EXCLUSIVESinger-Songwriter Olivia Lunny Is 'Grateful' Her Fans Are Connecting With Her New Album: 'It's Really Special'
Singer-songwriter Olivia Lunny exclusively tells OK! about her new album, which was released on June 6.
June 16 2025, Published 1:34 p.m. ET
Olivia Lunny is ready to take in this new era!
After performing at Gov Ball on Sunday, June 8, and releasing her latest album, VELVET & DENIM, two days prior on June 6, she's overjoyed to connect with her fans as they learn and listen her new tunes.
"It's a big moment for me. I've never actually played a show in New York before, so this is a very fun debut — and I get to share the stage with so many incredible people that I've looked up to for a long time," the singer, 26, told OK! prior to the festival. "This album has been three to four years in the making, and I'm excited to get on stage and sing these songs live because I think it's one thing to hear them but then to see them translate and resonate with people is really big. I am just happy to be in New York!"
The star performed at Gov Ball in June.
Last year when Chappell Roan performed, Lunny told her team, "I want to be there one day. I don't care if I'm the smallest name, but I want to get in the lineup."
"I'm a big manifester — but it is also hard work," she said, noting she rehearsed for about a month and a half. "Gov Ball is the first show of five more festivals and shows I'm playing, and I am opening for Justin Timberlake this summer. I've been putting this all together and dreaming of this since I was 12, so it's fun to have the full band, have the outfits and have this world created beyond just me singing pop songs."
"I'm feeling all this positive energy, and I love New York!" she exclaimed.
For the past few years, Lunny has spent time making sure VELVET & DENIM is exactly what she wanted it to be. "I wrote a song called 'VELVET & DENIM' when I was 18 years old, and it wasn't a very good song, but the title was amazing, so I kind of banked that in my vault for a little bit. Two years ago, when I was sitting down to brainstorm an idea for an album, I wanted to take the approach of it being a concept album for the first time. I rediscovered that overarching title, and that kind of sparked the vision of the whole album. I then dove into the sessions. For about two years I was writing, and I think I wrote 45 songs for the album, and then I narrowed it down to 12."
She continued, "The whole concept of the album is duality. VELVET & DENIM to me is the glam, the glitz, the manifesting, the excitement but then also the raw, honest kind of hardship that you go through in life. I'm from Canada, and I moved to L.A. alone. That whole experience was transformative and a bit of both velvet and denim. The album dives into what I've been through, the love, the loss, the healing, the empowerment. I'm really excited to share this with people."
While working on this new album, the performer has seen how much she's evolved in the past few years.
"Going from 19 to 26 has been a lot! Being a woman in the industry is what has changed the most. I go into the studio knowing who I am, what I want, who I want to collaborate with, and that energy just inspires great music. You can show up and wing it and see what happens, but showing up with intention and knowing who I am, that's been a beautiful thing for me," she shared.
"I hate to sound cheesy and say being myself, but this is the first year I'm actually embodying that fully and showing up 100 percent authentically myself and just being real with people," she added of how far she's come. "People want to know your wins but also experience your losses with you — and they want to build that connection and be on that journey with you. Day by day, as I let people in on that journey, I hope they find my music."
While collaborating and working with others, she lets things flow. "I think you have to show and not be afraid to fail and try new and interesting things. Experimenting was a big part of this process as well — not to be too structured and knowing that we might not write a 'hit' in the studio. I heard Rick Rubin [record producer] say, 'You are the audience, and once you realize that, you're the person you should be writing for. That's a really beautiful thing because then you're not trying to keep up with the trends or figure out what pop culture wants. That's how you create such honest and unique art," she explained. "I just had so much to write about — good, bad, trauma, excitement. It poured out of me, and it was a very easy thing to do because I had so much to say. I almost feel like I said it all, and now I need to go live more!"
Olivia Lunny's new album dropped on June 6.
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As for what inspires her, Lunny said she typically writes about her life since it's unfolding in front of her.
"This is the first album where the people around me also inspired me. I even told friends, 'Remember when you went through this? I wrote a song about it.' So, that's been interesting and also diving into things beyond heartbreak for this album. In the past, it was very easy to write about, and we all love a good breakup song, but there's a few deeper songs that go beyond that," she spilled.
The musician has been writing since she was 12 years old.
At age 12, Lunny wrote her first song, and at 14, she had her first performance at Winnipeg Folk Festival. "When I got on stage, I got to play my original music, and people seemed to like it. That was a little bit of validation, so when I realized it could be more than just a passion, it made me realize people do this for a living. I saw Hilary Duff when I was 7, and I told my dad, 'I want to do that! How do I do that?'"
Lunny was later scouted for a Canadian TV show The Launch at 18 years old — though she "thought nothing of it" at the time.
"I went on the show, won the show, and that was kind of what 'launched' me," she said. "I got exposure, and that's when things started to pick up. It wasn't just me and my guitar anymore."
Fortunately, her parents believed in her and wanted her to follow her dreams. "They are so proud of me," she gushed. "They bring me down to earth sometimes, too. They're super supportive. They always wanted to go to Ireland, so they're coming to see me perform ahead of Justin's concert."
Olivia Lunny is opening for Justin Timberlake this summer.
Now, Lunny, who calls Miley Cyrus, Stevie Nicks and Lana Del Rey some of her heroes, is looking forward to see what's next. "Hopefully I can build toward my own headline show and being able to sell my own tickets in major cities," she says. "I'm grateful, too, because I'm opening for one of my favorite artists in the fall, but I haven't announced who yet. This chapter is about people resonating with my music and hearing it. I'm really proud and excited, and I feel like I've really put in the work to the music. I want to amplify it and hopefully get more people to hear it!"
She concludes, "I grew up writing songs in my bedroom. I didn't even think this was a possibility, but now that my music is reaching people and helping people, it's made me realize this is slowly building beyond me in the most beautiful way. Once these songs are released, they are not mine anymore. They're a gift to people, and they can interpret them how they want. It's really special."
Listen to the album here.
