''Real to Me'' is the debut EP by

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country singer Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

Callista Clark Callista Renee Clark (born September 29, 2003) is an American country music singer from Zebulon, Georgia. She released her debut EP, Real to Me, on February 12, 2021, with the EP's lead single " It's 'Cause I Am" peaking at No. 30 on the ''Billbo ...

, which is produced by Nathan Chapman. The five-track EP was released on February 12, 2021 by

Big Machine Records Big Machine Records is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executive Scott Borchetta and ...

. "

It's 'Cause I Am "It's 'Cause I Am" is a song by American country music singer Callista Clark. It was released on March 29, 2021 as lead single from her debut studio album ''Real to Me: The Way I Feel''. Clark wrote the song, along with Cameron Jaymes and Laura Vel ...

" impacted US country radio on March 29, 2021 as the lead single for the EP.

Background

Clark began writing songs at the age of 11, and was discovered by

after posting a cover of the

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song "

Have You Ever Seen the Rain? "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by John Fogerty and released as a single in 1971 from the album ''Pendulum'' (1970). The song charted highest in Canada, reaching number one on th ...

" on

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, where it received 27 million views. She was signed to Big Machine at the age of 15. The title track on the EP was written by Clark at the age of 15, after she experienced her first breakup. She told ''

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'' that people had told her that "what I was feeling wasn’t real yet or wasn’t valid yet, just because of how young I was", but that "it felt very real to me!"

Critical reception

Melinda Newman writing for ''

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'' praised the EP, saying that Clark had "confidence and verve". Markos Papadatos of ''Digital Journal'' gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, proclaiming that Clark is "poised for stardom", and naming "Don't Need It Anymore" as his personal favourite, stating that it "showcases lark'swide range as a recording artist".

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' Rianna Turner noted the influence of Southern

church music Church music is a genre of Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian musi ...

and "90s and contemporary

country radio Country radio refers to radio stations that play country music. Most country radio stations are commercial radio stations. Most country radio stations usually play only music which has been officially released to country radio by record labels. T ...

hits" on the EP, saying that Clark's "mature vocal timbre" and lyrical quality gave the EP a timeless quality.

Track listing

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. All tracks are produced by Nathan Chapman.

Personnel

Credits adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

and Tidal. * Nathan Chapman -

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

(track 3),

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

(all tracks),

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

(all tracks),

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

(tracks 1, 2),

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

(track 4), background vocals (track 3) *

- acoustic guitar (track 2), lead vocals (all tracks), background vocals (all tracks) * Dave Cohen - keyboards (all tracks) *

Kevin Kadish Kevin Paul Kadish (born 1971) is an American songwriter and record producer. He co-wrote, produced, and mixed the 2014 Diamond certified (10× platinum) single " All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor which spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the ''B ...

- electric guitar (all tracks) *Rob McNelley - electric guitar (tracks 4, 5) *Miles McPherson -

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(tracks 2, 3) *

Aaron Sterling Aaron Sterling (born July 9, 1980) is an American drummer, producer, engineer, and session musician who lives in Los Angeles and Nashville, Tennessee. The son of professional musicians, Sterling grew up in Texas and Nashville, before moving to L ...

- drums (tracks 1, 4, 5) *

Derek Wells Derek M. Wells (born 28 November 1946) is a former Canadian politician who served as the Liberal member of Parliament for the riding of South Shore from 1993 to 1997. Early life and education Born in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Wells grad ...

- electric guitar (track 2)

References

{{reflist Big Machine Records EPs 2021 EPs Albums produced by Nathan Chapman (record producer) Country music EPs