College, corporate life, and creating. These three C’s make up musician NORA.’s life—the old, the current, and the future. But what happens when creativity takes over, and it becomes your one true calling? We sat down with NORA. to discuss just that. NORA. navigated finding herself through music and took time to let us know what success for her really feels like. Honeybees, if you’ve been needing a sprinkle of inspiration, take these words of advice from NORA.
Get To Know NORA.
Welcome to The Honey POP, NORA.! We are so thrilled to be chatting with you today. To start us off, tell us a little about yourself, including your music story.
Hey! I’m thrilled too! My name is NORA. I grew up in Harrisburg, PA, and I’ve always had a deep love for music: musicals, choirs, dance classes, and singing in the back of my mom’s car. I really started writing songs in middle school, using music to work through all my messy feelings. By high school, the songs had evolved a bit beyond playground drama (lol). I began posting my original songs on social media in high school and found a real sense of joy and peace in expressing myself through lyrics. I started college at Drexel University and eventually graduated from Belmont University in Nashville. Living in Nashville has been incredibly inspiring for me musically. Now, I’m navigating life after college and pursuing music full-time. I took a dive into the corporate world and quickly realized I needed to chase my passion instead. That’s where I’m at now…creating, growing, and following what feels right.
What four emojis would you use to describe your music?
🥹😭💅🤦♀️
You left your corporate 9-to-5 job to pursue a career in music. So many of our readers, and
ourselves included, are itching to do the same. How did you know you were ready to leave the
corporate world?
I knew I was ready to leave the corporate world when I realized I wasn’t feeling fulfilled. And don’t get me wrong…I truly gave it a real shot. I showed up, put in my best effort, and tried to make it work. But it reached a point where I had to choose myself, and I knew I would regret it if I didn’t at least try. It looked like driving home every day, wondering when I was ever going to find the time to take my artistry seriously. It looked like sitting at my desk, listening to music, daydreaming about what my life could be if I walked away. It was watching coworkers get excited about promotions I didn’t want, realizing that dream just wasn’t mine. It also meant letting go of the expectations people had for me…learning not to care what others thought if I didn’t take the traditional path most people do. Deep down, I just knew I had to choose me.
“That’s where I’m at now…creating, growing, and following what feels right.”
NORA.
Music & More
Your new EP, Just Words., is officially released as of today. Congratulations! If you could pick just one track from the project that represents you as a songwriter, which one would it be?
Thank you so much…I’m SO excited. If I had to choose one song, I’d probably say ‘Somebody’s Secret.’ feels the most me. I’ve always been a sucker for self-deprecating, sad songs, and that’s really where my heart lives musically. It’s emotional and pretty stripped back, and I wrote it with my brother, which gives it a lot of weight and meaning for me.
Navigating adulthood and self-discovery are all themes of Just Words. For us, music is always a sense of comfort during life’s toughest moments. What albums and/or artists gave you a sense of comfort as a young adult?
As a young adult, JP Saxe really shaped my high school experience. He’s been one of my most-listened-to artists for the past eight years of my life. I’ve also always loved Sara Bareilles and deeply resonated with her melodies and lyricism.
Talk to us about your work with Musicians On Call and why it’s important that you are supporting an organization such as this.
Musicians On Call (MOC) is an incredible organization that brings the healing power of live and recorded music directly to patients, families, and caregivers in healthcare settings. When they invited artists to record holiday songs to share, saying yes was easy. I was truly grateful to be part of something so meaningful, and I hope to continue supporting them and do even more with them in the future.
We absolutely love the music video for ‘Since I’ve Been Gone.’ It’s clearly inspired by the ’80s music aesthetic—Prince posters on the wall and bright colored bedroom lights. Were you inspired by this influential time period at all during the making of ‘Since I’ve Been Gone?’
My parents were always playing ’80s music, so it was a huge inspiration for both the vibe of this song and the music video. I’ve always felt that ’80s music carries so much soul and emotion, and I really wanted my song to tap into that feeling too. I come from a big family, and all of my mom’s siblings were very into karaoke…so Pat Benatar’s ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot,’ along with plenty of other ’80s hits, weren’t occasional moments; they were regular events at our holiday get-togethers.
If you can put yourself back in the mindset you were in when you first started out, before any success, what were your main goals? Was there a milestone you remember hitting that you never expected to?
When I think about when I first started, it honestly feels like just a few months ago…though I’ve been at this for a while now. Lately, things finally feel like they’re picking up, especially when it comes to releasing music and playing shows. Back in high school, I put out a few songs, but I couldn’t have imagined what any of this would look like now. Living in Nashville, being surrounded by people who share the same dream, and having people who actually want to listen to my music feels like a dream in itself. A small but mighty milestone for me was playing a show and having people actually show up. Seeing who comes out and supports is such a loving, grounding feeling, and it reminds me how lucky I am to have such supportive people around me.
Thanks again for joining us, NORA. To close us off, what can readers expect from you during the rest of 2026?
Readers can definitely expect more music and more shows throughout 2026. Writing is something that never really stops for me, so I’ll be continuing to create, release, and share new songs along the way. I’ll also be posting more originals on my socials and, of course, getting all in my feelings on TikTok…because that part never goes away!
“Having people who actually want to listen to my music feels like a dream in itself”
NORA.
Thanks to NORA. for chatting with us! You can listen to NORA.’s debut EP, Just Words., with us here. We want to know what you think about NORA.’s music—drop a comment or find us on Twitter, Instagram, and Discord. Let’s get to buzzing!
Looking for more exclusive interviews? Look no further, honeybee!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT NORA.:
INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE
