NORTH SALEM, N.Y. - For Lex Carney, things are starting to get “HOT.”
Carney, a member of North Salem High School's Class of 2021, graduated from Belmont University in Nashville in May with a degree in songwriting and a minor in music business. And after four arduous years of writing, recording and performing live, her first single “HOT,” will drop on Aug. 8.
The song, which she cowrote with fellow Belmont alum Della Anderson, has been in the works for three years and the finishing production touches have now been made.
“It’s exciting and terrifying at the same time,” said Careny, who uses all caps in her performing name—LEX CARNEY. “I finally have this opportunity. It’s time to do the damn thing.”
Carney, who has some more songs in the can she hopes to release in the coming months, said “HOT” is just the first step in her quest for a career in music.
“I want a publishing deal as a writer and a record deal,” she said. “I am doing the independent artist thing now, but the goal is to be picked up by a major label.”
The evolution of “HOT” began in December 2022.
“It’s been coming for a long time,” said Carney, who now makes Nashville her home. “I have a producer, Griffin White, and he’s been working on it with me and he’s terrific. We got really creative with the production side.”
Carney said she met Anderson in one of her first songwriting classes when she was a freshman.
“We wrote ‘HOT’ as kind of anthem, a hot girl anthem,” she said. “It’s supposed to be a boost-your-confidence song—a confidence anthem. You don’t need a guy to make you feel pretty.”
Carney said she has been playing “HOT” live with her band since 2023 and it’s become a favorite and garnered great audience reaction, which is one of the reasons she chose it to be her first single.
“It’s a good sing-along and I thought this is the song I want to record and it’s hopefully the first of many to come."
Carney said her songwriting has evolved drastically over her time at Belmont. It took three years to complete “HOT,” but now, she says, she can knock out a new composition in a couple of hours.
While Carney is writing and playing in Nashville, it’s easy to assume that her song falls into the country music genre. It doesn’t. Carney, who cites her influences as Queen, Billy Joel, and Miley Cyrus, says “HOT” is a pop/rock song with an edge.
“My classic rock roots come through in the production,” she said. “I like some gritty guitar sounds, some solos. I would like to bring that to pop music, that rock edge that I grew up on.”
Carney said she likes to test out her original material by performing it live first to get a true feel for it and gauge audience reaction.
“Playing live, I can tell if it’s something I want to release. I am a huge performer first and foremost,” she explained. “The song has to be performable. I want something that’s universal and something people can relate to. You put in the work and see it develop.”
Carney noted that she never knows where inspiration for a new song might come from. She developed the chorus for “HOT” one night while, of all things, listening to Christmas music.
She credits her band, which has pretty much been intact since she first got to Belmont, for getting her this far. It features Austin Cobb on guitar, Zach Benson on bass, Quinton Eudy on keyboards, Shane Waldow on drums, and Lauren Pelton on backing vocals.
“I am very lucky to have such a great bunch who have been so supportive,” she said. “You look around here and a lot of bands only last for a few months.”
When she’s not writing or performing, Carney has been interning with BMG, a world-renowned music publisher and record label that represents the rights of songwriters and manages music libraries for use in various media.
“I am a creative A&R intern in the publishing department,” she said. “I love it there; it’s a great company. Some of BMG’s writers include Jason Aldean, Jelly Roll and Carly Pearce.”
While Carney’s songwriting milieu leans toward pop/rock, she said that her skills can cross all genres. She co-wrote a classic country song called “Outside Amarillo” that was recently performed at the iconic Nashville venue The Bluebird Café.
Carney said she is still a ways off from putting out an entire album, but will probably release some more singles in the coming months. In the meantime, she has aspirations about hitting the road and doing a small tour. Now that she’s finished with college, that is doable.
“It has been on my brain to get some sort of small tour going,” she said. “Nashville is just so saturated. It will be cool to get outside the city and play for people who don’t have as much access to music.”
Carney said when “HOT” is released on Aug. 8 it will be available on just about every music streaming service, including Spotify and Apple Music.
“If you like it, share it,” she said. “The more people who hear it, the more it helps. It’s all part of being an independent artist. It’s best way to support them and the music.”
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