Making her appearance onto the music scene over a year ago, Lexi Marie Taylor has made quite a name for herself. She first started out as a music blogger reviewing popular songs via her official website. Lexi, however, was inspired to become an artist herself and managed to do so with the help of her industry connections.

Now, at the age of 19, she's living out her dreams while doing what she loves. The pop singer stole hearts with her debut single, 'Lost In You,' landing her very first number one single. She followed up with releasing her debut E.P, 'XO.' Lexi stopped by iHeartRadio HQ to tell us all about her new E.P, relationships, and life with her son in an exclusive interview.

Lexi Marie Taylor on the release of her debut E.P, 'XO'

"I really loved working on 'XO,' mostly because I poured my heart into each song. All the songs are very personal to me and relate to my life one way or another. I'm always writing songs about my relationships at the time because it's just therapeutic for me especially if things end badly. My debut song, 'Lost In You,' is about an ex of mine who I was with at the time. He's now married to one of my best friends. I'm happy for them and there's no ill feelings about it either. He's with who he's supposed to be with and I'm glad that everything worked out. At the time, I thought we were meant to be together but it didn't end up and that way. I was still fixated on Elyar during one of our many break ups and I only wanted to be with him. I always feel bad over what happened because he was another guy that got caught up in my crazy relationship with Elyar. Fortunately, this guy and I are still good friends and things worked out for the best. I don't really enjoy singing this song as much anymore but when I do it's more for my fiance now.

I didn't write 'Move On,' my friend Carmen V did. It's one of two songs on the E.P that I didn't write. I was able to buy the song from her and I was glad about that. The song really spoke to me because it was during the time where Elyar and I broke up for the last and final time. The song pretty much sums up how I felt then and how I still feel now till this day.

'Dum Dada' happens to be a cover from one of my favorite artists who I love a lot. I love the song so much that I decided that I wanted to record it, but also put a new spin on it and make it my own. I feel as though everything turned out well, and it was great working with YoungHood. I love his music so it was pretty much a no-brainer to have him feature on the song. I really love his verse, and I'm just excited about the song in general. My fans have shown and expressed how much they love it, so it's a win win for me. Being 18 at the time, I just wanted to mix things up and do something a little different. The subject matter is a little more sexier than what I'm usually doing it but it was a taste of what my music will be a little more like now. I'm growing up and I feel as though that I'm old enough to talk about sex in my songs. Originally the song was done with Elyar in mind of course but I don't think about him when I sing it. It's dedicated to Beau now since my feelings have changed and I don't feel that way towards Elyar anymore.

'You Got Me,' is about Beau of course which is obvious in the lyrics. I added this song on last minute because I didn't want the E.P to be all about Elyar when we're no longer together anymore. I wanted a song that would be for Beau so that he and all the world could see how much he means to me. The song pretty much is just about how misunderstood he is and all the bad things people say about him. So I'm just really trying to say how much I love him and how I don't care what people say about him. I know who he is as a person and how he treats me. To me that's the most important thing because everyone always has something to say about celebrity relationships but at the end of the day it's about me and him."



Lexi's upcoming music plans

"I'm forever working. As of now I'm back in the studio recording new music. I plan on releasing a couple more E.Ps. Things are still being worked out but I want to split them into chapter one and chapter two. Possibly somewhere between three to five songs on each one. Again the subjects of the songs will be similar to the ones on my current E.P. I just have a lot of emotions that I'm feeling right now and I just need to get them out. So I feel like that's a great thing because my fan will be getting some really great songs from me.

I also plan on touring in support of my debut extended play. There's nothing quite like it and I miss it so much. I absolutely loved touring with Kato and The Exhale. It was pretty amazing, and I've never felt more alive. It's just crazy though because I always miss my son when I go. So I'm trying not to stay away from him too much because I don't want to miss a single second if I can help it. He always cries when I leave him, and it's the saddest part of having to leave. I don't think it'll ever get any easier."

Dream collaborations

"I have a list of people who I've like to work with and some of those are happening now. I can't say all of them as I like to keep surprises but I'll say a few. Not many people know, since I don't flash every single one of my friends off like others, but Johnny and I are best friends. I've known him for years and he's a wonderful friend to me. He's one of the ones that I go to talk about everything with. He's a great listener and always has the best advice. I love him so much and so of course he's one of the ones that I want to work with. I can say for sure that this will definitely happen as we already spoke about it and he wants to do it too. Hopefully it'll happen with my next E.P. Anaísz is also one of my best friends. I love her to death and I'm a big fan of her music. I'm hoping that we can get together soon and get on a song together. We've already been talking about it but it's all just a matter of timing. I would also like to work with Alec Cole. When I moved out to LA, he and I went to the same school before I started homeschooling. Back when I first started out we planned on collaborating together but it never happened. I hope to change that soon if he's cool with it. There's a lot of people I want to work with but I can't reveal them all at this time."


