Leanna Firestone is no stranger to storytelling, whether throughout her early days as a fanfiction writer or creating deeply personal lyrics, the 23-year-old singer-songwriter has always had a talent for narrating her words into something special. Her latest single, “Keeping Score,” tells the tale of getting revenge on an ex. However, on the track, the Nashville-based artist takes a break from autobiographical songwriting and embraces a playful and fictional story.
We caught up with Leanna to discuss her journey from writing stories and blasting Taylor Swift and Shania Twain as a child to becoming a full-time musician. In conversation, Firestone reflects on the intricacies of songwriting, life on the road as a touring artist, her long-standing admiration for various artists, and, yes, how being a One Direction fangirl played a role in shaping her career down the line.
In our interview with Leanna, she discusses her approach to having headlined multiple tours across the U.S. and Europe and learning about navigating the challenges of being on the road, including the importance of rest, connecting with fans, and the occasional mishap (like her tour van getting vandalized).
Along with the single “Keeping Score,” comes the official music video, in which Firestone brings the track to life through a playful, Western-inspired visual concept. Throughout her discography, the singer-songwriter blends elements of country, pop, folk, and disco, proving that her sound isn’t confined to just one genre.
Firestone’s confessional and unapologetic approach to songwriting explores the emotions, relationships, and experiences that define girlhood with striking and admirable honesty. Leanna’s lyrics are both deeply personal and boldly expressive through other various tracks such as “Cool” and “Becoming Unbecoming.”
Read our full interview with Leanna Firestone!
THE KNOCKTURNAL: You’ve mentioned that writing—whether it was fan fiction, poetry, or short stories—was a big part of your life before songwriting. But when did music first come into the picture? Do you remember a specific moment or artist that sparked your love for it?
LEANNA FIRESTONE: I had very separate hobbies of writing and music, so I always knew that I wanted to be a singer or a songwriter, and I was like, but that’s separate. I was always into writing as a kid. I did a lot of writing camps. I did fan fiction stuff… I had this moment when I was probably five, and I was in a car seat. I was in my mom’s minivan. I was listening to none other than “Our Song” on the radio in my mom’s minivan. And I was like, “Whatever she’s doing, I need to do that. That needs to be my job.” I always had this idea that I would be like Taylor Swift, a country singer, and then, as I got older, I became more involved in fan circles. In eighth grade, I wrote my first song and performed it. Yes, at the talent show. Did I Win? No, but that was the first time I wrote a fully fleshed-out song.
THE KNOCKTURNAL: What was it about country music that drew you towards it?
LEANNA FIRESTONE: My mom was big into female country artists, so she had all those CDs. She’d play them in the house, so I was exposed to female country music and then disco, which I think makes sense for the type of music I make now. I was obsessed with Shania Twain and Lee Ann Womack. I love the storytelling that female country artists were doing at the time, and Taylor was no different than that. I also loved Gretchen Wilson. I still really like women in country music specifically, I would say my favorite genre is always going to be a country woman talking about how she wants to kill her husband. That is my favorite style of music, no matter who’s singing it.
Leanna Firestone – Keeping Score MV – PC: LA Rodgers
THE KNOCKTURNAL: Unlike much of your discography, “Keeping Score“ is one of your songs that is not based on a true story—What drew you to this storytelling style in your songwriting, and how did you approach writing a song that’s just meant to be fun/rather than something you felt so emotionally connected to?
LEANNA FIRESTONE: It was hard when I first started doing it because I was always thinking about how I was going to promote the music and how I was going to try to get people to listen to it because it wasn’t about me. My producer, Carol, said, “I want to write a dance-pop song today.” I was like, I don’t think I’m capable of that. As she started playing that lick on the guitar, I thought this could be fun. I have a running notes app line of bars where they’re just one-offs, and I had been sitting on the very first line of the song for a long time, which was, “I might kill you with the hatchet that you want me to bury.”
THE KNOCKTURNAL: Do you have a favorite part of the music-creating process? Whether it’s songwriting, production, or figuring out visuals.
LEANNA FIRESTONE: My favorite part is always going to be lyrics because lyrics are the ultimate puzzle to me of creating something and making it good throughout the whole song. I’ve had many songs that I’ve sat on for a very long time because I’ve written a good piece, and then I can’t find something good to go around it. When you finally get all the pieces to click into place in the correct way, it’s transcendent gratification that exists nowhere else in the world for me, which is why I like writing songs so much. It’s truly magic that happens when all those pieces click together. Writing lyrics and getting that all together is by far my favorite part and was an awesome part of “Keeping Score.” I felt gratified throughout writing it because it wasn’t about me, and I could just have fun.
