Viral Tiktok Star and Indie Songwriter Faith Zapata Has A Chat With Periphery Magazine
While you may recognize her as the TikTok star most commonly lauded for her smash hit “Party in The Alps” (a cover of Miley Cyrus’ “Party in The USA” in the signature subdued style of Phoebe Bridgers), Faith Zapata is a unique and rising songwriter in her own right. After releasing the cover track to all streaming platforms, and receiving a message of approval from Phoebe Bridgers herself, she has spent the last year developing her own signature sound, including the indie pop release of her 2021 track, “If Everybody Was Dead.” Now, following the success of both of these tracks, she is in the works to release her previously unreleased demo, “Revisiting,” in hopes of forging her own name in the music industry.
Editor Caitlin Andrews had the pleasure of speaking with Faith about her self declared “individuality complex," the unspoken hard parts involved in achieving public success online, and how much we all owe to Taylor Swift.
Caitlin Andrews: Hey there, Faith! How are you feeling?
Faith Zapata: “Hey, Caitlin! I’m doing great, thanks for asking!”
CA: Your most recent single, “If Everybody Was Dead,” was released in late December of 2021. What was it like creating this track? How did it differ from some of your previous work, like “Bored” or “metamorphosis?"
FZ: “Well, it started out pretty similar to almost every other song I’ve released because I wrote it in my bedroom, but this time I was lucky enough to get some help from my little brother, Luke! It’s funny—sometimes, he’ll just come into my room while I’m working on something and he’ll just add onto it, and honestly make the song turn out a lot better than it would have been if he hadn’t walked in on me writing it. Recording and production-wise, it was pretty much like every other song as well, and that’s just me and GarageBand on my Mac in my bedroom, with a couple guitars and a mic. But this time, instead of just dragging an automatic drum track into the project, Luke actually drummed for me. I feel like it brings a sort of different energy in the best way possible; you can really tell that there’s someone behind the drum set in this track and I love it so much!”
CA: Can you tell us a little bit about what first got you into making music?
FZ: “I was pretty much born with music playing in my eardrums because my parents are both musicians—my mom sings, plays piano and guitar, and my dad is a drummer and guitarist as well. Music was literally everywhere growing up, so naturally, my siblings and I got into singing and playing instruments very early on, out of a pure, natural inclination, thanks to our parents. I started writing (terrible) songs around age nine, inspired to do so by Miss Taylor Swift herself, but I didn’t start posting them anywhere until I was thirteen and I discovered SoundCloud. Even then, I was just uploading voice memos, with no production whatsoever. I think I started ‘producing’ my own songs when I found out about the GarageBand app for iPhone when I was about fifteen or so, and I’ve just been winging it since then, honestly. I try not to take myself too seriously, so that making music doesn’t feel like a chore or a job, and so that I can keep the spark alive. Although, I don’t see that dimming at any point in my life, probably ever.”
CA: It’s no secret to say you’ve had a very unique rise to success - one of your most famous TikToks recreated a Phoebe Bridgers’ cover adaptation of Miley Cyrus’“Party in the USA,” garnering you nearly 500k TikTok likes and 130k streams on Spotify. How do you feel about this being your most widely recognized feat so far?
FZ: “It’s absolutely insane. Sometimes it doesn’t even feel real because it’s all happening on the internet, but that doesn’t make it any less mind-blowing. I think it’s hilarious that the thing that made my mark on the World Wide Web was a silly little cover of a song I’ve loved since childhood in the style of an artist I’m incredibly inspired by, but if it had to be anything, I’m glad it was “Party in the Alps”. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Because of it, I’ve gained so many new listeners that like me for me and not just for the cover, which is so awesome. I’m so glad and grateful that they’re here and are joining me for the ride.”
CA: What do you think is your best and worst personality trait? Which trait or emotion of yours do you think is most prominent when it comes to creative expression?
FZ: “Hmm, wonderful question...I think my best and worst personality traits are actually the same exact thing, which is that I can be a little too self-confident. It’s a good thing when it comes to songwriting and making music, because if I didn’t believe in my work or think it was great, then I wouldn’t have the guts or motivation to actually make it and put it out there into the world. On the flip side, it becomes a bad thing when overconfidence turns into thinking that I’ve got everything under control, and I don’t want to accept help or criticism from others, when in reality, every creative needs that in order to make their work the best it can possibly be. As for the second half of this question: when I’m writing songs, I think my most prominent emotions are definitely those of over-romanticizing and a sort of melancholy nostalgia. I tend to dwell on the past and what was, as well as what could have been, both in general and when I’m writing. When I’m in the middle of an experience, I don’t usually say or do what I’m really feeling, so after the fact, when I write a song about it, it sort of stems from a place of “This is what I wish I would have done/said” or “This is how I wish this would have turned out."”
CA: You have quite a unique ‘inspiration base’ when it comes to your choices in music—for example, your track “Apollo” is written about the “Olympian god of sunlight.” What’s it like writing songs from another person’s viewpoint?
FZ: “I love writing from fictional perspectives. For the past couple years, my life has been quite uneventful in terms of song material, so I’ve been taking inspiration from books I’ve been reading. Writing from the point of view of fictional characters is so addicting because you get to really sit and think about their motives, desires, fears, what they would risk it all for, etc. Stepping outside of my own mind and channeling a character’s energy when writing a song has been extremely helpful because it’s kind of like experiencing the story in a completely different way than I initially did reading it. Another way I tend to write songs is by imagining hypothetical scenarios, because once again—close to nothing has happened to me that’s song material lately!”