Feelings on record labels

"I actually was approached by a record label before I released my debut single. They wanted to sign me but I decided not to sign with the label though as I wasn't sure that I trusted them. I've seen firsthand how some artists get screwed over by record labels. I didn't want to experience the same. For a moment I was close to changing my mind, but things changed when Elyar was informed by Billy that he would be kicked off his record label due to supposedly budget cuts. Fortunately Riley stepped in and that didn't happen but I was still pissed about the situation. Since then, that one incident completely ruined my faith in records labels. So before I refused to sign with anyone and I wanted to take the independent route. It worked out well for me with landing my first number with no label and I was extremely happy. I didn't have to worry about guys at the top of the label chain telling me what to do and how to do it. I had creative freedom, and could work at my own pace. It was the right fit at the time since I had my son that I wanted to give my unconditional love and attention to and make my top priority. These days my attitude of labels has changed and I decided to give it a try. I signed with Cardinal Records last year and I've been really happy with them. I think that the fact that they are a smaller label that they can really focus on the acts. It's been a perfect fit so far and I really hope that things manage to stay that way."



Being in a relationship in the public's eye

"It's challenging at times but I'm used to it now. My first public relationship was with Elyar and we were together since before I was ever considering making music and breaking out into the music industry. During that time, I always had to deal with it because of how famous he was and I was just a regular girl at the time. It was hard at first because I was still in public school when we first started dating. There would always be girls at my school or out in public that were fans of his. I constantly had to deal with being hassled and despised for dating him. There was no in between. Eventually things became worse, and so my family and I decided that I would finish out the remainder of my high school years being home schooled. I was able to graduate last year in May, and since then I've been able to focus on my music career more. These days I'm no longer with Elyar but I do still have a public relationship with my now fiance. Since I've experienced it before I know how to handle things better than before. We keep things private and only share when we're ready to.


Lexi's advice on dating for the first time

"I'm no expert on dating at all as I've only ever dated four guys in my lifetime. I would have to say though that entering into your very first relationship is both nerve racking, and exciting all at the same time. I never had a boyfriend until I met Elyar. It was exciting receiving attention from him, especially since he was much older than me. It made me feel special because I knew that he could have any girl he wanted but he chose me. That very ideal also made it nerve racking too because I was young and inexperienced when it came to relationships. He knew so much more than me, but he was patient with me. I fell quite hard for him, and it's been a roller coaster ride throughout it all.

So for someone dating for the first time, the best advice I can give is just to be yourself and trust your instincts. Not everyone's first time dating is a success but you shouldn't let it discourage you. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right one, and even if you have to go through the not so great guys, it'll be worth it in the end. You'll learn so much from it, and by the time you find the right one you'll be stronger because of it. The way I see it is, sometimes you have to date a few frogs before you find your prince charming."

Dealing with breakups

"Going through a break up can be very hard rather it's the first or fifth time. It never gets any easier and its probably one of the most difficult things you have to go through in life. I've experienced a few break ups and each one was quite painful. What helped me get through it was the support from my friends and music. The most important thing is just surrounding yourself with people that'll help you get through it. I personally just cope with it by going through different staged. The first one I just cry it out and let it all out. After that I use music to help me cope. I'm always able to write new music about what I'm going through and it helps me deal. I also have a girls night with my friends and we just do fun things like dancing and just talking with each other. Their support always helps me feel better about things. You really just have to find what works for you and eventually it gets better."



Life without her first love

"When we broke up for that last time, it hurt like hell. I remember trying to make him stay but he kept telling me that he thought we should break up. I was really sad for a while but then I met Beau. He really gave me hope that there was someone better out there for me. Around this time, Elyar and I were just struggling to try and be civil with one another for our son's sake. He would tell me that he made a mistake and that he wanted us to be together again. I kept telling him that it was too late and I asked you to stay but you didn't want to. Over time it became worse because I didn't like the things he was saying about Beau and I knew that we couldn't talk anymore. I feel like deep down people still have love for their first loves but I don't feel anything for him anymore. There's no love there. If you would have asked me this maybe a week ago when things were different then I would have.

