Despite the title of their new single “OOPS!,” the rising success of Moody Joody is anything but an accident. The Nashville-based trio, comprised of vocalists Kaitie Forbes and Kayla Hall and producer Andrew Pacheco, are known for their enthralling shimmer-pop sound and invigorating live shows, which have contributed to their expanding fanbase. Last year, Moody Joody released their debut EP, Dream Girl, a project that received notable praise from the likes of Rolling Stone and Atwood Magazine. The EP also landed placement on Spotify, Amazon, and Apple playlists, introducing the trio to a wide variety of listeners and music fans. Some of these fans might have also been lucky enough to catch Moody Joody on the road, as they performed at festivals like SXSW and Austin City Limits and toured with Smallpools, Misterwives, and ARIZONA. They have put in the work over the years, and have raised the bar for themselves in the process. Moody Joody are currently gearing up to release their debut album next year, and with “OOPS!,” the trio signal the start of this new chapter. We caught up with Kaitie, Kayla, and Andrew during this exciting time to discuss the single, the upcoming album, their hopes and dreams, and more.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and time.
You just released your new single “OOPS!” which is a really fun one. There’s some cool lines in there, lots of interesting textures… So, how did this song start for you? How did it all come together?
KAITIE: We were in New York, and we were on a little writing retreat in Brooklyn with our co-writer Scott Harris (Shawn Mendes, Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber). We were there for a few days. I think this was our second day that we were there, just kind of messing around with some things. I wanna say the guitar riff came first.
ANDREW: Yeah, Scott was messing around with this, and then it felt weird and different for us, and we just kinda ran with it. One thing led to another, and I don’t know, we just went crazy.
KAYLA: I actually had a lyric that I wrote down, and it’s, ‘No, I won’t do that again,’ but it was a very serious lyric, which is funny. I was looking back at that and it was supposed to be more specific, like, ‘I’m not gonna give this BS another chance, I’m done with that,’ and then what ended up being in the song is that. It’s funny that it’s the complete opposite because it’s so unserious, it’s an eye roll, sarcastic, which I feel the whole song is very sarcastic, cheeky… It’s just funny how you have one thing in mind and then it spirals into a different thing; that’s the beauty of songwriting. I feel like we probably were a little delirious and it kind of fell out.
Did it come together pretty quickly for you? How long did it take overall to create?
ANDREW: Honestly, if I think about it, that’s probably the song where most of the production was done the day we wrote it. Most of the vocals are from the writing session, the drums—a lot of the stuff—so that one actually really did come together pretty quickly. Probably the fastest out of most of the songs.
So, like you mentioned before, you worked with Scott Harris on the song. What were some ideas he had for it?
ANDREW: I guess the song kind of started from his riff. And then, I know that he had the idea to cut out for the “oops” or something, like right before the music came in.
KAYLA: I think we’ve never really done a music-driven chorus, so that probably… Because Scott also has a way of being like, ‘Oh, maybe we should do this for the verse instead of the chorus.’ Sometimes, it’s this energy around the relationship that we have with him, and just having that chemistry. I feel like sometimes, we do things that are a little left-of-center of things we would typically do, but this really is the first time the chorus just lives in such a musical environment.
Were there any challenges of putting the song together, or was every moment pretty special?
ANDREW: Probably the hardest thing to figure out was the vocal delivery because I think we had a lot of different versions at first where it was more playful, more deadpan… So, we did mess around with that, but like I said, most of it was just really spontaneous in the studio when we wrote it. Even a lot of the percussion and the instruments and—even when I finished producing it after the session—was really just a lot of random sounds we were throwing in and just random stuff. So, it came together pretty easy compared to most of our songs, I would say. But the vocal delivery was very specific, and bringing in all the extra vocals for the second verse, the ad libs and all of that…
This single follows “Bye Bye Baby” and “Talk Me Down,” which you released earlier this year. Out of the three singles so far, which was your favorite to put out?
