Apple TV+’s Little Voice is a musical romance with a difference. The nine-part series centres on Bess, an aspiring singer-songwriter played by the luminous Brittany O’Grady, and the instant hits she belts out are penned by Grammy winner Sara Bareilles. From the sweeping theme song to intimate ballads about lost loves and missed connections, they form the perfect soundtrack for Bess’s complicated life — one that involves juggling the needs of her temperamental father (Chuck Cooper), eccentric brother (Kevin Valdez) and secretive best friend (Shalini Bathina), while trying to pursue a career in music. There are also two potential love interests: Sean Teale as a brooding filmmaker and Colton Ryan as Bess’s guitarist, who encourages her to keep going.
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O’Grady takes it all in her stride, combining charm with pure determination and a melodic singing voice. It’s an impressive turn from a relative newcomer whose previous screen credits include Lee Daniels and Tom Donaghy’s musical series Star (2016 to 2019) and Sophia Takal’s supernatural horror Black Christmas (2019). It was in the former that the 24-year-old Virginia native found her big break, playing the troubled teenager Simone alongside luminaries such as Queen Latifah. A role in Phillip Noyce’s Emilia Clarke vehicle Above Suspicion (2019) followed, but it’s Little Voice that seems destined to make O’Grady a household name. Giving her a powerful emotional arc and plenty of opportunities to bare her soul on stage, it’s the ideal showcase for her myriad talents.
As the show lands on Apple TV+ on 10 July, we meet O’Grady via Zoom to hear about her own musical aspirations, singing with Bareilles and the playlist that got her through lockdown.
Courtesy Apple TV+
Were you a fan of Sara Bareilles’ music growing up?
“I was definitely on the Sara Bareilles train as a kid. I loved Love Song [2007] and King of Anything [2010]. Her music really resonated with me, so when I heard about this project I was excited and also curious to see how the story would play out. Sara and Jessie [Nelson, the show’s creator] are such a beautiful pair, and it was great to work with these powerful women.”
Was it nerve-racking to have to audition for them?
“I had to do a few scenes and sing some Sara Bareilles songs, so I did Many the Miles [2007], Between the Lines [2007] and She Used to be Mine [2015] from [Bareilles and Nelson’s musical] Waitress. I was in New Zealand at the time filming a horror movie so I had to do it all virtually. My initial conversations with Sara and Jessie were on FaceTime. There was a 17-hour time difference and I remember waking up and realising that I had a call. I thought, ‘I can’t believe Sara Bareilles is going to see me before I brush my teeth! This is really embarrassing!’ But, they were like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re adorable!’ [laughs]. I think they felt that I was like the character — Bess is kind of a mess and I’m a little bit of a mess as well. They were so kind, they gave me notes and Jessie knew exactly what she wanted.”
What kind of notes did they give you initially?
“When I did the screen test on Skype, I slicked my hair back. Then, when I talked to them next on FaceTime, I woke up with my hair curly and undone. They said, ‘We love your hair. Please don’t change it. We want to use that for the character.’ That meant a lot to me as a biracial woman. My curls are an important part of who I am and they wanted me to be my authentic self.”
Bess sings and also plays the guitar and piano. How much did you have to learn?
“It was a whirlwind. I’ve actually never played the guitar before. A lot of the other actors had had months of lessons, but I was one of the last people to be cast so I had to learn as best as I could. I play the piano, but my skills are pretty basic so I had to practice. When it came to the vocals, Sara really helped me. She said, ‘Everybody does vocal gymnastics. You don’t have to. You should sing, trust yourself, and connect to the lyrics.’ She guided me through notes that I felt were maybe a bit too high or was nervous about. She was there by my side through all of it.”
You recorded all of the music, but did you also have to sing live in the performance scenes?
“It’s a mixture of both. We’d record the music in the studio and then we’d record the live vocals and see which one worked better for the scene. When I was watching the series, I tried to pick out the bits where they used our live vocals. In the second episode, when [Colton Ryan and I] sing [The Zutons and Amy Winehouse’s] Valerie, I could tell they used the live version because there’s a bit where we start laughing after we made a mistake. I thought, ‘That’s so cute that they put that in there!’”
Bareilles wrote original music for the show, but there are also songs, including the theme song, which were written years ago but not released. Did it feel special to get to hear them?
“The theme song, Little Voice, was a record that was not approved for Sara’s album, and Simple and True was another one that she had recorded in her twenties but wasn’t used. I don’t know how record companies work, but I was like, ‘These are stunning!’ I’d listen to them while getting groceries and it felt like listening to a secret. These were songs that no one else had heard before.”
