Meet Women Who Rock’s 2025 Rising Star Contest Winner and Finalists
Women Who Rock’s Rising Star Contest was born out of the passion to support young female artists on their musical journeys and disrupt the notorious music industry’s boy’s club. The contest provides the opportunity for winners to receive a mentoring session from a music industry pro, get an original song recorded with GRAMMY Award-winning producer/audio engineer, Jimmy Hoyson, at The Vault Recording Studio and open for industry hitmakers which previously have included stars like Orianthi and Jordan Sparks at Women Who Rock’s flagship annual benefit concert amongst other prizes. 2025 marks the 8th annual Rising Star Contest that is giving young women a leg up in smashing the glass ceiling and we were blown away with the talent in our submission pool this year. So without further ado, let us introduce you to this year’s contest finalists Grace Elliott, Riley Galloway, Torrance Sebastian and our winner, Talie.
Grace Elliott
Grace Elliott is a natural musician being born to two musician parents and picking up various instruments before starting to gig at the young age of 14 years old. Not only is she a singer/songwriter, but she also plays piano, bass, guitar and French horn! Drawing inspiration from artists like Stevie Wonder and Amy Winehouse in the genres of jazz and R&B, Grace’s voice is smooth and soulful.
This summer, Grace released her first single to streaming platforms entitled, “Get Mine”, an inspirational feel-good song about how there’s room for everyone at the table. She is currently a professional gigging musician and is excited to continue to grow into her musical sound. For more information about Grace and her music, check out her socials!
Riley Galloway
Riley Galloway is a folk artist most notably garnering attention for her cover of Fiona Apple’s “Paper Bag” sitting at 30.1k views on TikTok. Like many young, budding musicians, Riley was introduced to music as a kid when she started auditioning for her school’s talent shows, then picked up guitar in her pre-teen years.
Riley now has two songs out on streaming platforms entitled, “Old Friend” and “No Right Turn”. In the future she hopes to continue to pursue her musical career by studying musical theatre and getting a band together. To keep up with Riley in her musical endeavors, make sure to follow her on social media and streaming platforms!
Torrance Sebastian
Torrance Sebastian’s love of music began in musical theatre from a young age going on to portray Lucy Haris from Jekyll and Hide as well as Maria Muldaur in ‘Gaslight Café: The John Mitchell Story Project’. From there, she went on to receive the ‘Henry Mancini Award’ for Best Supporting Actress in Ado Annie. It was from her time studying musical theatre in college that she discovered her passion for songwriting.
What began as being a session singer for other artists turned into a professional relationship with The Vault Recording studio and in 2024 Torrance became signed to The Vault Records as a singer/songwriter. She released her debut single, “Panic Button”, earlier this summer which is a pop/rock song that explores the highs and lows of the chaotic human experience. Drawing influence from Florence and the Machine as well as St. Vincent, Torrance is excited to keep performing and developing her sound for future releases. To learn more about the Torrance Sebastian Project, visit her website linked here.
Talie
Talie is a rising indie pop sensation and has been since she was a little girl winning her first singing competition at the young age of just three years old! Coming from a musical family, she caught the bug for performing while tagging along to family performances and went on to win several other singing competitions as she entered her teen years. She now consistently gets thousands of views on the regular from TikTok and has 23.3k followers on Instagram!
Still discovering her sound, Talie says she draws influence from Radiohead, Imogen Heap and Britney Spears amongst others. She has put out several singles which most notably include “Forgot How to Feel”, “Live Alive” and her personal favorite, “Midnight”. Talie can’t see herself doing anything other than music and in the future plans to keep on the grind of releasing music and building her brand. To join Talie’s musical journey or stream her newest single, “Different”, check her out on streaming platforms and social media!
There’s still time to get tickets to 2025’s Women Who Rock Benefit Concert to see Talie live sharing the stage with Ms. Tiza, Buffalo Rose and multi-platinum recording artist, Jessica Simpson! While submissions are now closed for the Rising Star Contest, connect with us on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook to be notified about next year’s contest, keep up with our events and learn about how you can get involved. If you’re music lovers like us that can’t get enough of discovering new music and supporting new artists, give our artists a follow too!