SARAH UNDERWOOD BIO

Sarah Underwood is a 24 year-old Nashville-based writer specializing in piano, image-driven lyrics, and strong, conversational melodies. In the past two years, she has written with dozens of up-and-coming artists and producers, amassing over 30 cuts and building a buzz for herself first as a songwriting student at Belmont University and then while interning at various labels including Warner Music Nashville and Sony Music Nashville.

Recent collaborations include the songs “Greatest Work of Art” (Davis Mallory, MTV) and “Off Limits” with Nashville pop artist Brooke Alexx. Also fluent in spanish, Sarah’s spanglish song “Luna Isla” is featured on the TV show “Paradise Hotel.” Other notable co-writers include Kaveh Rastegar (Grassfed; Bruno Mars, Charlie Puth, Sabrina Claudio), Zach “Reazon” Heiligman (Foster the People, Britney Spears), Haley & Michaels (Sony/ATV), Rajiv Dhall (Unknown), LeyeT (Angry Mob), Caroline Kole (Starstruck, NBC Songland), Anna Hamilton (NBC Songland), Emma Klein (Twelve6, American Idol), Austin Cannon (Curb Word), Lucas Arens (Downtown), danny G (Innovo), Sansol the Artist (Travis Mendes of UMPG), and Ian McConnell (Amplify).

Sarah pulls inspiration from Julia Michaels, Maisie Peters, Chelsea Cutler, and Camila Cabello.

Sarah’s hidden talent? She is fluent in Spanish, with a degree and a Medical Interpreting Certification to prove it, not to mention her affinity for sangria and arsenal of Spanish features, verses, and song translations.

My journey to lyricism

I credit Mrs. Sullivan, my 5th grade homeroom teacher, with my first introduction to the written word as an art form. She opened my eyes to a new world all at once dangerous and tranquil, horrifying and beautiful, ruthless and magnanimous. At her hands, and with the innocence and curiosity characteristic only of a child, I ravenously consumed work after work of William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, and Robert Frost. By the end of one year under her tutelage, I had memorized the entirety of “The Raven” and “The Jabberwocky,” and performed as Shylock in our class skit of “The Merchant of Venice” - at only 11 years old.

By the time I reached adolescence, I was knee deep in the intoxicating haze of JK Rowling, Jane Austen, and Taylor Swift. After suffering a debilitating and career-ending concussion, I retired my soccer cleats and subsequent dreams of college athleticism, and turned instead to the 8th grade graduation present from my parents: a Washburn guitar they bought used from a local music shop. The peace I found through writing blended amusingly with natural teenage angst, and I joined a pop-punk band as vocalist and writer with four strangers who, 2 albums and countless bar performances later, remain some of my closest friends even after diverging on our separate collegiate journeys.

After 4 years of being molded and pruned, challenged and humbled in the pool of incredible talent at Belmont University, I am now an alum of the only accredited Songwriting Program in the country. I have found my place in Nashville as a multi-genre topliner and lyricist for co-writes ranging from country, pop, R&B, pop-punk, christian, and latin reggaeton (capitalizing on my passion for Spanish language). Many of my favorite writers remain those introduced to me in my youth, but have grown to embrace Elizabeth Gaskell, Thomas Hardy, and Julia Michaels as well. While I do play out in Nashville every so often, last summer I enjoyed several weeks traveling through Ireland and Scotland with other songwriters from Belmont, and had the opportunity to showcase several songs at my favorite writers round yet in Northern Ireland for the Belfast Songwriter’s Night.

I am incredibly grateful for your time and attention here on this page, and the energy that you are pouring into this work. A friend of mine keeps a sign in his studio that reads, “You do not make art for them.” I try my best to remember this in my storytelling so as to create from an entirely fearless, honest and authentic place. I hope you find my work reflective of those intentions, sometimes horrifying and sometimes beautiful. If you’re an artist who is looking for the words to tell your story, I would honor the opportunity to work with you. Together we can craft something precious or dangerous or tranquil or ruthless…or all of the above.

xoxo

Sarah:)