Clover Stieve wrote “How Big Can I Dream” in the backseat of a Subaru in Queens, N.Y., for a 24-hour songwriting challenge hosted by venerable Philadelphia radio station WXPN.
“The prompt was ‘belong,’ and it cracked something open in me,” says Stieve, whose forthcoming LP, Born To Live, is an ethereal and honest exploration of grief following the loss of both parents.
A Frenchtown, N.J., native who’s now building her indie cred by shuttling between Philly and New York, Stieve nearly wound up on the 2018 season of NBC’s The Voice. But after spending a conflicted month shooting the series in Los Angeles, she ditched the premiere and headed back east to regroup and reassess.
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve wrestled with my desire to be a widely known artist—to fill big rooms, tour the world and make music that resonates with the masses and helps people feel less alone,” she says. “I’ve carried this story that wanting that kind of visibility must be ego-driven, that it comes from a need to be seen … which feels icky.”
But another narrative also nagged at her.
“What if this desire isn’t ego at all? What if it’s purpose?” she says. “Writing this song was my way of reclaiming that desire—of saying, ‘I belong on big stages. I belong in bright lights. I belong in the act of making and sharing music at the highest level I can imagine.’ This song is for anyone who’s been told they’re unrealistic, too ambitious, too much. Maybe your dream isn’t random. Maybe it’s a compass.”
We’re proud to premiere Clover Stieve’s “How Big Can I Dream.” Look for Born To Live in September.
—Hobart Rowland
