Norwegian born singer-songwriter Liv Austen returns with another infectious slice of country-pop. New single The Next Time is out now via NUA Entertainment.

Written with Jessica Sharman (Ward Thomas) and mixed by Ash Howes (Ellie Goulding, The Corrs), The Next Time is about finding the courage to tell someone they’ve used up their second chance with you. It combines catchy pop hooks akin to the likes of Carly Rae Jepsen with Austen’s crystalline vocals, country-inspired musicality and a rich storytelling charm to create something truly addictive.

In this interview spotlight, we chat with Liv about influences, challenges, the latest project, music consumption preferences and much more.

Full Q&A along with links and a stream of The Next Time below.

Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?

I grew up on pop music, but always lyric driven stuff. Anything that resonated with me as a person and what was going on in my life. When I started writing my own songs as a teenager, I got curious about country music and got really in to it. So the result is now that I am a fusion of those two different influences in my life, the catchy pop songs of the early 2000s, and the clever and honest lyrics of Nashville country.

How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?

I started writing in my teens. I didn’t share it with people for a long time, really. I was quite secretive about it for a while. I remember the first time I ever played my own music. It was at a small festival near my home town in Norway, and I played a cheap little keyboard! It wasn’t very glamorous, but I can’t tell you how excited I was to share my own music. I think I knew already at that time that I was proud of my own songwriting. My first London gig I will never forget. It was in May 2014. I was so nervous that I thought I was going to be sick. I think it was because I had a feeling I was on the brink of something, that me deciding to do a gig here was a big deal and just the beginning. Now I have been playing so many shows in the UK for the last 3 and a half years that I can’t even count them.

Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?

The work of other amazing people – singers and songwriters. Maren Morris, Hillary Lindsey, Logan Brill. John Mayer. When I hear a new song with a clever phrase; I am like «I can’t believe no one has thought of that before!» and it makes me wonder what other incredible songs are out there, waiting to be written. That really inspires me. Failure and hardship is so motivating to me. When I see people succeed where I haven’t, or when I try something and it doesn’t go the way I hoped it would, it can get me down for a little bit, but then it just motivates me even more.

Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?

I have never had a clearer vision than I have with my new music. My latest single The Next Time is a great taster of what’s to come. I finally decided to let all of my influences come through organically in the writing, arrangement and production of my new music, and I believe these new songs are as “me” as anything I have ever done. I think what I am trying to accomplish is to completely let go of genre, at least not letting it dictate how I write or produce. Officially coproducing the new songs has also been a big part of the process, and very important to me. I definitely went in to this project deciding I was going to push myself to be more involved and not be told how to do things. I am proud to say I managed to do that!

What was the last song you listened to?

Famous by Lady Antebellum. I love their new album.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

I love listening to vinyl, but I don’t have a record player at the moment. When I get a big house, it’ll be the first thing I buy for it! I grew up owning and buying CDs, so I will always have sort of an emotional attachment to them, but again… I have no way of playing them now. So I have to admit I am now mainly a consumer of digital music files!

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

It’s tough to admit this because I think Spotify have a long way to go in what their artists get for being on their platform – we get paid next to nothing even for thousands of plays, which is common knowledge at this point. However as a consumer I do love Spotify because there is just so much on there for us. And it is very cleverly tailored to your taste. I have discovered some fantastic artists on there. And people have discovered me on there too, so that is the great thing about being a Spotify artist. I don’t think I could live without Spotify premium at this point!

Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?

I think the abundance of music and the accessibility is fantastic, but yes – it does make it difficult for us artists. I can’t believe how many people I meet who know who I am by name but have actually never taken 3 and a half minutes to listen to any of my songs! I think it’s not just how music is so accessible to us, it’s everything. We can have it whenever we want, so we take it for granted or don’t give it another thought. Another challenge for me can be that I find myself a bit “between genres”. People are more open to music that’s hard to categorise than ever before, but it is still sometimes hard to know how I can show people that “hey, I think you’d actually really like my music even though I don’t come across as very similar to other artists you like”.

Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?

I do gig, tons! I play mostly in the UK at the moment, but really hope that this is about to change. I want to travel the whole world with my music. I have live streamed a couple of times, which was a lot of fun! I want to do more of that. People can go to www.livausten.com/shows, which is always updated with the shows I’ve got coming up.

Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?

I am on Facebook (Liv Austen), Twitter and Instagram (@livausten). If they want to find my music they can go to any online store or streaming service and check out what I’ve got there, most recently my new single The Next Time!

Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?

You know that artist that your friend keeps telling you to check out, but you still haven’t? Listen to one of their songs today – right now. It only takes a few minutes. You might fall in love with a new artist, who knows!