Priscilla Block (born August 11, 1995) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer–songwriter. Upon graduating high school, she moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

to pursue a career in the country industry. In 2020, Block wrote and recorded a song that appeared on her Tik Tok account. It subsequently went viral. That song, " Just About Over You", was heard by Nashville music executives and helped her secure a contract with

Mercury Nashville Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records N ...

. Released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "Just About Over You" became a charting song on the American country chart in 2021.

Early life

Block is a native of

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

and is one of five children. According to Block, she grew up "super close" to her family. In an interview with ''Sounds Like Nashville'', she recounted spending a lot of time outdoors with her family during childhood. From an early age, she had aspirations of becoming a country artist. "I was gonna move to Nashville and chase this dream, and everybody looked at me like I was crazy," she told ''Songwriter Universe''. She also learned to play the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

at an early age. Block began performing in North Carolina, including the Deep South Bar, which is located in Raleigh. In 2014, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue her goals in the country music industry. Upon settling into her new environment, Block worked a variety of odd jobs to make a living. During her early years in Nashville, Block was unhappy and considered moving home. One day, she had a chance encounter with

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

while walking down a Nashville road. Swift pulled the car over and invited her inside. "That was truly the day that I decided that I really needed to give music a fair shot and do this thing," she commented.

Career

Block began her country music career by co-writing songs with other people. She also would "sit for hours" watching Nashville artists perform. She also played several popular Nashville bars including the Listening Room Cafe and Whiskey Jam. In 2017, Block released her debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) titled ''Different Route''. The project was recorded in a closet studio by a producer whom Block asked to help her cut her own material. Between 2016 and 2020, Block released several songs focused around self-love and acceptance. Penned by Block herself, these tracks included "Thick Thighs" and "PMS". Many of these recordings appeared on the social media platform

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version o ...

. Block began releasing music on the app during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. "I started posting original music and those videos started doing really, really well. It was interesting because I would post cover videos and then I would post my own videos and my own original music was kind of what was working," she explained. After running into an ex-lover in 2020, Block composed the song " Just About Over You". She posted herself singing the song live on TikTok and the video went viral. A fan of her music in California created a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the be ...

campaign to get it recorded. Three weeks after its composition, Block cut the song in a studio. "Just About Over You" then went to number one on the iTunes music chart and topped other streaming platforms. Still an unsigned artist, Block received multiple offers from Nashville record labels. Ultimately, Block chose to sign with

. The label issued "Just About Over You" shortly after her 2020 signing. Mercury then released a radio edit of "Just About Over You", which was produced by Ross Copperman. months later, Block filmed a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for the song, directed by Logen Christopher. It subsequently peaked at number 81 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

and became a top 20 hit single on the ''Billboard'' country charts.

Musical style and influences

Block's musical style blends country music with pop and

southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar specula ...

. Writer James Christopher Monger described Block as, "a country-pop artist who found success in 2020 with a string of relatable singles that effectively paired earworm melodies with unfiltered lyrics." According to Block herself, she does not "commit to one sound or genre of music". "It's a little sass, a little trash and a little sad," she commented. Block has cited

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

, Luke Combs,

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country singer and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place o ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

and Chris Stapleton as musical influences.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Promotional singles

Music videos

Awards and nominations

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Academy of Country Music Awards The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academ ...

, New Female Artist of the Year , , align="center", , - , 2022 ,

CMT Music Awards The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on the CMT (Country Music Television) channel. Voting takes p ...

, Breakthrough Video of the Year – "Just About Over You" , , align="center", , -

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Block, Priscilla 1995 births 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers American women country singers American country singer-songwriters Country musicians from North Carolina Living people Mercury Records artists People from Raleigh, North Carolina Singer-songwriters from North Carolina