He's just really shown his true colors and that's not the guy that I fell in love with when I was 16. He's a stranger to me now and it's sad. I get so fed up with him now because this used to be the same guy that said that he would never hurt or disrespect me. Clearly those were all lies and I've learned that the hard way. I can never forgive someone who calls me horrible things and someone who spreads horrible lies about me and my boyfriend. I know I've made horrible mistakes and I've never claimed to be perfect. I've never disowned those things but I've done that privately. I feel betrayed that he would tell our personal business to the world out of spite and to impress the girl he's with now. It's disgusting to me and I'm never going to forget that. When he gets hurt by this girl like I know he will I'm not hearing none of it. We can never be friends or acquaintances again. I'm past it all now and I want nothing to do with him. Honestly this interview will be the last time that I speak about him. I've moved on with my life and I'm trying to start a new one with my fiance."

Lexi's life as a teen mom

"To think that my son is already 16 months now is unbelievable. He's growing up so fast, and I often wish things would slow down. I want to cherish every single moment with him. I love having him in my life, and he's been the only thing that ever came out of the relationship. When I first found out that I was pregnant, I was freaking out. I was only 16 at the time, and I just knew that this would be the end of everything. I thought that my parents were going to disown me, and that was my biggest fear. At the time, Elyar was really supportive though, and he was there for me every step of the way. Luckily enough, everything turned out better than I imagined it would with my parents. Of course they were mad, especially my dad, but they eventually came around. They both love their grandson so much. I'm glad that I had their support, especially my mom because she was a great helped to me. She's done it all before and I needed her help and advice. Without it I'm not sure how things would have came to be. I consider myself lucky with all the support I had."



Being a mom and working on her music career

"A little before Nicolai was born I made up my mind that I wanted to become a singer. When I found out that I was pregnant though, it changed everything and I had to put my dreams on hold. When my son was born, I decided that I wanted to go after my dreams. It was the perfect time since at the time Elyar was on a break from music. I had his help and my parents when it came to watching Nicolai. Of course I tried not to be away from him too much because I found it unbearable to be away from him too long. When I was on tour with Kato it was a big struggle for me, because it hurt so bad being away from him. It affected Nicolai too because he knew that I was gone and it made him cry a lot. Luckily, the sweet Elyar that I knew back then before he became heartless, brought him out to see me a lot. It made things a whole lot easier for me. It becomes hard at times when I have to choose between staying home with my son or working on my music. I'm dealing with it as best as I can, but I sort of can't wait until he gets older and I can take him with me.

For now, I try to keep things short and stay at home with him as much as possible. However, since Elyar and I no longer are a family things have gotten worse because I used to see him everyday and now he has to go between two different homes. I can see that its affected him already and even though he's so young, he's smart and he can see what happening. It makes me sad because I grew up with my parents being divorced and I never wanted that for my own kids that I would have someday. Unfortunately it's something that I can't help because his dad and I aren't together and never will be. I hope that someday when he's older that he will understand the situation and not have ill feelings towards us."

Lexi's recent engagement and future wedding plans

"Our engagement is still so fresh that I'm still in shock that it happened. It was exciting and romantic when he proposed to me though. He's such a sweetheart and I'm lucky to have found someone like him. I become really excited when I think about it or even talk about it with anyone. I'll always remember when he proposed to me. I actually had a feeling that he would and I joked about it. It turns out that I was right. He started out by asking me to go on a walk with him and so I said that I would. He told me out onto a pier in the middle of the night and honestly it looked a little scary. Once we got to the end of the pier, he started saying some romantic things and then he got down on one knee and proposed to me. He didn't have a ring at the time, but I honestly didn't care about any of that stuff. I knew from the first time that we kissed that I wanted to marry Beau. It came a lot sooner than I thought it would but it was fine. I feel like your instincts take over and you know when you've found the one. I've been given a second chance at love and it's great. After everything that I've gone through relationship wise, I'm really not trying to screw anything up with the love of my life. I had a really hard time trusting guys after several breaks ups that I've gone through. Beau came along and really helped me open up to someone again. I was able to completely trust him and let him in. It's been the greatest feeling.

We haven't set a date yet for our wedding. We've discussed that we want to have a long engagement and work on our careers right now. He's very supportive of my career and I am of his as well. We're always there for one another and he also shows interest and respect towards my son. He's really just the best and I've never been happier than I am now. We're young, and still learning about ourselves. We don't want to rush it, just for it to burn out quickly. We rather take our time, and do it right. I feel like that's how love should be done."