What if you could just go back and do something all over again, but this time adding a little extra kick? Well, that’s pretty much what NOVUL just did with her latest single “Runaway Baby.”
NOVUL was raised in the small town of Paradise Hill, located in Saskatchewan, Canada. “A lot of people don’t know where that is,” she joked in our conversation. As an avid dancer, NOVUL had a passion for entertaining others as a child. A desire to start singing was growing rapidly, and at the age of 6, she decided to give it a go!
It all started at NOVUL’s brother’s hockey game. Although she was very eager to sing, her parents were a little doubtful. “Entertainment and music isn’t big where we’re from,” she explained. “Everyone goes to work as doctors and teachers.” Nevertheless, she got up and sang, and soon started singing the National Anthem on a regular basis. By the age of 14, she became the NHL National Anthem singer for the Edmonton Oilers.
“From there, I started taking it more seriously,” NOVUL recalled. “I had to fly to Toronto once a month and started vocal training out there. Once I graduated high school, I was like… ‘peace out, I’m going to LA!'”
Once she arrived in LA, NOVUL started meeting up with producers and spending plenty of time in the studio. One of those producers happened to be Poet Named Life, who is known for working closely with the Black Eyed Peas. He was inspired by NOVUL’s story – after all, she was a girl from a small town with a big dream to chase. It sounded like something one would read in a book, and so he gave her the stage name NOVUL – a combination of her last name, and the word novel.
After spending a few years trying to find her sound, NOVUL started self-releasing her music. In 2020, NOVUL released “Runaway Baby,” a song she described as revolving around “the ups and downs of the toxicity of a relationship, and always wanting to be there to help that person no matter what.”
Now, how about flipping the script? Recently, NOVUL teamed up with rapper Cam Meekins to bring in another layer to the story. “I kinda wanted the male’s perspective on the single,” she mentioned, “and luckily Cam Meekins heard it. He’s an amazing independent rapper, and I just knew his tone of voice was perfect. I’m a big fan of his song ‘Better Days,’ and hearing that, I instantly knew he’d be a perfect fit. I sent it to him, and he did an amazing job coming back with his version.”
While the two hadn’t met in person before working together, NOVUL knew the collaboration would be super smooth. “I wanted somebody on this track who wanted to be on this track,” she said. That someone just happened to be Cam, and NOVUL felt as though he was able to match his tone and songwriting with her verses in the best way possible.
“We had a good conversation on the phone, and he totally understood what I wanted vibe wise,” NOVUL recalled. “I don’t know his history, people experience things themselves. That’s what’s cool about this song, you send it to people and some people will really connect with the song.”
NOVUL hopes that (you too) will also be able to connect with her music. She said, “I want people to hear my music and instantly feel like it’s a party, feel confident, hear it with their girlfriends or guy-friends. I want it to be like a mood booster.”
Check out “Runaway Baby” (feat. Cam Meekins) below, and say hello to NOVUL on Instagram @itsnovul!
