part, because once all this
kind of calms down, I think my life is going
to be insane. Yeah, but traveling and like meeting people,
(15:54):
Like all I want to do is like meet my fans.
And I was talking to my friends last night and
they're like, we've never even got a chance. Because everyone
was planning tours and then two days later the whole
country shutdown, like the whole world shutdown. So I just
can't wait to get back into that. Okay, the first
thing that you do, the pandemic ends. First thing you
(16:14):
could do anything. I want to go to Italy with
my family in Italy anywhere, uh not Rome? I agree.
I think Rome is the equivalent of like Times Square. Yes, yes,
yes it is. I went there and I was like,
this is so overrated. It is the most touristy place.
(16:36):
I was like, why is this thing? No? I went
to Rome like on a school trip, but I want
to go with my family. But I went and I
was like, yeah, this is like Times Square exactly. It's
just I love Um. I loved it. It was fun,
but I just I don't think it was like fun
to go again because I want to go, like to
Milan or Um I went to. When I went, I
(16:58):
went to Rome, Sorrento and Cook. Have you go to Florence? Yeah?
I heard that was really good. I don't want to
go to Naples. I think Naples is nice. Yeah, because
my dad is like almost he's like really Italian and
he's never been. But me and my mom and my
sister will have so I want to go together as
a family. You got it. My brother was doing a
semester abroad in Italy right when the pandemic happened, so
(17:20):
he had to like fly home. Luckily his area wasn't infected,
but it was like the craziest thing just to see
how much the world changed with all of that. A
lot of the people that have watched his podcast, I've
been getting dams from and they've talked about, you know,
because life is now on social media, especially with the pandemic.
It is, you know, cyber bowling has been a thing,
(17:42):
and I feel like it's increasing a lot with cancel culture.
What advice do you have for those people who are
struggling with it and are letting it affect them and
those people and what advice do you have to people
who are saying those things behind the screens? I think,
just like again, same thing. You know who you are
as a person, I don't. I don't know. I just
(18:05):
know everyone switches up constantly, so there will be one
days where you're hated, one days when you're loved. Just
I try to reach out to anyone who's getting a
lot of hate or just not doing well, and you
can tell on the internet because you need to sometimes.
So I just try to do my best to support people.
(18:27):
But it's hard and it's hard to find real people
out here, especially I feel like when when I go
to l A, it's hard to find those people who
are you know, are real and not. It's not just
trying to be friends because you have followers. You're like
for the Cloud, especially out in l A, a lot
of its business motivated. I mean, I feel like that
does happen, But for me, I kind of have a
(18:49):
different case because no one really comes up and it's like,
let's make a TikTok because I don't know any of
the dances. I just like kind of post what I want.
So I'm friends with everyone, and I think people just
know that I don't use anyone. I rarely post with
other people and I I just kind of do my
own thing. So but I do see it for other people,
like if Charlie or Addison walked into the room, everyone
(19:12):
kind of is like, how's your phones out? Like what's
going on? I'm like, okay, I mean I think that's
good because, like, you know, you're not a dancer. I'm
I'm a terrible danswer. You're trying to learn to TikTok
dance for me is impossible too. I can't do it.
I can't do it for the life of me. We
have to take one more quick break, but when we
(19:33):
come back, we'll talk about your new podcast with Charlie
College and a very cool charity that you're involved with.
And we're back. So you and Charlie have started this podcast.
I have so many questions. First of all, how's it going.
We do argue a lot, so we're trying to get
past like the we need to do all, we need
(19:54):
to do this, but like we need to focus and
get this done. Even though I just piss you off
or your CROs We're gonna wipe the tears and do it.
And it's not even like, oh, we're like, we have
a lot of things that we love talking about. We're
fun talking about. Like even just yesterday, she said something
and she went back and forth with me for like
two minutes. I was like so mad. I was like,
(20:14):
you need to apologize to me, and she was like,
I didn't do anything, and then we went back and
forth and then we finished the podcast and we're fine.
But it's like doing it with a sister is so hard.
I can only imagine. I had my brother on for
one of the episodes because he's like a basketball geek,
and we had Kevin Lum and I was like, Okay,
this is great because it will earn me some like
(20:35):
sister points, like getting him to talk to Kevin love.
And also we probably won't fight, and luckily we didn't
because I feel like we have a little bit of
a different dynamic because he is older. But it's trying
to find that balance, like working with your family and
something can be hard. Sometimes it's like nice when it
goes when we're together and it's um, like we're having fun,
(20:57):
but if if either one of us is in the
slightest mood, it's like oh god. But then we get
home and we're fine. It's like, why don't we just
argue it's just sisters, but like exactly, that's like sibling stuff.
But I feel like that's what people like to because
it's like it's not We had like a small back
and forth or in our last podcast and I was
trying to explain something to her and she was not
(21:17):
getting it, and people were posting in like this is
so funny and like no, I was actually so mad
because she wasn't understanding what I was saying. But like
like that's why I think, but that's that's sisters, and
I think that's what's great is like you guys, don't
hide it because I feel like a lot of people
act like they're great, but it's like they're sibling rivalry.
Always if you have a saying you have a sibling,
you know? Yes? So how long have you been doing
(21:40):
the podcast so far? Um? I think we've been doing
it two months? Maybe do you have a favorite conversation
you've had with her that's stuck out or that has
had a lot of interesting response? Not really, I mean
there's some, but like stuff that isn't out yet just
because we kind of we we did like a few
week because of just trying to figure out what we
(22:01):
would do, what we talk about, and now we kind
of have the hang of it, so they're gonna just
get better and better. Like the first one I listened
to it was like, oh my god, what are we saying?
