Some Nashville musicians knew from childhood they wanted to make music for a living. But many started off in other fields of work, and thanks in part to the economic realities of the music business, a significant number keep up parallel careers. Onoleigh, who grew up in Illinois and graduated from the University of Missouri, worked as a guidance counselor before she moved to Music City to dive into music full-time. 

In her soulful new single “Walls,” she uses that reservoir of empathy in looking at how making a private space for yourself helps you find the tools to embrace the people around you. Co-written with John Oates and Nathan Chapman, the song capitalizes on Onoleigh’s rich voice and impassioned performance style. In a similar vein to the Willie Nelson-penned classic “Hello Walls,” the singer talks to a set of walls, specifically those of the bedroom she had as a child. Strings swell around her gentle strumming as she sings, “You’ve been here for me / You’ve seen it all.”

“It’s about going through ups and downs throughout childhood and growing up,” Onoleigh explained to The Bluegrass Situation, who premiered the lyric video. “There were a lot of tough times in my own life where I felt societal or personal pressure to be someone that I wasn’t, and my childhood bedroom was my safe space. It was the place where I could reflect and think about who I was and who I was supposed to become.”

Check out the video, which features Onoleigh and others retreating to their various sanctuaries to recharge after a difficult day. As the words roll by, she and a few friends hang out in the bedroom, chat on the phone, throw on a record and read a good book. Over the past couple of years, Onoleigh has picked up more than 300,000 streams on Spotify and had a Tiktok video (of her parents’ reaction to hearing her single “Why Can’t We Dance” introduced on the radio) take off, garnering more than 500,000 views.

Find “Walls” on your favorite streaming service and keep up with Onoleigh on Instagram for updates. Something you’ll want to keep an eye on: She has an album in the works set to be produced by David Dorn, a four-time Academy of Country Music nominee for Keyboard Player of the Year nominee who’s worked with Aaron Neville, Gabe Lee and Harper O’Neill among others.