We all know that radio is increasingly taking the backseat to streaming in today’s pop world. But Nolie’s new song “Picky” sounds like one of those buoyant songs that deserve to come pouring out of Corvettes on the Santa Monica Freeway all summer long.
Although some listeners may mistakenly lump Nolie in with Charlie Puth or Justin Bieber, his voice has an infectious quality all its own. That comes shining through in Logan Prescott’s production and the mixing by David Nakaji (Doja Cat, Post Malone).
“Nolie” is a much cooler showbiz name than the one he was born with: Nolan Feldpausch, which sounds like a doctor in Encino. But this young talent doesn’t need a song doctor. He and co-writer Prescott have created a gem in “Picky,” a song about how artists need to safeguard their precious time – and let imagination take them beyond formula love songs.
Yeah I’m pretty picky with my time
So know I might not pick up
With my worried little mind
If you break Nolie’s name into two words, you get “no lie” – and, no lie, this dude has the vocal chops to take command of a song from the get-go.
Casual listeners might compare you to Charlie Puth or Justin Bieber, but I hear traces of some classic Eighties singers in your voice – like Al B. Sure, who was produced by Prince. Who were your main vocal influences?
Wow I really, really love that Al B. reference. The Justin thing I get A LOT lol – usually something along the lines of “You’re like Justin Bieber…if he made cool music.” Which I happily accept because I do enjoy Justin’s voice. But my true, true influences lean way more towards Alt-J & The 1975 while in my youth a large dose of early 2000s pop and R&B like AKON, Keith Sweat & Whitney Houston, which probably drives a lot of my melody writing.
What’s the story behind your new song “Picky”? Who were the writers on that song?
“Picky” was written by me and my producer, Logan Prescott, in practically one night. I had written the “yeah I’m pretty picky with my time” earlier in 2021 to another beat. I loved the sentiment and how fun the word was to use. When Logan showed me the beat he had been working on that day, the melody fell out almost immediately while I was pacing around behind him like I do lol. I was also feeling frustrated at the time and wanted to share something more than just a “pretty love song.”
You started your career as a tour photographer and videographer. Does that make you “picky” about how your videos are shot?
Absolutely. I’m sure my managers would laugh out loud at this question, but the years of doing that taught me to move pretty quickly and make decisions heavily based on intuition, which I’m very thankful for.
I have friends and artists that I work with now that I trust a lot and make things very easy for me. But I edit all of my content myself still…and I don’t think I’ll ever want to give certain parts of that up.
You grew up in Indiana. Were you a fan of the Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers…or did you ignore sports entirely while concentrating on music?
Haha. I was a Pacers fan all day. I had the high-top white and yellow Jermaine O’Neal’s in elementary school. Sports were big in my household – and in all the households in my town of about 675 people. But by age 15, I had quite literally traded it all for a guitar and started writing songs, playing in bands, and pursuing music and art from then on.
Your song “Come Over” has gotten about 3 million streams on Spotify alone. Is that the song that crowds go crazy for when you play live?
It’s definitely the one people sing back to me the most, but I will say I get the best response almost always from my song “Renaissance.” It helps that it’s one of my favorite songs, but when I see everyone actually stop, listen, and begin to move, I love it.
