Carly Adair is the pinnacle of “if you can dream it, you can do it.” This 25-year-old from Meadville, Pennsylvania does it all. While she works full-time for a San Francisco-based tech startup, Carly also aspires to be a pop star. But it has been a journey to get to this place in her life.
She knew she had a passion for music ever since she was running away from her dad, singing in the aisles of the grocery store for anyone who would listen. Carly’s earliest memories with music go all the way back to elementary school while she was in piano lessons, singing for school performances, and admiring her first music teacher, Mrs. Burnside.
“I got the gift of a Hannah Montana guitar for Christmas one year, and I remember starting lessons in the basement of an old bank,” she says. “It didn’t last long.”
Learning guitar was the first thing in music that didn’t necessarily come with ease for Carly with her small hands. Trying to navigate the instrument was too difficult, and she ultimately gave up. She then moved schools and didn’t make the honors chorus or receive any solos. Carly explains that this “kind of knocked music out of the picture” into her high school years.
“I’ve been slowly discovering this piece of myself over the last ten years… that I believe singing with people you love is the most exciting thing on this Earth,” she states.
Carly finds that collaboration is the main thing that excites her the most in making music. She works closely with her friends, Jaydon and Jacob, and they find themselves in the studio weekly, writing and producing. Her most recent single, Why Won’t You Love Me, was released at the end of 2024.
“I give the credit to my collaborator, Jacob Strom,” Carly explains. “He really made nothing into something with that one… it’s about such a relatable feeling when it comes to dating and love. Not many people are writing about being friend-zoned and choosing the high road.
Residing in Los Angeles, Carly finds that the city inspires her. Because everyone is busy pursuing their own ambitions, she realizes that no one really has the time to judge others – she has only felt encouraged while living in LA.
“I didn’t grow up in that kind of environment, and it’s quite nice and very inspiring,” she says.
Although Carly daydreams of being a full-time pop star, she’s got a pretty cool 9-to-5 as well working as the Community Manager for an early-stage startup where community & brands combine with tech. In her free-time, Carly also freelances in the creative space – designing, video editing, producing for podcasts, creating content, and more.
“It’s been very fun and honestly sets me up with just the right amount of connections and marketing brains to become a pop star,” she states. “I’m ready.
Carly is still rediscovering her passion for music, and it is constantly being redefined. The existential questions raddle through her head just as much as the next 20-something. She says her wildest dream would simply be to “fuel her creative expression daily.”
“The accolades will come if I take the risk in allowing myself the space to create with good people,” Carly explains. “I’m so grateful I almost don’t want to lose where I am at right now, and the goal is to pump out an EP or something to see what happens. No kidding, I want to sing all day every day.”
Stream Why Won’t You Love Me, available on all music platforms, and keep up with Carly’s adventures on her Instagram and at CarlyAdair.com