“My Faith Is Everything to Me”: Carley Davis on Music with Purpose

Carley Davis’s path from Texas to Los Angeles has been all about staying true to her passion. Growing up in a house where music was always playing, she got hooked on performing early—dancing at three, hitting the musical theater stage, and spending hours trying to match Christina Aguilera’s vocal runs. After dropping out of Baylor to dive into the LA music scene, she went through the ups and downs of the industry before teaming up with producer Billy Wonka. 

Now, with 17 independent releases, Carley is building her own sound and using social media to connect with her audience. In this interview, she talks about her shift toward faith-driven music, and how she’s redefining what it means to be a powerful young woman in the industry.

— According to your bio on ISINA’s website, you create music for lovers and dreamers. Could you elaborate on what inspires you — what do you love, and what do you dream of?

— I love life, I love people, and I love making music that makes people feel good. I love sending positive messages. I feel like we live in a world where we need more of those positive messages — things that sound good but are also good for us as we sing along. And my dream is really just to be able to continue doing what I love, surrounded by people I love. It’s about doing what I feel God has called me to do, which is using my gifts and talents to help people, to make them feel good, to give hope and encouragement. So I would say those are the things that I love, and those are my dreams.

— It’s clear that faith plays a significant role in your life. How does it influence your music and your creative process?

— I’m actually really glad you asked because my faith is a huge part of who I am. Not too many people know this yet, but I'm actually shifting more into the Christian music space. I feel like sonically that space is changing, and I’m continuing to do the style of music I love, but now with a focus on sharing hope, love, and peace through my faith. My faith is everything to me. It’s genuinely just about making people feel loved. It’s not about rules or laws — it’s about bringing peace and hope, which I think people need more than ever right now. All the music I'm currently working on is a lot about that, so it's a good question to ask.

— Could you share a bit more about how your journey into music began?

— Absolutely. I always joke that I came out of the womb singing — or performing at least! I've always loved being on stage. I would walk around my house pretending I was a Disney princess, singing. I’ve been dancing since I was three years old, doing musical theater and acting, performing on stage since I was really young. I grew up really inspired by pop artists like Justin Bieber, Michael Jackson, Christina Aguilera, and Britney Spears. I knew early on that I wanted to pursue music. My parents were very supportive and never told me it was unrealistic, which was a blessing. I started songwriting at a young age too — writing songs for my mom on Mother's Day or for random birthdays. Music has always been a part of me. I just knew that it was something I wanted to pursue and keep pursuing.

— In your bio, you talk about being passionate about redefining what it means to be a powerful young woman — how do you define that?

— For me, redefining it doesn’t come from a place of judgment. It comes from a place of highlighting what I believe is truly powerful — standing in truth and doing what feels right for each person. Early on, I was told what I should wear, what kind of makeup I should have, how edgy I had to look. I was dating my now-husband and was told not to post about him because men like it when you look single. There was this whole narrative of what I had to be as an artist to be successful. I don’t subscribe to that. For me, redefining what it means to be a powerful young woman is letting people and artists be who they truly are and represent what's authentic to them. It’s important for me to talk about my love for my husband and my faith because that’s true to me, even though I was told I had to talk about more sexualized or party themes. There’s a place for that, but it’s not who I am as an artist. I think the best artists reflect their true selves.

— Could you tell us how you got involved with ISINA?

— First off, I want to give a shout-out to ISINA. Not only is the platform incredible, but everyone involved has been so kind, talented, and genuinely passionate about helping artists, which is rare in my experience. 

I got involved with ISINA through Davix. We connected after a show I did at the beginning of the year. He came across a video of me singing, and we messaged on Instagram. He said he had some people he wanted me to meet. The next day, I was invited to the studio where they were filming other artists and doing performance videos. From there, I got to meet the team and see the incredible quality of what they were doing. And honestly, from that day forward, I’ve just been involved in saying yes to anything I can when it comes to them. I really love to help get the word out about ISINA and just really appreciate everyone on the team and everything they're doing. So, that’s how I got involved, but I’m excited for the future with ISINA.