Category: Interviews

ODELL SURPASSES 20,000 STREAMS WITH “I DONT MISS THE OCEAN”

NASHVILLE, TENN. (August 21, 2020) — Independent artist ODELL released his third single “I Don’t Miss The Ocean”. The anticipated single follows ODELL’s second single “17 Hours” which accumulated over 40,000 spins. ODELL was put on the social media map when he was a contestant on Season 10 of NBC’s Emmy-Award “The Voice” in 2016. It’s not far long before ODELL takes over the Nashville songwriting scene.

“I Don’t Miss The Ocean” is penned by ODELL himself with his twist on words and wide vocal range.

The idea behind “I Don’t Miss The Ocean” comes from the beginning of the infatuation stage after a breakup. “It’s about when you thought everything was going to work out the way you wanted it to,” ODELL says.”However, now that I’ve met someone else, everything I used to care about doesn’t seem to matter much anymore.”

ODELL surpassed 20,000 streams on Spotify in the first week of releasing “I Don’t Miss The Ocean”.

“I Don’t Miss The Ocean” is available to buy or stream on all digital platforms.

Dalton Mauldin Drops First Single Off EP “gray”

“mine” is available to buy or stream on all digital platforms.

After Dalton Mauldin’s recent successes with his recent drop “Blinded” surpassing 500,000 streams and “I Look Good On You” reaching over 100,000 spins on Spotify, Mauldin’s anticipated single off his first EP gray has arrived.

Mauldin’s project gray has been a long time coming – living in his head before coming to life. Instead of writing his songs over a short period of time, the EP’s first song “mine” was written last fall. He wrote it with his friend Pierre Alexander after discussing past relationships and how unusual it all felt.

“It was weird to have all of the materialistic things even after the breakup ended,” Mauldin said. “But in the end to think that the person was never really mine.”

Choosing the first song off the EP was a difficult decision, and ultimately came down to “mine” and a different track.

“I sent it to a friend of mine, Parker Livingston, and he put a new twist to the song that I thought was incredible,” Mauldin said. “ I knew right away it would be the first single and I think it’s the perfect song to explain the whole idea of the EP.”

Mauldin’s favorite part about recording gray was finding comfortability in being vulnerable.

“I showed a lot of my friends these songs and explained the stories behind them, which is something I’ve never done before,” Mauldin said. “To be able to let my guard down and talk about these feelings with people has helped me grow as an artist.”

Mauldin wants listeners to have a better understanding of him after hearing it.

“I feel like this is my first project where people will see me for who I am as they follow along with the stories behind the songs,” Mauldin said. “ I hope these songs can help people get through whatever they’re struggling with, with the windows down in the car, screaming it at the top of their lungs.”

Mauldin’s upcoming EP gray will drop sooner than we think.

Up & Coming Artist: Lauren Davidson

Some of Lauren Davidson’s earliest memories include her father playing guitar and singing around the house. He was a singer/songwriter and used to play clubs around New York City. It wasn’t before long that she realized that she loved singing before she could even speak. Now, she finds herself playing in some of those same clubs her dad did.

Splitting time between New York City and Nashville, Davidson has been able to network and experience different sides of the music industry.

“What drew me to wanting to spend time in Nashville was that I had the opportunity in New York and New Jersey to open for all these amazing artists that were coming on tour,” Davidson said. “It helped me make connections with people whether that be the artist or musicians in the artists’ band.”

Davidson has opened for various artists including Carly Pearce, Michael Ray, and Russell Dickerson. Visiting Nashville and reconnecting with these people that she has toured with has helped her immersed herself into the city’s scene.

She’s excited about her most recent songs coming soon and her latest drop “Find Me”. It’s a song she wrote with Tommy Cole about finding yourself again after a relationship.

“I love the story behind this song because it’s a strong female empowerment track,” Davidson said. “I also loved co-producing it because it’s a little different than any other song I’ve released before, it’s a little more pop production.”

Layering different instruments, ideas, and vocals onto this track helped her explore what she’s capable of and do something she has never tried before.

Davidson released the title track of her next EP “Love Ain’t Fair” which has already curated over 10,000 streams. She’s planning to release more of her EP in five parts in the coming year.

