It’s been a whirlwind year for emerging pop singer Ana Sky.

The California native has worked with noted producer AC Burrell (Beyoncé and Lady Gaga), released four singles and was honored with the Emerging Artist Award at Daily Front Row’s Fashion Media Awards last fall.

“I was freaking out when I got that award, not just because Rihanna was in the room, but also because — that was a big part of it — that was a huge honor for me and a very big indicator that I’m on the right track,” Sky said Wednesday. “This whole pursuing music at all is probably one of the craziest things I’ve ever done in my life. I was a scientist, and I was never planning to do (this). I always loved music. I always dreamed of making music, but I never actually intended to do that. This opportunity has been one of the most surreal magical things for me. I’ve really just been trying to throw everything I have into making it as successful as possible. So that award was very validating for me.”

Sky was working in the embryology field while also working on her musical career. Her latest single “LSR” dropped on Oct. 3, and she’ll open for Jesse McCartney’s sold-out Weightless tour stop Saturday at the Roxian Theatre in McKees Rocks. Making her first visit to Pittsburgh, Sky sounded intrigued by a Primanti Bros. sandwich after the show.

”I’m the type that when I eat, I pass out, I fall asleep, so I’m an after-the-show-meal girlie,” she said. “That’ll be perfect. I love to have my meal, and then I go in my little cubby on the tour bus and I’m out for the count. You will not hear from me for however many hours I can sleep until I got to get up. So that sounds perfect.”

In a Zoom conversation Wednesday from Canada, Sky spoke with TribLive about the tour, her new single, why she studied embryology and more. Find a transcript of the conversation, edited for clarity and length, below.

No issues going across the border? You never know how it is…

No, none to speak of except that I was very out of it. So they’re asking me all these questions (at 4 a.m.) And I’m like, firearms? No, none of that. (laughs)

Just some musical instruments…

Yeah, exactly. Just these guns. (flexes her arms)

How’s this tour been going so far with Jesse McCartney?

It’s been going really well. Everybody on his team is so lovely so I feel very spoiled that this is my first tour and it’s going swimmingly. Really, it’s a lot of work and the three shows, like when we do three-in-a-row shows, back to back in a different city every day, that’s a little bit tough on me logistically, but I’m learning a lot and growing a lot as a performer. So I think all in all 10-out-of-10 experience so far.

So a day off like (Wednesday) is probably very much appreciated.

Yes, I’m learning how to catch my sleep whenever I can.

When this tour got announced, what were you hoping to take away from it? What were you hoping to learn from it?

I think the biggest thing for me, my hope was being able to connect with real listeners and connect with the audience and build my fan base and put my music out there. I think meeting the fans has been my favorite part and just getting to see people’s reaction to my music in real time is the craziest experience. I think that’s another really big highlight for me. I think just getting out there, sharing my music and obviously gaining experience as a performer and getting acquainted with the whole touring process.

Do you feel like you’ve earned some new fans along the way so far?

I’d like to think so. I definitely have talked to a lot of people and had some really special moments with the people that I’ve talked to, so I would like to think that I’ve created some lifelong fans.

It’s got to be different to meet these people in person versus whenever you’re just doing things on YouTube or social media. You might get some feedback, but it’s totally different when it’s in person.

100%. I think just getting comfortable performing as well under a lot of different circumstances and it’s a very much like the show must go on mentality, but I think it’s been really good for me. I feel like every performance I get stronger and it’s been really, really fun.

What’s a typical set list look like for you on this tour?

So currently we are doing about five to six songs. We have a song that we do some nights and kind of feel it out. We’re working on adding another song to the set based on audience reaction and what people are responding to. I’ve been working with my movement coach and prepping that and hoping to add that soon. But about five to six songs right now, three originals and two covers.

Who are you covering? Is that safe to say?

Yeah, the secret is out. (laughs) I’m covering a song by Rosé from Blackpink and a song by Aly & AJ, kind of a throwback song.

Your debut single, “Loving You Is Hard” dropped about a year ago, so how would you describe the past year for yourself?

