Author: Lauren

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Music News

Artist Interview: Molly Lovette

I got to sit down with country pop artist Molly Lovette to catch up on how she got here and where she’s going next!

What made you want to get into music?

Music has always been a part of my life since I was little. I remember my parents would tell me I would literally sit in front of our air vents and sing into them so I could hear myself. But it wasn’t until the past couple of years that I really was like this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life.

What brought on that decision?

So I had written a bunch of songs and I decided that I wanted to record a few of them. My guitar player had a little home studio, so we recorded some of my originals in his house. A few months later we had an album release party and I got to play with a full band, and it was such an adrenaline rush and everything I had hoped and wanted.

I was in college at this point and I remember after the show having to go back to school that week. And I did not want to be there. All I wanted was to play music. So I talked to my parents and mentioned this to them. Surprisingly – and not surprisingly because they’re great – they were like “Okay, if this is what you want let’s do this then.”

Who or what inspires you?

My parents inspire me, especially my dad these last few years. He probably doesn’t even know that I think this. . . But he’s a big basketball guy, he loves it. And he started a basketball club with a few of his friends a few years back that’s doing extremely well now. He started with my team, which was nothing, and created this huge thing. I think that was so cool of him to go do what he wanted and loves and start something like that. So seeing that my dad did that inspires me to go do what I’m passionate about.

You were just in a Nashville recording studio for the first time. What was that like?

Oh my gosh it was so cool, I’m still on cloud nine. I was just shocked by how talented everyone was. We walk in and these musicians listened to my song one time and they were like “Ok, let’s go record it.” It was crazy. It was really cool to get to work with such talented and experienced people in the business.

Were you nervous when you first stepped in?

Yes, but I was also excited. I played basketball my whole life, and my pump up song was Eye of the Tiger because I love the Rocky movies. So I was thinking, this is kind of like a basketball game and I gotta get pumped up! So before I went in I did listen to Eye of the Tiger and got myself ready.

Do you have a song you’re most excited to share with us? Why?

One song we just recorded I’m super, super excited about. I love the music I have out right now but this stuff is taken to a whole ‘nother level, especially this first one I’m going to release. It’s upbeat and mysterious almost. . . I’m super excited and think people are gonna be kind of shocked and think that this is the real deal!

What’s coming up for you next?

Really just a lot of playing shows here in St. Louis, but I’m back in Nashville next week playing my first Writers Round. And then I’ll be releasing a single in the spring! I’m preparing for that, and I want to get a music video going. So a lot is going on in the next few months!

I hear you’re moving to Nashville soon. What’s the first thing you want to do when you get there?

[laughs] Honestly, this is so kind of lame, but I just wanna take a really cool picture and tell the world that I’ve moved to Nashville!

Anything else you’d like to add?

I’m looking forward to getting to write with people this year. Co-writing is a big thing, especially in Nashville, and I haven’t done that yet. So I think it will be really cool, and I’m looking forward to getting to write with other songwriters and have people to bounce ideas off of and make some music with!

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Music News

Super Bowl Halftime: Shakira and J. Lo

I’m going to be honest here, I wasn’t really all that excited for this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. I know and enjoy the couple of songs I know by Shakira and J. Lo, but I thought they were strange picks for this performance. But, of course, when halftime rolled around I sat attentively in front of my TV to watch.

And boy, was I astounded. What. A. Show. I couldn’t comprehend how I thought I was going to be unimpressed by their performance! I personally believe this was the best halftime show in years. While I had been stoked for Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, and Maroon 5, I can’t say I was enthralled by any of them. But these two ladies? My eyes were glued from start to finish, my head bopped along, and my brain started to consider taking belly dance classes.

Let’s cover some of my favorite parts. We were gifted with Shakira playing both the electric guitar and the drums. J. Lo put to use those pole dance skills she worked so hard to aquire for Hustlers. Some guys played the horns and danced at the same time. We had female empowerment. We had Latin pride. We had two confident women dancing and singing together on stage. The energy never died. And my favorite moment? The very end when both Shakira and J. Lo flipped their heads around and had huge smiles on their faces, like they both just had the time of their lives in that performance. The joy radiated from them and made me smile, too.

Check out the show below, and maybe watch it again (like I did). And if you’re unfamiliar with these artists, maybe also go check out their entire discography (like I’m doing). And lastly, let us know what your favorite part of the show was!

(Featured photo by Kevin Winter)

Categories
Music News

2020 GRAMMYs: Music Videos

The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards take place on Sunday, January 26. While I’m most certainly excited for all of the other awards, as a visual artist I’m partial to the music video categories. Let’s go through the videos up for Best Music Video, Short Form.

Glad He’s Gone – Tove Lo

Entertaining the whole way through, Tove Lo takes us on a journey to show us how far she’d go to be there for a friend. Her casual walk and nonchalant expression contrast impeccably with the wild scenes behind her, and every expression on her date’s face at the diner is perfection. With scenes as short as a couple seconds, I’d be worried information would get lost, but the timing keeps everything interesting and brings a few chuckles along the way.

We’ve Got to Try – The Chemical Brothers

Starting off dark and moody, you think you’re in for a serious music video. But then it becomes humorous, then wacky, and then back to serious. And somehow it all works. I don’t know how we went from training the dog to drive a racecar to fly a rocket ship, but I’m ok with it. I loved the edits back and forth between the flight and the video game screen, the ride the story took my emotions through, how they used different people to sing the words, and, of course, that it stars a dog. A big round of applause to the credits at the end, too!

This Land – Gary Clark Jr

I loved the shots at the beginning of this video; the arrangement, lighting, and sound effects reeled me in. The use of children is powerful, made even more so by the matching outfits. The part that lost me a bit, though, is the scene with the window, hands, and the galaxy. I feel that section deterred too far from the style of the rest of the video, and the change in editing pace was much more effective at the end than it was there. But I’m so appreciative to see another video with some end credits!

Cellophane – FKA twigs

Well this video certainly did not feel like it was nearly four and a half minutes long. I highly enjoyed the sound effects of her shoes across the floor, and I give all the respect for anyone who can walk in those heels in the first place. Another bit I loved was the women crawling up in the masks and how that moment went from frightening to loving. But the things I did not appreciate include the sped-up motions while she was dancing and the sequence where she was falling. The too fast body movements threw me off and took away from the beauty of pole dance, and the falling scene was so chaotic that I thought it was slightly overdone. I will say I adored the quick second where you could see she was holding onto someone’s hand!

Old Town Road – Lil Nas X

Ok, what isn’t there to love about this? A country western, dance battle, street race, Bingo, and line dancing? What more can you ask for? A perfect balance of comedy and production quality, and with lovely cuts away from the music, this video was pure enjoyment.

So who is going to win? With each of these songs and videos being so different from each other, It’s hard to make a decision. And while I’m a dog lover and Tove Lo fan, my pick to take home the Grammy is Old Town Road.

What do you think? Vote in the poll below to let us know!