KAITIE: “OOPS!” is definitely mine.
KAYLA: Yeah cause we’re in a new era now. But, every time we put a song out, I feel like, ‘I want this to be my favorite.’ So yeah, I think they all just bring such different elements along to our post-EP journey too. They all feel so different and they feel cathartic, but I mean, “OOPS!” is signaling a new era…
I read that you’re working on a new album, so is this going to be on the album?
ANDREW: Yeah, “OOPS!” is the first one we put out that will be on the new album. So, I guess yeah, that’s why it’s a little different for us. It’s like the entrance of a new era, properly.
Is “OOPS!” setting the tone for the rest of the songs on the album or is it more of a stand-alone?
KAYLA: That’s actually a really good question.
KAITIE: It’s kind of stand-alone in some ways.
ANDREW: I think, sonically, maybe it’s a little bit it’s own thing, but the new energy is present in other places on the album.
KAYLA: Yeah, it’s very cohesive in terms of what we’re wanting to achieve just with putting out a full body of work, if that makes sense. It has its own place.
KAITIE: This is definitely, like, “the party song.”
Speaking of “the party song,” the music video for it really captures this “life of the party” feel. How did this concept come about?
KAYLA: I feel like we were line-dancing in the studio. I feel like we already kind of had this element of line-dancing, and I remember watching Coyote Ugly on tour in February, so there were so many things from when we wrote it to things that were already top of mind of how it felt. And then, when we were going to do ACL, we were going to have choreo, and we knew that we felt like we wanted to have line-dancing, so it all came together.
KAITIE: Yeah, and we have a creative director, too, named Luke Rogers who helped us kind of piece all of our ideas together. And then he just took it and ran with it and absolutely crushed it. He kind of added the element of quirkiness.
Was it a long shoot or did you film it in one day? How did that go?
KAYLA: One day shoot, but it was all day. 12 hours.
ANDREW: I think I actually fell asleep during it. There’s a scene where they pan across all the extras—and I’m at the end—and at one point, I actually fell asleep. Just really into my role.
The past couple of years have been really busy for you. You’ve done festivals, gone on tour, you put the Dream Girl EP out. What does it mean for you to see all the support and to be out there promoting your music?
KAITIE: I mean, it means so much to us. We’ve had so many “pinch me” moments, especially this year. Just the venues we got to play when we toured with ARIZONA. Playing ACL was a major “how did we get here?” moment. Yeah, it just feels really surreal, and I feel very lucky to be doing this and having these opportunities that we’ve had.
KAYLA: We’ve grown so much. I mean, in ways, we’ve only been a band for five years. That feels like so long, but also not. I mean, we’ve been in our record deal for two years, we’ve gone on three support slot tours—we’ve never headlined. So, there’s still things we’re wanting to achieve, but stopping to enjoy the process and really appreciate how far we’ve come. It’s just kind of crazy. It’s kind of been a wild journey but so rewarding.
ANDREW: Sometimes, we’re kind of in our little bubble here working on our music, and then we go and play a festival like ACL and see all these people singing our songs that, I don’t know, it just kind of hits you. You’re like, ‘Oh wow, it’s actually connecting,’ and that’s all we could ask for, so it’s been really cool.
What are still some things on your bucket list that you’re looking to accomplish?
KAITIE: Definitely a headlining tour. We have big dreams and ideas for that.
KAYLA: Playing a stadium sometime. Coachella. I texted our label like, ‘Victoria’s Secret fashion show next year.’ We’re scheming and dreaming. Billboard number one.
KAITIE: Having a song in one of our favorite TV shows.
KAYLA: Best new artist at the GRAMMYs. Just a little verbal vision board we’re giving you right now.
What do you have going on for the rest of the year?
KAYLA: Recording?
KAITIE: Tying all the loose ends on the album.
KAYLA: Yeah, just in full send album mode right now.
You can listen to “OOPS!” here.
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