“Find Me” is available to buy or stream on all digital platforms. Make sure to follow Davidson’s social media for more updates.

Canaan Cox drops new EP “Stilettos”

Canaan Cox found his music career in his genes. His dad writes music and his mom played in a band. He grew up in a large family of seven, always having an audience and that strong craving of attention. It wasn’t until he made the move to Nashville that he knew that he could make a name for himself.

“Nashville is definitely the place to create buzz in town, network, and get the ‘car out of the garage’ as my day would say,” Cox said. “Talent is necessary but I don’t think people understand how much of a business it is.”

The entrepreneur mindset was something that Cox had to find out through hard work and viewing himself as a brand/business.

“Once I got here I was off to the races,” Cox said. “Everyone’s story is different on how they got to where they are, I’m just still writing mine.”
– Canaan Cox

Cox’s latest drop “He Loves Me” comes from his dad being his best friend. “From wrecking the Ford Bronco to jumping in the Jeep after football practice when I was playing termite football saying I wanted to quit, everything is true,” Cox said. “He’s a huge reason I continue to push hard at this career.”

Cox explained that his dad is the reason he is who he is today and there will never be enough time to explain how much he means to him.

Not only did Cox release “He Loves Me” in late June, but last week his new EP “Stilettos” dropped. “I wrote down everything I wanted to accomplish digitally this year,” Cox said. “I’ve finished the list, including this EP.”

Cox has been working on the EP “Stilettos” since November 2019 and couldn’t be more excited to share it with everyone.

“I focused more on what I specifically loved about music and put that magic into my own product,” Cox said. “This EP is the definition of Canaan Cox.” His craving for creativeness and different stages of his writing career is shown throughout the tracklist.

With the craziness of COVID-19, Cox also started his own production company, Wait For It Entertainment, focusing on helping other artists tell their stories. “With most of my music videos I direct, produce, edit and even choreograph,” Cox said. “I come from a musical theatre background but I’ve always loved being behind the camera.”

Cox is in production now for the music video of his EP’s title track “Stilettos”, which is coming out sooner than we think.

“Stilettos” is available to buy or stream on all digital platforms. Make sure to follow Cox’s social media for more updates.

Up & Coming Artist: Jamie Gabrielle

Growing up in New Jersey, Jamie Gabrielle started singing with her grandma at a young age. They would always watch movies and sing along together, sparking her career very young. She began writing songs in high school as she started to understand music theory more. She taught herself piano and guitar, preparing her to become the inspiring songwriter she is today.

Moving to Nashville opened up her world to many new experiences. “It enabled me to start playing writer’s rounds and meeting a lot more people,” Gabrielle said. “It’s really inspiring to work with people who are better than you, and you learn a lot. It really brought me out of my shell.”

Not only did Nashville help Gabrielle break out of her comfort zone, but her appearance on The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart taught her to not be such a perfectionist. “I experienced a lot of stage fright, and going on there really pushed me considering they were some of the biggest performances I’ve ever had,” Gabrielle said. “I could learn a song faster than I thought, especially working with another person.” She became a better teammate and learned to advocate for herself if something wasn’t working out for her. “That environment required a lot of me in a short amount of time, but I had the tools from Nashville and school to help me through it,” Gabrielle said.

Gabrielle’s single, “Go To Your Head,” dropped in May and already has over 100,000 streams. The track is produced by Cameron James, who was mentored by talented songwriter and producer Busbee. “The inspiration came from a relationship where I always had to tell myself, ‘Don’t let it go to your head,’” Gabrielle said. “But when you really care about someone you want them to know how you feel.”

“I’ll be your shot of bourbon given courage, make you warmer than whiskey when you’re with me. I meant what I said let it all go to your head”
“Go To Your Head” – Jamie Gabrielle

People saw Gabrielle fall in love on Listen To Your Heart, and she wanted to show her journey to becoming more confident in expressing her feelings through this song.

“Go To Your Head” is available to buy or stream on all digital platforms. Make sure to follow Gabrielle’s social media for more updates.

ODELL Releases Track “17 Hours”

NASHVILLE, TENN. (May 29, 2020) — Independent artist ODELL has released today his second single “17 Hours”. The anticipated single follows ODELL’S first single “Eventually,” which accumulated 60 THOUSAND plays on Spotify. ODELL was put on the social media map when he was a contestant on Season 10 of NBC’s Emmy-Award “The Voice” in 2016.

