AceShowbiz - Malia holds a paper cup of tea at a cozy Newport Beach café, reflecting on her unconventional path to music. The Texas-born singer-songwriter shares that she never considered music her immediate destiny, despite a lifelong connection to singing. “It’s my destiny and my journey to be on this path,” she says thoughtfully. “I couldn’t quite get away from it. I actively tried. I really wasn’t thinking about music at all until I was about 28.”

Her realization came gradually, but once she embraced music as her calling, opportunities began to unfold. This sentiment echoes the themes of her 2017 EP Late Bloomer, a pivotal release that marked a period of self-discovery, emotional growth, and new love. The lush project introduced audiences to her velvety, distinctive voice and was crafted in collaboration with acclaimed producer Nick Green.

Since then, Malia has steadily evolved her sound, delivering music that is both deeply personal and resonant, often drawing from her journal entries to craft vivid stories. At 39, she spoke with Rolling Stone about the twists and turns of a career just beginning but already marked by the full spectrum of the music industry’s challenges and triumphs.

Our conversation took place at Herst Coffee, a small café near the Newport Beach pier. The sun warmed the table where we sat, as last-minute Valentine’s Day shoppers passed by in sandals and sunglasses. I had just listened to Malia’s upcoming single “Not a Love Song” from her fifth studio album, If I’m Being Honest, set to release in spring. The track is a joyful, bossa nova-infused anthem of independence. Wearing a vintage Michael Jackson tee and gently stroking a mini golden doodle named Mooji who sat on her lap, Malia described her latest work with a calm and reflective tone.

“It fits perfectly, because these works of art are honest representations of me,” she explained. “It may be a little bit provocative, and it may turn some heads, but the songs are true.” If I’m Being Honest follows her 2024 album Back in My Body, which was a reclamation of self after heartbreak. This new record is an extension of that, an embrace of her full self without apology. “I’m leaning into the best version of myself. Now, I can sink into that and be okay with being just me and not apologizing. This is who I am, and this is my offering.”

She highlighted the track “Shallow” as a perfect example of her nuanced songwriting. “I’ve had different situations in my life. I’ve had men that I’m very attracted to, but generally those ones don’t bring any of the depth that I’m seeking. And then I’ve had divine, generous men, but the chemistry just wasn’t there,” she shared. “I’m writing about wanting the whole package. I’m not shallow, but I’m nuanced.”

Reaching this place of vulnerability and clarity took over a decade. Growing up, Malia played piano and sang in choir, and there’s even a fuzzy VHS tape of her at four years old performing “A Spoonful of Sugar.” Despite her passion for music, she never saw it as a viable career. “It sounded so far-fetched and I didn’t have the confidence to do that,” she admitted.

In 2009, after relocating to Orange County, California, she earned a degree in political science and sociology from Chapman University. She told people she planned to attend law school, but deep down she knew that wasn’t her path. Living in a small room in the valley with no car and minimal belongings, she worked a series of “dead-end jobs” in Los Angeles while teaching herself acoustic guitar through YouTube tutorials.

“I hit rock bottom,” she recalls. “It can’t get any worse. If I try this music thing and get shut down, I’m in the same place I am now. But what if something good happens?” She began posting 15-second singing clips on Instagram when the platform was still new to music discovery. A few months later, Matt Martians from The Internet invited her to his studio, giving her the chance to record some of her first tracks.

“Ten years later, I’d be across the street at a different studio in a totally different place in life,” Malia says, referencing her current work at Furaha Sound on Sunset Boulevard. “It was a huge leap of faith, saying yes to a journey I had been running away from for a long time. Music has always been the thing that lights me up the most.”