Sometimes the best things happen when you least expect them. For Grammy-winning artist ALYA, that is the message at the heart of her new single Believer, a song about giving up on love only to find it again.

We caught up with ALYA to talk about the inspiration behind the track, her journey from Eastern Europe to Los Angeles, winning a Grammy, and what she hopes to explore next as an artist.

1. You've just released your new single "Believer" - your first new music of 2026. Tell us about the inspiration behind this song.

The seed was The Shape of Water. What moved me about that film is that love isn't decoration - it's the thing that reveals who someone actually is. "Believer" came from that idea: that being truly loved gives you permission to stop performing and let the real you come out. The song is about that moment of release.

2. You've won a Grammy - how did this feel? And is there anything else you want to achieve as an artist?

It was surreal, and it was also a reminder that the recognition arrives long after the room where the work actually happened. What I want now is different from what I wanted then: I'd like to make a body of work that holds up on its own terms - songs with classical depth that still meet people where they live, and will last for generations to come. Ambition has become quieter and more specific.

3. You've previously collaborated with Eric Clapton - do you have anyone else that you would love to collaborate with?

Working with Eric Clapton taught me how much restraint a great musician brings - he leaves space, and the space is the point.

Where I want to go next is Slavic folk - the tradition I come from - woven into contemporary production. Those melodies and modes are old enough to sit in the body before the mind catches up; something in our DNA recognizes them. I'd love to find the collaborators who can put beats underneath that without overshadowing, and turn it into music that reaches a wide audience. More orchestral work too, of course.

The other direction I'm committed to is the intersection of music and health - what sound actually does to the nervous system, and how it can be used deliberately. That's a longer-term body of work, and I intend to keep building toward it.

4. You were born and raised in Eastern Europe and later relocated to Los Angeles - how have these different environments impacted your songwriting?

I grew up in Eastern Europe with a classical training that was rigorous and unsentimental - you earned every phrase. Los Angeles gave me permission to be direct, to write from feeling rather than form. My songwriting lives between those two instincts: the discipline of one, the openness of the other. I don't think I'd write the way I do without both.

5. What's been the biggest hurdle you've had to overcome in your personal or professional life?

Learning to trust my own voice as a writer and singer. My classical training gave me enormous technique but with very serious restrictions. It took years to stop wanting permission to be who I had become by mixing my training with my life experiences and allowing myself to interpret what the song meant to me.

6. Which artists were your biggest inspiration growing up?

The classical repertoire first - the great sopranos, and the orchestral writing I grew up listening to (too many to name). Later, the songwriters who could make one plain line carry an entire emotional argument. I'm still chasing that. Artists like Barbara Streisand, Celine and Whitney Houston were extremely influential in the shaping of my sound and songs.

7. Describe your music in three words.

Cinematic. Intimate. Hopeful.

8. Christmas is going to be here soon - can we expect any new holiday songs this year?

Yes a new holiday album is on the horizon - uplifting, warm, and with a few surprises. I'm not going to spoil the surprises but what I can tell you is, I believe that the love and care we put into it will reach every part of your holiday spirit and I can't wait to share it with you all!

Author: Andrew Braithwaite

Andrew is the founder and chief editor of Music Talkers. He's also a keen music enthusiast and plays the guitar.