Written By Kelly Holm
Despite what you might think based on her stage name, BROOKLNN does not hail from Brooklyn. Brooke Toia, as her birth certificate says, comes from Brisbane, Australia, and you can also often catch her in her newfound second home: Stockholm, Sweden.
“It’s been hard getting pop music heard in Australia without… a bunch of money thrown at your project,” she rationalized.
In order to find worldwide success, after all, you’ve got to be willing to travel worldwide.
“[When I first moved to Sweden] this old lady walked past me, stopped and said, ‘Such cool hair! You’re lovely!” she recalled. “At that moment, hearing that, I felt like my decision to change my hair, my lifestyle, move to the other side of the world and do music was the right thing.”
Needless to say, it paid off. Like anyone willing to gamble in the ever-volatile music business, BROOKLNN is fiercely independent. So independent that she willingly stepped out onto the limb of life as an unsigned artist, even though she’d previously been attached to a record company.
“[Earlier songs] ‘Brandy’ and ‘Whip’ were both released under a label,” she relayed to Elicit. “I think I just wanted a break from the feeling of relying on other people to make it happen for me. I wanted to try and do it all alone for once.”
BROOKLNN’s latest single is “Love Me Like That.” She created it with producer Martin Eriksson and German singer Leony, the latter of whom was initially supposed to sing the song. However, it turned out to be a better fit for BROOKLNN. Its beat-driven vibe will appeal to fans of “The Bones” by Maren Morris, and invokes similar strains to “Shape of You” and “I Don’t Care” by BROOKLNN’s longtime influence, Ed Sheeran.
“I want every song to make [fans] feel empowered,” she says. “But, at the same time, I think it’s such a blessing to have those haters to make [me] stronger and push me to keep creating… everyone has different tastes, so if anyone hates on your music the next person could love it.”
The confidence she exudes is a lifetime in the making.
“[When I was young] I joined the school choir… it just felt so good to finally sing out loud and be heard, instead of singing to myself in the mirror,” BROOKLNN recalls. “I was still a pretty shy kid, but I knew from then [on] that I just wanted to perform and make noise.”
Of course, though, BROOKLNN makes more than just “noise.” After moving to Stockholm, she gave her first performance at a Marshall Amplification event, affiliated with Google and Amazon. Despite the wardrobe and tech malfunctions, BROOKLNN deems the moment as one she will never forget.
“Do something today that gets you closer to your goals tomorrow,” she advises. “Doing ‘something’ could just be: loving myself a little more than yesterday… writing a new song, or even just going to the gym.” That’s the attitude that’ll hopefully propel her all the way to the Grammys.
In the meantime, if you can’t get enough of “Love Me Like That,” fear not: BROOKLNN promises that more unique tunes are on the way, including one which is her very favorite to perform.
“It’s never the same vibe in a session, and that’s what I love about songwriting and creating,” she says. “I definitely have the next few singles ready to go! Stay tuned!”
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