While you may have seen Sophie Simmons growing up on Gene Simmons: Family Jewels , it’s safe to say that the young star has found her place in the world well outside of her family’s impressive shadow.
As a songwriter and a musician, Sophie has released chart-topping hits like ‘Black Mirror,’ ‘Paper Cut,’ ‘Selfish,’ ‘Mine,’ and more where her voice as an artist shines through, but she’s recently been looking to share an even deeper look at herself through her newly-released poetry book, Secrets I Would Never Say, But I Would Sing .
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Diply had the chance to sit down with Sophie and discuss how it feels to be vulnerable for a living, the difference between songwriting and poetry, and how her love for computer science has been an unlikely bonus in the creative industry.
While it might seem that creativity and the arts is in Sophie’s genes, it wasn’t always her dream job.
“It was always something I wanted to try, but I felt like I couldn’t do it,” Sophie told us about songwriting. “I didn’t want the comparison with my family. You know, every kid goes through that phase, like ‘I don’t want to be like my parents,’ that rebellious phase.”
Sophie’s rebellious phase didn’t exactly look like most teenagers’. “I tried modelling, I tried going to school for computer science, I tried fashion design, I tried everything else!” Sophie told us that her passion for computer science almost earned her a degree in the subject, but as she said, “If you’re not doing what you love, you’re always going to be wondering why you’re not doing it.”
Sophie added that even though her “parents wanted me to have a real job and go back to school,” Sophie told us that being tech-savvy and knowing her way around a computer has helped her out as a songwriter. “Being in quarantine, it helps being able to use to create music and get instruments that you might not know how to play in your song.”
Sophie’s current passions, songwriting and poetry, require a lot of vulnerability.
However, Sophie found that through poetry, she was able to express that vulnerability in a new way. “A lot of the poems in this book specifically are much more vulnerable than what I would put in a song a lot of times, because when I’m writing for other artists, they want to be the empowering narrator in the song. But a lot of times in my poetry, I’m more of the vulnerable narrator,” Sophie told us.
“A lot of times poems can turn into songs, but most of the time, they’re pretty separate. When I write songs, they’re very focused and centered around the main idea. Poems can be long thoughts, or really honest accounts of what you want to say,” Sophie added. “I’ve already processed my emotions by the time I’m writing a song about it, but poetry is a way for me to process my emotions about it.”
Sophie’s book of poetry, *Secrets I Would Never Say, But I Would Sing* explores these themes.
Even the title touches on how expressing yourself through creative means is easier than just talking about how you feel, but it wasn’t originally meant to do so. “We were looking for titles and trying to do some, you know, clever writer wordplay,” Sophie joked, “but then I had titled the draft document as a joke, Secrets I Would Never Say, But I Would Sing , but then the publisher came back and said, ‘Oh, I love this title,’ and I was like, ‘What title?'” Sophie laughed, “So we decided to roll with it.”
Sophie has big dreams for her future as a poet. “I want to make this a series. In a year or so, there will be another book that will come out with updated bookset,” Sophie explained. “It kind of goes hand in hand with songwriting, so the content will always be there. As long my publishers want me, I’ll keep doing it.”
Sophie told Diply she’s hoping to help her fans find connection and meaning in her work.
“I’ve found that when I read poetry, sometimes a poet can say exactly what I’m feeling in a way that I couldn’t for myself, and I hope that a few of my poems can do that for people. That when they’re feeling something and they can’t find the words, I hope that I can find the words for them,” Sophie told us.
Secrets I Would Never Say, But I Would Sing is available for purchase right here . You can find Sophie on Instagram , Twitter , and Facebook , and be sure to check out her music on her Spotify page!
