Lauren Wallace - On Our Radar Q&A: "I’m the kind of person who, when I am doing something, I am doing it 110%"

You’re currently studying for your Leaving Cert while trying to record an album – how do you balance both?

Sometimes not very well, but most of the time, it’s grand! I’m the kind of person who, when I am doing something, I am doing it 110%. If I wake up one day with an idea for a new song, I write it that day.
I’ll spend around seven hours doing that, and ignoring the fact that I have schoolwork. I’ll be in school and have all my tabs open on my laptop. Half of them are me taking notes, the other half is me replying to bookers’ emails!

Your latest single, ‘Gap Teeth’, was written for your cousin. How did that come about?

I was supposed to be studying for my summer exams last year, but I was bored. I thought I would write a song, but I had writer’s block. I called my cousin Kate to ask for help – she’s one of my best friends, she’s like a sister to me. She told me to write a song about her, so I did!

You sold out your first headline show, Upstairs in Whelan’s, in February. How did you prepare for it?

Rehearsals for that were quite hard, because almost everyone involved lives in a different country. Trying to get everyone in the same room was next to impossible, but we pulled it off.

How did you get into songwriting?

I’ve been singing since I was five, but I only got into songwriting when I was about 11. I’m an original Olivia Rodrigo fan from her Disney Channel days. I would watch her old Instagram videos of songs she wrote before the release of ‘Driver’s Licence’ and think, “I need to be like you”. After that, I started to write songs.

Do you have any more upcoming dates or releases?

I’m opening for Robert Grace at The Academy on June 13. I also have my second headline show coming up in September at Workman’s Club.

• Follow Lauren Wallace on Instagram @laurenn.wallaceee.