Olivia Holt Explains Why She's More Confident Than Ever In Herself & Her New Music

Olivia Holt had a general plan for 2020. She started the year intending to put out some new music, but she's ending the year with a lot more singing and songwriting under her belt than she ever imagined. The coronavirus pandemic made filming her upcoming new show, Cruel Summer, complicated due to social distancing measures, so she ended up throwing herself completely into music. Now, she's gearing up to launch a brand new era. While she's long commanded the musical spotlight by singing in hit Disney Channel projects like Girl vs. Monster and Bears, Olivia Holt's latest single "Love U Again" introduces a more mature and confident artist to the world.

Holt released "Love U Again" with R3HAB on Friday, Aug. 28, and that's just the beginning of what she has in store musically for the rest of 2020. Holt told Elite Daily that when R3HAB brought the emotional breakup ballad to her, she instantly related to it, and felt it was "really right" for her as an artist. Though Holt didn't take part in the writing process, Holt says the song still felt perfect to kickstart her new era.

"I really want this next chapter and era of music for me as an artist to really fall in line with the stories that happened in my life, whether they're things that I have experience with, things that I want to experience, or things that I'm experiencing in that moment," Holt says. Holt adds that her upcoming self-written music will skew a bit in mood and lyrics.

Despite moving away from the PG sound of her Disney Channel days, Holt credits what she learned in that stage of her career for giving her some of the tools to become the confident artist she is today. "When I look back on all the years that I've been working on music, I feel like I've learned so much and gained so much knowledge about the music industry," Holt says. "The last year and a half, I've stepped into the world of songwriting, which has been such a dream. I've learned from so many incredible talented songwriters and artists, and worked with so many awesome producers ... Now I feel more prepared than ever to put out music and I feel so confident about the music that I've been making."

Holt puts a lot of focus on the impact her new music will leave on her fans of all ages. With nearly 5 million followers on Instagram, Holt knows there are a lot of eyes — and ears — on her, but she feels social media is a welcomed pressure. "I definitely move off of that adrenaline and thrive off of that nervousness," she says. "They're good nerves."

With Holt front and center in her music video for "Love U Again," fans can tell she's confident as can be in the spotlight in 2020.

Holt says fans can expect more new music to drop throughout the fall.