We go inside the mind of Olivia Paige as she explains the real story that inspired the dark and twisted tale behind her new hit song “Wallpaper”.
(Olivia rubs her head and stretches her arms as if she is preparing for a marathon.)
The process of writing ‘Wallpaper’ served as an introspection of my freshman year in high school. Transitioning from the secluded world of home school to the heavily regimented world of public school gave way to difficulties I had never anticipated. Vast hallways demanded to be navigated in a mere five minutes and classrooms swallowed copious amounts of students. And then there was the cafeteria: a living, breathing entity whose tables were always just one seat short. So, by the second week of school I established a habit of eating by myself in empty hallways and reading my sister’s copy of Jane Eyre. I was the new kid, the outsider who desperately wanted to be known but was too afraid to reach out.
September slipped into October, which somehow reached November. It was around this time that I thought I’d finally found my place. I had friends, and when I walked through the halls, I saw people who I could wave to or smile at. I wasn’t merely the girl who wore glasses and red lipstick anymore. I didn’t always spend the thirty-five minutes that separated fifth period from sixth period eating lunch alone.
But the people I was counting on weren’t actually my friends. It took me awhile to realize that these “friendships” were damaging, that they were causing me to become a different person. I was beginning to conform to other people’s notions of who I should be. Once I noticed this, however, I became aware of how detrimental it was. That was a pivotal moment in my life.
I pulled myself away from the wallpaper and I stopped trying to fit in. The ever ambiguous ‘You’ referred to in the song represents different people in my life who I wanted to see me for as I truly was, not the facade that I had become.
“Wallpaper” is out today and is available worldwide every that digital music is sold.
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