Oh my goodness, so much has happened in this last year. It’s felt like a very long year, but in a good way. A lot of writing. I feel like I’ve definitely developed my sound a lot since that song. That was probably the fourth song I’ve ever written, ever. Since then, we’ve written probably 20 to 30 more songs. I’ve just been in the studio a lot working with other artists, really trying to just grow as much as possible. So I would say, if I had to pick one word to sum up this year, it’s been a year of growth, obviously culminating in this amazing opportunity.

Your newest song is “LSR” that just came out Oct. 3, so what should people know about that song?

It’s a very playful song. It’s a little bit different than some of the other songs I’ve put out so far, and it’s very fun. We have a little interpolation of a No Doubt song in there. It’s basically just a song celebrating freedom when you’re young and you have the freedom to make your own mistakes. That’s a really beautiful thing, you know? And you learn a lot through that and you make a lot of mistakes – I guess I shouldn’t project — I made a lot of mistakes — but it’s all been part of my journey. So I think just celebrating the freedom of choice and the freedom to maybe do the wrong thing sometimes, but it’s my life. And if I want to take some stumbles, as long as I get back up, we’re all chilling.

I thought I heard the No Doubt line in there. I thought I heard “It’s my life” part…

Yeah, absolutely. When we were writing, we were like, you know what, this would be kind of crazy, but you know what would fit really well here because sometimes when you’re writing a melody, you just kind of put words in before you put in the actual words, you’re just kind of ad-libbing, and that just slipped in there, and we’re like, that’s kind of perfect. (laughs)

What’s it been like collaborating with AC Burrell? It seems like he has a lot to offer based on the people that he’s worked with.

He’s so important to me. Really, I consider him a part of my family. He’s the reason so much of this is happening, because Diane (Warren) brought me into the studio and then he met me and he was like, I would really like to develop you as an artist. So I think he’s probably my No. 1 mentor and teacher but also a very close friend to me. I think everything comes back to the music when you’re an artist, for me at least. Performing is a really big part of it, but if you don’t have the music there to support it, you’re kind of standing on nothing. So AC has been just a very focal point for me and has been my rock through everything.

Do you feel like your sound, your music, is still a work in progress, like you’re still trying to figure that out?

Absolutely. It’s always a process. Art is dynamic, so you’re always going to be evolving and changing and growing usually. But I would say, especially because I’m such a new artist and I’m so new to music in general, we really have been fine-tuning what my sound is and distilling it down to its core. So I think with every song we get closer and closer. I always have this sensation of the last song we’ve written is my favorite song. And then we write another song and I’m like, no, no, now this one’s the best one. So I think as long as we’re falling upwards like that, I think that’s why the creative process is the most important part of my art right now, because it really is a lot of self-discovery.

You’ve written 20 to 30 other songs, so is there more new music in the pipeline? Do you feel like you have a bigger release coming down the road?

Oh, yeah, absolutely. We’ve been working very diligently with my team as well to prep a lot of stuff that’s going to be coming out in the next couple months and prepping a lot of things to go along with it so that we can have a very fine-tuned plan. I think the next six or seven songs are already planned out. And then from there, we have a bunch of songs that we still want to figure out in what order we want to put them out. But I think that towards the end of this year or early next year, we’re going to be putting out an EP as well.

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You don’t see “biologist” in too many Instagram profiles for musicians.

No, I only know of one other one, Mariah the Scientist, I think, and I would love to connect with her one day. That’s the only person I can think of off the top of my mind.

What were you doing before music? Were you still in school? Did you have a job?

I had a job, I was in school last year and got certified in embryology, to do IVF. I was working in fertility before that. I was in fertility research. I really liked research, but I wanted to have an application of my science that I felt where I could see the impact a little bit sooner because a lot of research, it’s very much down the line. With something like embryology, you can directly change people’s lives. My sisters are IVF babies so I’ve personally been touched by that industry so I was very excited to pursue it. I started school while I started pursuing music as well. So that was a bit of a crazy time for me, but it was also an amazing time. So I was spending six hours in the lab, looking through microscopes, and then going home and writing music. It was just nuts.

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