THE KNOCKTURNAL: I wanted to talk a bit about the Keeping Score music video, could you describe the concept and what your input in the creative process was?
LEANNA FIRESTONE: I am very bad at visuals most of the time, and a lot of it was through my manager, Helen. She was very much a spearhead of, “You need to do a music video, and you need to have fun in it.” I gave her some ideas of what direction we could go in. Originally, we were thinking of doing a sort of sports exclamation point-themed music video and having lawyer scenes where I’m in a courtroom, and I’m the judge, the jury, and the executioner, and I’m all the members of the party, but I’m keeping score, and I’m keeping tabs and deciding. We ended up landing on this sort of western outlaw sheriff theme because I loved Spy V growing up. Also jus, just as a footnote as everything I do, I was like, “Can we make it vaguely lesbian?” So that is how it turned out. I was on tour during it, so we had one day to fulfill it and get it done. We had rented the set for five hours, and I was immediately having an awesome time.
THE KNOCKTURNAL: Within the past year and a half or so, you’ve been on multiple tours, two of them headlining across the US, and then you’ve headlined in Europe and the UK – What have you learned the most about being on tour?
LEANNA FIRESTONE: Touring is a whole beast in and of itself. I would say the thing that I’ve learned is that I need to take time to do nothing and to be nowhere. If people invite me out on the first month that I’m home from tour, [I’m like], “Hey, sorry, you will not be seeing me. I’ll be at home. I will be in bed doing nothing, enjoying my rent, which I’ve been paying while I’ve been gone.” You’re spending so much energy and time on keeping the tour moving and the production going and getting from place to place that you are working for 30 days in a row. If I can take somebody who knows me outside of any professional standing to be with me, the last three tours I’ve been on, I took my best friend to do merch. We met at music business school. Having her there was so grounding and is my biggest hack for touring to just not burn out.
THE KNOCKTURNAL: I didn’t know that you went to music business school! Was this for your bachelor’s?
LEANNA FIRESTONE: Bachelor’s. I went to MTSU, which is Middle Tennessee State University. I went there for about two years and then things started happening for me, and so I was like, “I’m actually not going to spend more money on this.” I was there for commercial songwriting, so I was there to do what I’m now doing professionally, which is awesome.
THE KNOCKTURNAL: Were there any specific cities or even specific fan interactions that have stood out to you throughout these shows?
LEANNA FIRESTONE: My van got keyed when I was in Denver. Our van got keyed with words on the first night of the second leg. I think it was trying to caption the windows underneath, trying to caption the people who were sitting in the seats. When I opened for Addison Grace in Portland, our van got tagged with Sharpie. So my van has been vandalized twice out of my five doors 40% of the time.
I finally went international this year! I went to Europe, and that was so much fun. I also was doing it acoustic, which was very strange. I haven’t really played an acoustic headline show in a long time. Specifically in Amsterdam, I stayed after my show, and 18 to 20 people stayed. We ended up just talking outside for an hour while they were giving me advice on where to go and what to do while I was over there; snacks to try, and stuff like that. I felt like all of those interactions that I had halfway across the world were so memorable because I thought about how my music has not only connected me to other people in my community at home but these people whom I would be so unaware of and would be unaware of me had I not have put my own experiences and time writing these very personal songs.
THE KNOCKTURNAL: Are there any personal or career milestones you have your eye on in the next few years—whether it’s playing a certain festival, collaborating with a dream artist, or even something outside of music?
LEANNA FIRESTONE: I need to play at the All Things Go Festival. I will do it for half my usual fee. I’ve been going there for the past two years, and there are so many gay people there. It really feels like home. I’m already in attendance, so just put me on the stage. The next goal would also be to open for somebody much larger than me, whether that’s Olivia Rodrigo, Maisie Peters, Lizzie McAlpine, Vincent McCrae… Hey, I don’t care. Just one of those girls put me on the lineup as well. One of my bigger career goals is to play at the Ryman in Nashville. I’ve grown up going to that venue. It’s historic, and I’ve attended many concerts there.
THE KNOCKTURNAL: My last question is, what is your lore with One Direction?
LEANNA FIRESTONE: One Direction was the first thing I wrote fanfiction about. It’s very hard to read back now. I also had a One Direction fan account, which was not popular. I was into Justin Bieber whenever My World and My World 2.0 came out, and then One Direction hit the scene, and I tore down my J-14 posters of Justin Bieber, put up new ones of One Direction, and really was just obsessed with them for the next four years. My very first concert was the Take Me Home tour with One Direction in Five Seconds of Summer, and this is still one of my biggest flexes to this day that I got to see both. I am obsessed with them, and they, in many ways, made me want to be an artist and really informed my love of interacting with fans and how I create music. It’s all influenced; [they’re] the best to ever do it.