A brilliant songwriter and multi-talented vocalist, Nikki Forbes creatively impacts and elevates every project she works on. Nikki has over 16 years of songwriting experience and over 10 years of experience as a professional vocalist. She is passionate about bringing your vision for your project to life and delivers excellent professional work.
Hey, I'm Nikki!
I'm a pop singer-songwriter, vocalist, and producer who is passionate about bringing your project visions to life. I graduated with a BM in Commercial Music and Audio Production with a concentration in Commercial voice. I am a versatile vocalist prepared to sing in any genre with a considerable understanding of vocal technique.
My strong songwriting skills have been shaped and sharpened through years of practice, mentorship, and workshops. I was taught by award-winning songwriters throughout my high school career and at Interlochen Center for the Arts' prestigious songwriting intensive summer program. I wrote 104 songs last year and am consistently practicing my craft and am ready to help bring your project to the next level!
*I request 50% of the publishing and master on toplines and original songs (Can be negotiated)
I write everything from Soft pop ballads and indie/Alternative songs to hype tracks and EDM bangers. I have experience singing everything from Classical arias, Jazz standards, R&B, and pop classics to pop-punk, rock, and musical theatre. I specialize in pop but if you can dream it, I bet we can find a way to make it happen!
If I sound like a good fit for your project, reach out and tell me more about your project. I'm looking forward to connecting with you!
I'd love to hear about your project. Click the 'Contact' button above to get in touch.
Credits
Languages
- English
3 Reviews - 1 Repeat Client
Endorse Nikki Forbes- check_circleVerified
Nikki put in the WORK on this song, and it was so much fun to work on with her! She really cares about the craft and the final product, and is dedicated to giving it her all. Can't recommend Nikki enough!
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Nikki is a joy to work with! Her melodies and lyrics are so creative and unique, and she has a radio-ready voice. Can't wait to work with her more in the future!
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Better voice competition.
Interview with Nikki Forbes
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I'm really proud of my song "Breakaway" that I released with Canadian producer PVRPLE.! I captured the emotion of the track in the haunting but energized melody and put a lot of focus on the lyrics to tell a captivating and relatable story of loving someone but it being one-sided and finally making the decision to "break away"!
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I am currently working on writing 104 songs this year (about 2 songs a week)! I'm about a quarter of the way!
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Digital because it is portable and relatively easy to keep up with an ever-changing and evolving world where technology is being updated all the time. I love the sound of analog equipment but most plugins have gotten so advanced that the difference in sound can often not even be comprehended.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: You will leave our time working together feeling valued and excited to release the project and show the world what we created.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I love that I get to create something new every project and that the visions of each of my clients are different giving me the chance to think outside of the box and find creative ways to bring their visions to life with my talents and skills.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Do I do features or "collabs" for free? The answer is no. I do not work for free or for "exposure". Just like any other job or career, I get paid for my time, energy, commitment, and work.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: The biggest misconception about what I do is that toplining is easy. It can be very challenging to try and create a brand new melody and lyrics that vibe with the track that already has a fully fleshed-out vision. I love the challenge though and elevating the tracks to surpass the producer's expectations through creating something fresh.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What is your turnaround time/deadline, how will you be releasing this (independently, label, who is your distributor), how do you plan on distributing and splitting royalties with me, can you send me a reference track or two so I can get a clearer idea what you're looking for, and do you have a specific story/theme/mood/subject you want the song to reflect?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Make sure you have a clear vision for your project before adding another person into the mix. This way you can communicate what you want/need from your collaborator and you get the final product of your dreams!
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: My Macbook Pro, Midi Keyboard, a blue Yeti Mic (since its USB saving me an interface), my AT M50X headphones, and my guitar.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I've been singing since I could talk but started writing songs at age 6 and learned guitar at age 12 then my songwriting took off being able to accompany myself. I am constantly practicing and sharpening my songwriting skills and musical craft. I am graduating from college this year with a BM in Commercial Music and Audio Production Degree with a concentration in Commercial Voice and an Arts and Entrepreneurship Certificate. I am moving to Nashville, TN to pursue a career in the music industry full time.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Electronic Pop Singer-Songwriter
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I would love to work with LAUV because he inspired me to keep pursuing music production when I was discouraged after watching some of his interviews and BTS content. He is an amazing producer and a really talented and creative lyricist with really catchy melodies and production choices while keeping things fresh.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Less is more. Strategic use of space can have more impact than layering dozens of tracks on top of each other. Dynamic and keeping things interesting through the composition can often be obtained by taking some tracks out at times in order to have a bigger impact when they come back in.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: I write a lot of pop music and EDM toplines.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: My strongest skill is probably creative lyric writing incorporating requested details in creative ways.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I bring a unique and versatile perspective to songwriting where I can adapt to any genre and style, write about any topic and have years of experience writing custom songs creatively integrating story details and delivering professional quality songs to clients.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: When toplining I typically talk to the producer about their vision for the song: the mood/vibe, if they have a specific topic they want me to write about, then I listen to the track to get a feel for it and mark out the sections (verse, chorus, Pre, drop, bridge, etc.) then I write lyrics while listening to the track and send the lyrics for verification then I record vocals and send a demo, then make any requested changes, sign a split sheet, and we're done!
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I've got an Audio Technica 2020 Microphone, Scarlett Focusrite 2i2 interface, and I use Logic Pro X to record, edit, comp, and tune my vocal tracks.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Sabrina Carpenter, LAUV, Taylor Swift, Zedd, Olivia Rodrigo, Ryan Tedder, Abigail Barlow, Ariza, Charlie Puth, Selena Gomez
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Toplining, Female Vocals, Songwriting
I was the Vocalist and topliner in this production
- Singer - FemaleAverage price - $125 per song
- Top line writer (vocal melody)Average price - $150 per song
- Songwriter - LyricAverage price - $100 per song
- Songwriter - MusicAverage price - $100 per song
- Acoustic GuitarAverage price - $70 per song
- UkuleleAverage price - $70 per song
- ProducerAverage price - $200 per song
-1-2 week turnaround
-First half of the deposit is non-refundable
-I request 50% publishing and master on toplines and original songs
-1 revision is included then $25/hr per revision
- Taylor Swift
- Sabrina Carpenter
- Sara Bareilles
- Audio Technica 2020
- Scarlett Focusrite 2i2
- Logic Pro X
First time clients can recieve $10 off