Olivia Jones music career started unwittingly by drunkenly singing off a balcony in the middle of Pennsylvania. She was in State College, Pennsylvania, where she grew up and went to school. One night she was singing with some friends into the wind. Walking by within ear shot was Nashville’s Mac Gayden, co-writer of the 1967 hit, “Everlasting Love.” Charmed, he stopped to talk to Jones. After a bit they found out that Jones’s mom’s personal trainer was Gayden’s son’s fiancée. Somehow, it was fate. He said he wanted to do some artist development. She had just reached out to Castle Recording Studios to do an internship. And with that nudge, she moved to Nashville.

Jones started working with Gayden, with more of a Motown style. Through working in town, playing nights at Acme Feed & Seed and hosting events, Jones has found a powerful pop voice. Late last year she teamed up with vibey Nashville artist Jarren Blair and dropped the late-night-sad-sing-along, “where did I go wrong?” which WNXP has had in rotation since.

Today she dropped a new song, “Bad Friend,” co-produced with Nashville’s Manrelic. After some heavy sessions she said she needed to make a song that was playful, happy and flirty. “It’s kind of about someone who I had known for a really long time. He would come to me with his problems but I was bad at giving advice. I was harboring feelings for him.” She came to a realization that she wasn’t being a good friend. But then came up with a solution: “I thought maybe I would make a better lover.”

As for how it worked. “I don’t know if I could say that I was good or bad at either but that was the realization.”