Feb 15, 2022

Priscilla Block Chats About Her Debut LP ‘Welcome To The Block Party’

After teasing her song “Just About Over You” on TikTok and gaining millions of views, country singer Priscilla Block was sent into an immediate whirlwind. After its official release, the song skyrocketed to the top of the all-genre iTunes chart and was named one of the best songs of 2020 by The New York Times. The rush of success also took Block to the Grand Ole Opry where she made her debut last year in 2021; she also toured with Ashely McBryde.

With much of her success materializing behind screens and on social media, 2021 was all about riding the wave and seeing people face to face. “This year has been unbelievable and I’ve been able to get out and meet the fans and be able to just, gosh, accomplish so many things that I’ve dreamed of,” she tells us with infectious pride and cheerfulness.

She continues on adding, “It’s been a really cool feeling. I played in bars my whole life and so it’s crazy to think that a couple years ago I was trying to get people to come into the bar to hear me sing and now, people are showing up and they know the words.” The singer-songwriter mentions that her dedicated fans arrive at live shows styled like Block with their hair tied up on top of their heads, and prominent, big hoops dangling from their ears. “It’s unbelievable and just such a special thing.”

The blaze of sudden fame has led to the current day. Her debut LP, Welcome To The Block Party follows a stream of singles and her self-titled EP released in 2021. The final single released was the self-confident, unabashed “My Bar.” When chatting about its meaning, Block exclaims, “Everybody that knows me, knows that I love to go to the bar probably more than I should. ‘My Bar’ is a song that I had for a while and it’s just always been one of my favorite songs. It’s very me.” She continues, “There’s something really cool about hearing a girl say, ‘This is my bar.’ It felt right.”

Block notes that it was a fan favorite and an audience pleaser when she would play it live. With a mid-tempo beat, the tune is neither sad nor happy; it almost feels bittersweet, but the assured message hits hard as she sings, “Don’t come walkin’ in like you own it, you own it / I hate to break it to you, you don’t, yeah, you don’t / You think you’re such a star, but here’s the funny part / No one even knows who you are / This is my bar.”

Block is known for her writing, whether it be the message of body positivity in the 2020 release, “Thick Thighs” or talking to your younger, deeply insecure self in the track “Peaked In High School.” She also knows how to pen heartbreakingly unguarded breakup songs like “Ever Since You Left” and breakout hit, “Just About Over You,” showing listeners it’s okay to embrace all the feelings: good and bad.

Out of the new additions on the record, she’s most excited about “I Know A Girl,” which features infamous songwriter Hillary Lindsey as a collaborator. “I think that there’s something really cool about ‘I Know A Girl,’” she tells us. “I was really vulnerable when I wrote that song, but it’s special because I think that, you know a lot of people need to hear you don’t need anybody to get you through something in your life. You’ve got that in you. And that’s kind of what this song’s about. I’ve been through a lot of stuff, but I know that there’s that girl right in me that can get me through.” Witnessing the true heart that exposes itself in Block’s writing, it’s easy to understand why she’s one of the fastest rising stars in the country music genre. In the chorus of “I Know A Girl” Block sings, “That’s just the way the world goes round / It’ll break your heart / It’ll make you think you’ve lost everything / In the kitchen sing / When I’m down and out and when it hurts like hell / I tell myself / I know a girl.”

Besides a message of perseverance, Block also preaches a message of authenticity and hopes that’s one of the main messages listeners take away from a record filled with so much honest emotion as she states, “It is 100% okay to be you, through and through. You don’t have to ever hold back who you are for other people. Whether you’re a hot mess or whether you’re sad or whether you want to go out and party, whatever it is, be that. And you don’t have to fit into a box to please anybody else.”

Block was recently nominated for New Female Artist at the upcoming 2022 Academy of Country Music Awards. She’s currently embarking on her first-ever headlining tour that will take place in numerous cities across the US. When asked if she could go back in time and talk to the younger Block who was feeling the first effects of seemingly overnight success, she responds, “I would just tell her to take care of herself. Nobody knows how to handle this. Immediately you’re everywhere and people are pulling you in a million different directions but don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself,” she says calmly. “Trust your gut and it will get you through.”

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