CA: Was there one significant event in your life that made you who you are?
FZ: “Oh, definitely. I remember vividly on Valentine’s Day in the fourth grade, I came home from school after having a pretty bad day. Some kids had been not-so-nice to me that day and I told my parents about it, who told me it was all going to be okay and that even celebrities got picked on sometimes. They then showed me a video of Taylor Swift performing “Mean” live at a music awards show of some sort (I can’t remember which), and something in me just clicked. Immediately after seeing it I was inspired to start playing guitar and write songs seriously. Ever since then, I haven’t been able to stop, and I’m eternally grateful for it.”
CA: As part of an Instagram Mother’s Day post, you very sweetly celebrated your mother, grandmother and little sisters for their role in your life. Which non-familial women inspired you the most growing up? Are there any underrated women that you think deserve more credit?
FZ: “Obviously, I owe a lot of my musical inspiration to Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers. I feel like that’s a given if you’ve been following my musical adventures so far. They’re both just incredible songwriters and humans in general that have helped me gain a lot of my self-discoveries in the realm of music. Aside from family and celebrities though, some of my favorite women in the world are the ones I get to call friends, especially my best friend, Mackenzie. She supports me no matter how idiotic or overly emotional I can be and is alway down for a boba run or a movie night—she’s the best.”
CA: What scares you the most about being known by the world? Were there any unexpected upsides or downsides to achieving public success?
FZ: “I think the most terrifying thing about being somewhat known on the internet is that there’s no way you can control how people react or perceive you. Obviously, on the internet, you can craft and edit your image to your own liking, but you have no say in how you look through the eyes of someone else, or in my case, thousands of people. I only have about 54k on TikTok right now, which isn’t a huge number in comparison to other creators, but it’s the biggest number I’ve personally reached and it’s scary to think about how each and every one of those followers is a real person with their own background and stories to tell. That all of them have their own individual opinions of me, whether it’s a high one or if I’m just someone they followed in passing. The concept of being perceived in general as a person is just so strange—I try not to think about it too much, but sometimes I can’t help it, and I’m sure most people can relate to that.
A huge perk to suddenly gaining an audience is definitely getting my content to show up on the “For You” Pages of other big creators and getting to connect with them. I’ve met and become friends with some of the coolest people I’ll ever know in my life because of the sudden influx of attention to my videos and my music (especially “Party in the Alps”). As for downsides, it’s kind of hard to focus on them when there’s so many good things to consider instead—but if I had to mention one, it’d probably be the constant comparison to other artists. I’ll get comments saying I sound exactly like a particular artist or another, but I definitely understand when it’s a cover of a song by that person. I know it all comes from a place of good intentions, but I won’t lie and say it doesn’t sting just a little when it’s a song that I wrote, and I still get the comments. Most of the time I love getting them, because I know it’s a compliment at its very core, but at the same time I just have a very prevalent individuality complex and I’d love to be known for being myself, not someone else.”
CA: In a recent Instagram post, you made a joke about “milking [your] ten minutes of fame.” Where would you like your career to take you in the next ten years? What would you choose to do if music didn’t work out?
FZ: “Doing music as a career feels like a pipe dream to me, but every time I get a little bit of attention on the internet for it, it feels a little more tangible every day. I would love to get into an actual studio and record an ‘official’ record that wasn’t just made in my childhood bedroom, I’d love to collaborate with artists that I adore, and I’d love to play shows someday too. I like to think of myself as a spontaneous person, but I also usually need backup plans in case things fall through, so currently, I’m in my last semester of my undergrad right now. I’m planning on attending graduate school for English literature, so I’ll probably be doing something with that if music doesn’t work out. But I also really love English and would love to pursue an academic career in that field too, so the way I see it, it’s like music and English are both backup careers for each other. Either way my life goes, I think I’ll be content. I’d like to just feel things out and see whichever one is more realistic for me to go after. Music will always be around though, so even if I do end up in a career in academia, I highly doubt I’d stop doing music altogether. I don’t think I could live with myself if I did.”
CA: Do you have any cool party tricks? (Or alternatively, tell us a fun fact about yourself or something you like!)
FZ: “Hmm...I don’t think I have any cool party tricks. But a fun fact about me is that I started taking college courses when I was fifteen and by the time I was eighteen, I’d graduated high school and community college with an Associates degree in Liberal Arts at the same time in 2019! I transferred that fall as a junior in college to the school I go to now, which is pretty cool.”
CA: What’s next for you in 2022? Do you have any upcoming releases we can look forward to?
FZ: “Yeah! I definitely plan on recording songs this year, because I’ve done a lot of writing in the few months of 2022 we’ve had so far. I’ve posted a few snippets of my favorite songs I’ve written this year on TikTok, and people seem to like them, so hopefully I’ll get to put them out later this year! I had the absolute worst writer’s block in 2021, so writing a song almost every day this year so far has been super awesome, and validating too, especially for myself as a songwriter.”
CA: Where can Periphery’s readership find you?
FZ: “I’m on TikTok @faithcore and @faithzap on Instagram! Also here’s a link to literally everywhere you can find me on the internet: https://www.campsite.bio/faithzap.”
Periphery Magazine thanks Faith Zapata for her contribution, and wishes her luck with future releases! You can find her on social media and streaming platforms here:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0hJu98X7eKFanMFjJ6eUZF?si=51rpVTTgQwuLUxDjO7cbEQ
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@faithcore
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faithzap/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/faithzap