A musician who has long been on my short list of females I need to feature in my Music Spotlight column is the Woodstock-raised, Nashville-honed, and Laurel Canyon-inspired 21-year-old Stella Prince.
Stella Prince is a Gen Z folk singer who has always known what she wanted to do. She is the only musician in her family, but remembers attending a Levon Helm concert at age three. She grew up around Pete Seeger, Peter Yarrow, and Natalie Merchant and attended school with Levon Helm's grandkids.
By age four, Prince knew that she wanted to write, play, and sing music for the rest of her life. She explained, "I've always known that this is what I wanted more than anything."
Being the only child of two creatives (her mother is a painter, and her dad is a creative writer), they were eager to support young Stella as she pursued her dreams. She told them, "I want to start auditioning for things. I want an agent. I want a manager. I want all this stuff."
They put her in voice lessons, which took her already clear, alluring voice to the next level.
Being singularly minded, she pursued her music career. When Prince was 13, she attended community college while in high school, and she graduated from both at age 16. By age 18, her family moved to Nashville in support of her career.
Growing up, she was inspired primarily by Patsy Cline, Karen Carpenter, and Judy Garland, three ladies with completely different voices. "I think their voices were one-in-million," she gushed. Listening to her music, you can also sense the influences of Joni Mitchell, Katy Perry, and even Shania Twain. But to me, there is a purity to her voice that is reminiscent of a young Alison Krauss or Dolly Parton.
However, what is most impressive about Stella Prince is her songwriting. Unlike most in Nashville, she co-writes only occasionally. She prefers writing solo.
At age 16, she wrote and released her first major cut, "Scared," a contemplative song in which she worries about her future and realizes she must trust her own judgment, knowing it is up to her to make her dreams come true.
The COVID pandemic followed shortly thereafter, inspiring Prince to write "Crying On A Saturday Night." She recalled, "I was sitting here on Saturday night all by myself. I was just miserable. So yeah, that song was very personal."
Prince's most popular song to date is "Two Faced." It's not about a person; it's about being lonely. Pursuing a solo career at such a young age can lead to extreme loneliness.
The words You got her right where you wanted/ Lonely enough so she'd take the bait/ Blinded by words that were only an empty promise/ Desperation paves way for mistakes/ Loneliness is two-faced belie the young age of 18 when the song was composed.
There is maturity in her lyrics that I have not often seen in a young artist. The song is exquisite, and Prince's voice is magical as she brings her brand of folk music to her generation.
One thing that a talented songwriter can do well is put themselves in someone else's shoes. "At Seventy" was the first story-song that she wrote about another person.
She shared, "I was really nervous to attempt it. And I've never really written anything like that since or before. And I wrote it while on tour about the waitress who was serving me at a random restaurant; she was in her 70s and looked incredibly tired of her job and her life. And it made me wonder about her past and how she had gotten to that point. So, I just made up a whole story." People tell her how much "At Seventy" touches them when she plays it live.
All that being said, when a gifted singer-songwriter sings a cover, I always want to know why. Even though Karen Carpenter is one of her heroes, I was surprised when Prince covered her mega-hit "Close To You," because Carpenter is a contralto and Prince sings much higher. It turns out she was asked to cover "Close To You" for a Hallmark movie.
While I am also a huge Carpenter's fan, I was skeptical about Prince's cover, but I was pleasantly surprised. She does not try to sound like Karen Carpenter; she sings like herself, with an arrangement that suits her voice perfectly.
Prince's latest single, "Slow Dancing In A Burning Room," is also a cover. It is her favorite John Mayer song. She stated, "I heard it for the first time last year and fell madly in love with it. I really wanted to try it and make it like a folk version of it. And we really stripped it down. I mean, it's just guitar and me. We recorded it at Henson Studios in LA, which he bought and now owns. And yeah, it was a real experience." She's not sure whether Mayer has heard her version of the song, but when he does, no doubt, he'll be as impressed as I was.
Already a veteran of touring circuits, Prince is readying a debut album—due in Fall 2026—to follow a string of critically acclaimed singles, including 2024's "Dear Future Me" and "What's Mine," which collectively earned praise from celebrated outlets like No Depression, Forbes, and the Nashville Scene. Over the past few months, she has walked the red carpet at the Grammys, Variety Hitmakers, the Billboard Women in Music Awards, Elle’s Women in Entertainment Awards, Variety Power of Women Nashville, She is the Music’s Women Sharing the Spotlight Honors, the Americana Music Honors and Awards at The Ryman, the CMA Awards, Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Hollywood Gala, and performed at events with Elle Magazine at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Anzie Blue New Years Eve Live 2025 (livestreamed on CNN and presented by Honda Powersports), and was a part of a commercial that aired during the 2026 Golden Globes featuring Prince and her forthcoming single "The Replay" on the newly established, Anzie Blue Records label.
Not only does Prince create soul-baring folk music for a new generation, she also composes and sings delightful music that reaches a widespread audience. With a mile-long resume at such a young age, the sky's the limit for Stella Prince, whose star is sure to reach new heights when she completes and releases her debut full-length record in 2026.
You can follow Stella Prince on her website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and all streaming platforms.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, and TikTok.