Editor’s Note: Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Megan Nicole isn’t just a YouTuber with over 4 million followers and 850 million views – she’s also a singer/songwriter and actress. The young artist has already done a studio film, headlining tour, produced original music and interviewed former First Lady Michelle Obama as part of the Let Girls Learn Initiative. The most recent addition to her resume is her new YouTube show, “Adult(ed)”.
After being thrust into adulthood herself, Megan created “Adult(ed)” as a place where viewers can learn, alongside Megan, about tasks that all “grown-ups” seem expected to know. The show features experts to help navigate the topics, which range from dinner parties to relationships to taxes. I got the opportunity to chat with Megan about her YouTube channel, music career and the inspiration behind “Adult(ed)”.
Ariel Zedric: How long have you been making YouTube videos?
Megan Nicole: It will be 10 years this December. I practically have grown up on YouTube sharing music since I was a teenager, which is crazy.
Do you know how many videos you’ve uploaded over the years?
Too many to count on two hands, that’s for sure!
What made you decide to make that first video?
My dad encouraged me to post my first video! Before that, I was playing music anywhere I could locally, in the Houston area where I grew up. Talents shows, open mic nights, restaurants and wine bars. So, go dad for seeing it as an opportunity to share my music with so many more people!
I still don’t think anyone thought it would give me the opportunities that it did, and I’m very thankful I posted that little cover of “Use Somebody” all those years ago.
What’s made you stick with it all these years?
Honestly, just the love of creating and sharing it with people. You really have to love what you do to stick with it! It’s not worth pursuing just to be “YouTube famous,” cause it’s a grind.
Do you ever see yourself transitioning fully to music? Or will you always upload videos?
In a lot of ways, I’ve been doing music full time. I just happen to make videos to go along with those, whether they are covers or my own songs. But yes, I would love to continue to put my main focus on my own music, but I’m sure I’ll always cover a song I love here and there. I’ve also been itching to act more, so who knows where that path will take me?
How has “growing up” and uploading your life on the internet affected your life when the camera’s off?
I have a family that kept me super grounded. I’ve fallen on my butt a lot and seen a lot of doors close that I thought were the ones to take. I think all of this has kept me pretty normal, minus the fact that I do find myself thinking about gathering “content” way too much. I’ve calmed down on that a lot. Not everything has to be captured and posted. Some things can just be kept in my memory bank.
Tell me about the inspiration behind your new show, “Adult(ed)!”
It was inspired by my own life and my friends around me. I found myself in the deep end of the grown-up pool, feeling overwhelmed at times, even with the support around me. I know the concept of “adulting” and advice on that isn’t anything new, but I loved the idea of putting it in this format and tackling it together, one subject at a time.
What do you hope to achieve with this show?
I hope it takes some of the pressure off that a lot of people can feel when transitioning to adulthood. I hope it’s a reminder, that we’re all in this together and that at the end of the day, no one really has it all together and that’s okay!
Which episode has been your favorite to film?
It’s a close tie between “how to be a good dog parent” and “how to sound like you know about wine”. Both were pretty good days at the office cause one of them I got to work with puppies and the other I got to have wine and cheese with my friend. Honestly, there’s a lot of good information to come from all the episodes and I can’t wait to share them all. I learned a lot along the way myself!
Do you foresee yourself making a season two?
We are already talking about what subjects we will cover next! Season 1, we were all figuring it out together, so I think come next season, we’ll be back even stronger now that the vision is clearer. I’m really excited about all that we can discuss in this series!
What have you found to be the hardest about “becoming an adult?”
The thing I’ve found hardest about becoming an adult is the pressures that I put on myself to “have it all together.” That I need to have the career, the perfectly clean house with the thriving plants and the social life, but at the end of the day, it’s okay to not have it all together! It’s about taking it little steps at a time and knowing that we’ll always be learning.
Courtesy of Megan Nicole
What’s it like being a female in the YouTube community and music industry?
At times, as I was getting older, I felt like I wasn’t “sexy” enough to be a pop star or that my outfit wasn’t tight enough. I was told by a handful of labels that I wasn’t “edgy” enough, whatever that meant to them. I think edgy can look like a lot of different things. It can even just look like vulnerability in your lyrics. I feel like I’ve done a good job at sticking to what felt authentic to me. Someone else’s journey doesn’t need to look like mine and that was something that took me a second to see.
How do you balance YouTube, making music, and your personal life? What do you do for fun?
I think I’ve finally started to find that balance. I went from workaholic to just focusing on my personal life for a bit, and now I’ve reached a happy medium. I love to start my weeks, planning out what I want to accomplish that week. I try not to overdo it and say, yes, to the things that fit the “big picture.”
I also learned that it’s okay to delegate things out that I’m able to, and that I don’t have to have a tight grip over everything. In my free time, I love playing video games, like Overwatch, and actually, this is work and play now because I’m on Twitch! I also love going to Disneyland even just to eat dole whip or hug Chewbacca for the 10th time. Reading books, watching movies on the couch while eating sushi with my husband, taking Pilates and having game nights with friends are all things I love to do!
Follow Megan on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
Courtesy of Megan Nicole
Featured image courtesy of Megan Nicole
