Robyn Ottolini makes music that will either piss you off or make you fall in love with her. Maybe a little of both. Whether she’s cursing or calling out a cheating ex, if it needs saying, Robyn is the one to say it.

 

Long before Robyn’s career took off in 2020 — in the middle of a global pandemic, no less — with the viral TikTok hit “F-150,” she was pretending to be the next Faith Hill or Shania Twain in the front seat of her dad’s pickup truck. Growing up in small-town Uxbridge, just outside of Toronto, Robyn was raised on country music. Something about the honest, lived-in stories that permeate country music at its core made Robyn feel like she'd found the right gravel road to travel down. A vehicle for her own honest, lived-in stories, before she even had a license. She’s treated songwriting like a diary since writing her first song at 13, resulting in an emotional rawness that’s both cheeky and captivating. 

 

In those early formative years of songwriting, Kacey Musgraves released her debut single, “Merry Go Round,” introducing a fresh dose of audacity to the country genre that resonated with Robyn. “I remember thinking, ‘This is the kind of songwriter I’m going to be!’” she says. A few years later as Robyn was making a name for herself around her hometown, Maren Morris’ “My Church” echoed Kacey’s fearlessness, and Robyn knew there was a place for her in country music. Her first fully produced EP, 2019’s “Classic”, featured a song called “FCKBOY” and a track with a fake orgasm,“Him Problem”. Kacey and Maren had opened a door for Robyn and she ran through it. Audacity fully intact.

 

After all, country music isn’t just three chords and the truth — it’s three chords and your truth. Sometimes that truth gets a little bit messy.

 

“I think I’m coming into a time when honesty is welcomed, not shunned,” Robyn suggests. “I’m not the girl who can write or sing a boring song. I want to make people laugh or make them go, ‘Holy sh*t!’”

 

That honesty rang loud and clear on “F-150,” a massive viral Tik Tok hit about an ex that still haunts you whenever a — you guessed it — Ford F-150 passes. By the final chorus, though, Robyn has fully moved on, “When I see an F-150 / I’ll take back what it took from me” she sings in the closing lines. While the song has been a heartbreak healer for listeners everywhere, there's proof that heartbreak connects. F-150 hit No. 4 on the Spotify US Viral 50 chart and No. 3 on Rolling Stone’s all-genre Trending 25 chart. Not a bad way to remind your ex who gets the last laugh.

 

How do you follow up a hit like F-150? You don't even try. 

 

"I never wrote “for people” or to “get a hit", it was always to figure out how or why I felt a certain way about something" Robyn remembers. You don't repeat the same formula, you build on the same foundation. Robyn took her raw, honest style and applied it to deeply personal songs like 'Trust Issues', 'Tell You Everything' and 'Say It'. She released an EP, hit the road, and watched her songs connect with fans across North America and Europe. From Bonnaroo to Boots and Hearts, she poured her heart and soul into connecting with her audience.

 

That connection shows. With over 100 million global streams, a devoted and growing social media following, and a full plate of upcoming summer shows, Robyn's fans are part of her journey every step of the way. They see themselves in her lyrics. She writes for people like her, because that's who she knows best.

 

“It’s about what the fans want, and girls my age want honesty,” Robyn asserts. “There’s people out there who need me to sing songs for them. I’ve always hoped my music could help people, and I’m really glad it’s working. It’s why I write my music.”

 

Robyn stepped into 2023 with intention on the song 'Five Years'. A self reflective look at happiness and being ok without a five year plan. It's the kind of song that feels heavy and hopeful at the same time. It's a mix Robyn crafts well. 'Five Years' set the table for a huge artistic step in Robyn's career. The rest of 2023 sees a series of singles and an EP scheduled for release, as well as opening slots on the Shania Twain 'Queen Of Me' Tour and festival dates across Canada and the USA. This kind of business is good when the work truly means something.

 

For an artist who says it like she means it, the last word sounds best coming straight from her…

 

"I think It’s easy to get lost in the world of accolades. It can make you forget about things that truly matter. I’m grateful for every single award or streaming record I get but if a song makes me feel, and makes other people feel, that’s 10x more important to me than how many streams it has. I’d rather be honest than rich or famous. I like myself too much to try to win people over by being something I’m not"

 

As honest as it gets. 

 

That's Robyn Ottolini.