But now I'm I'm excited now that we get to
talk about Now that we know we're going to talk about,
what are you going to talk about can we say anything,
UM just kind of like kind of responding to hate
(22:21):
on there, but all like using it as a way
to talk about things. If we're getting um a lot
of comments about it, we'll talk about it on there
and address it there so people couldn't hear our voices
and it's not just like a comment on a post.
And then also like interacting with our fans UM and
stuff like that, just try to make it more interactive,
(22:43):
which is exciting. Yeah. I think that's super exciting. Especially
it's the way where you can control your own narrative
of what you want to say and if there's any
miscommunication or any people's opinions. I think that's really cool
that you're doing that. Yeah, definitely. So Okay, I have
to ask. I know you've been doing, You've been doing
on YouTube videos, you have the podcast, now, you've been
(23:05):
doing music, which has been awesome. Is there anything else
that you're working on that you're super excited about for
I don't know, Like I feel like everything just comes
so fast I forget what I'm doing. I think that's
it for right now. Probably March or something. We'll get
in there somewhere before Christmas. What do you ever want
(23:27):
like your own clothing line. Yes, definitely, that's kind of
what I wanted to do anyways, Like without social media,
I was my dad was in the clothing business, so
I love that. So hopefully at some point, once I
get more settled down and not like moving um around
all the time, I definitely want to work on that.
Is that where you're what you're going to go to
school for. I was going to school for business and management,
(23:50):
and that was kind of my hope at some point
to be in the clothing business. That is so different
from what you are doing now completely. Would you ever
go back to that? Um? If we want to try
college at some point, I say, like everyone's like, oh,
she didn't go to college, but it's always going to
be there though, Yeah, I mean this was It's like
(24:10):
college is a once in a lifetime experience. I'm like,
so is this I don't know, I just feeling exactly.
I feel like college is always there. It's always there,
but like the opportunities you're having, they can go away.
M and I would love to go to college, like
I was so ready to go. The only reason why
I didn't end up going is because it was going
to be a lot of traveling, which I didn't think
(24:31):
was a good idea for like my family or the
people I'd be around. So it was like, take a
gap year, see what happens. I'm considering taking a gap year.
Do you have any tips or advice on the college
process and your thoughts on gap years? Because I know
a lot of people listening our seniors right now. For me,
I'm more of a visual learner, so same doing and
(24:53):
experiencing things helped me so much more than anything else,
like being in class or reading books online. I was
or reading books. I was like, I just feel like
I could be doing something more that I'm more interested in.
I know I'm not going to be doing anything with this,
So I stayed back sophomore year because I switched schools,
so I had an extra year all of senior year
(25:15):
to take all elective classes, which was very nice because
I kind of got to found what I was interested
in and I really loved like engineering and um what
other classes I take? I took poetry, which I found
interesting and and having that experience was awesome. So if
you're going to take a gap year, maybe like go
(25:36):
to a community college and like take elective classes or something,
just so you can try to find what you're interested in.
That that's what I'm thinking about doing. I think it
just depends on what happens with the world. And I
kind of also want to see what happens because, like
I am about saying, like school and all of this,
it's during a pandemic, so I kind of want to
see what could happen if I just like work for
a year, you see, like what can happen. And also
(25:59):
about call, I feel like there's such a idea college
you need to go to the best school, like community
college is like you can't go to community college. There
was no problem if you like work and whatever you're doing,
it doesn't matter how you get there. There's people who
one goes to community college, one goes to an IVY league,
and they both end up with the same job. It's
like it's how much work you put into it. And
(26:22):
I feel like it's just given such a bad rap,
like you have to go to this school to be
this person, and that's not true. You have to get
straight a's, And it's like I try to remember like grades,
like do your best, but that's all you can do
at the end. Of the day. It took me three
years to finally get like good grades and figure out
(26:42):
how I learned, and some people just it takes a
long time to figure out how they learn. So it's
just kind of you need to put the work in.
There's nothing you can do with like not putting the
work in. But once you figure it out, it makes
life a lot easier. Yeah, I couldn't agree more and like,
there's nothing there's no better way to learn than just
by doing. That's what I like to think. So for
this season, what I wanted to do, Like many others,
(27:04):
I've been feeling very helpless UM with the state of
the world that we're in, and I want to focus
on highlights some charities that I think are really great.
Are there any charities that you've been working with or
that you're aware of that you just want to spread
the word about. Um. Actually, I'm working with a charity
UM with best Friends the Dog fostering an adoption. So
(27:28):
I'm fostering a dog for two days and just trying
to raise awareness for it. So, oh my goodness, that's
I want to foster a dog. I'm fostering it, but
I'm really considering keeping it honestly, it's it's like it's
like a trial kind of yeah, and my puppies bored
by herself. I think she needs a friend, so we'll see.
(27:51):
I've been trying to convince my family of that for
such a long time, like our dog needs a friend.
Thank you Dixie for coming on my podcast. Thank you
so much. It is so fun. Thank you guys so
much for listening to this week's episode. As always, subscribe,
leave review or a comment. I always love to hear
(28:13):
your feedback. If you haven't already, follow me on Instagram,
it's at It's Sammy J. That's I T S S
A M M y j A y E d M
E feel free. My d M s are always open
to you guys, and don't forget to follow Dixie on
everything Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, It's aid Dixie Damelio. As always,
thank you guys so much, and I will see you
(28:34):
next Tuesday. By
Host
Sammy Jaye
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