Packed with ODELL’s impeccable vocal tones and ambient sounds, “17 Hours” is penned by ODELL himself and produced by John Luke Lewis.

The idea behind “17 Hours” started in 2019 while he was thinking about a past relationship. He was struggling with handling the breakup, not because he couldn’t handle it, but because he didn’t handle it at all. “The idea is best described as the breaking point after the breakup,” ODELL says. “You drive into the night trying to get away from it all, but you still end up in the same place you were when you started, avoiding the breakdown.” The song comes from hopeless romantic escapism that takes you to a midnight drive trying to clear your thoughts.

Click HERE to listen to “17 Hours”

Up & Coming Artist: Matt Gorman

Growing up in Philadelphia, Matt Gorman was raised a city boy with no country lifestyle. He picked up his first guitar in 2nd grade, but he didn’t find his true passion for it until about six years later. Gorman found his love for songwriting during his junior year of high school. A portion of his English class consisted of poetry, and while writing a poem, Gorman got the idea to turn it into a song. Little did he know, recording that song on the GarageBand app on his phone and sending it to his closest friends would have a monumental impact on the future of his musical career.

Country music wasn’t a part of Gorman’s life until he was about 12 years old. As a kid, Gorman had a natural inclination towards country culture that most other kids growing up in Philly didn’t have. When the television was on, Gorman was rarely plopped down in front of a cartoon like other kids his age. “I used to watch John Wayne with my grand-pop and uncle and my favorites were Western movies like McLintock, El Dorado, and The Cowboys,” Gorman explained. “ I always loved wearing a cowboy hat and a rubber pair of fireman boots that I used to pretend were the boots John Wayne wore on the TV. I didn’t know any different because I was young, but I think my parents would say that they knew I was going to be a little different compared to the other city kids when I grew up.”

Along with being a musician, playing college baseball has been a goal of Gorman’s for as long as he can remember. After two years of playing junior college baseball, he was interested in playing for Lipscomb University after a friend’s advice. “I had an old summer ball coach reach out because he knew one of the Lipscomb coaches,” Gorman said. “He said it didn’t seem realistic because of timing and money, however, I was hopeful and I truly gave it to God that he would place me in the perfect place.” Once he visited Lipscomb, he knew it was the place for him.

“I get to play Division I baseball at Lipscomb University with incredible teammates and great coaches, and in my spare time, I get to record my music and work alongside people who I truly love in Nashville, Tennessee.”
– Matt Gorman

Gorman’s first single, “Back To You,” was written this past summer and took just a few days. “It’s one of those songs that just came to me because it is based on a real-life experience that I had with a girl that I thought was going to be the one,” Gorman said. “The songs that I write all come from some kind of experience that I’ve had because I can’t write about pick up trucks in a field down south and doing a lot of the stuff that most country artists have experienced because I grew up in a big city.”

The lyrics in “Back To You” tell the story of being blindsided by a breakup and continuously telling oneself that you’ll be back with that person until you realize it’s best if you aren’t. He wrote the song by himself and brought it to Lipscomb student/producer Joey Liechty. His favorite part of the process is that the song, production, promotion, and videography are all done by Lipscomb students.

“Back To You” is available now to buy or stream on all digital platforms. Make sure to check out Gorman’s social media for more updates.

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Dalton Mauldin Drops NEW Single “Blinded”

Dalton Mauldin’s next hit is around the corner with his anticipated new single, “Blinded,” out today, Friday (Aug 2.) If you loved his first single, “Nights Without You,” you won’t be disappointed with the sound of his next chapter.

The idea behind “Blinded” started a couple of months ago while Dalton was thinking about a past relationship of his. He was struggling with handling the breakup, but explained, “The idea is best described being blinded to the thought that a person you truly love or care about is going to change, but they never do.” The song comes from a hopeless romantic reminiscence that you’re hoping your partner will change to make the relationship work. That person comes back into your life again and you think things will turn out differently, however, you realize that it wasn’t meant to be.

“I guess I’m just blinded / Can’t find my way out the door / I’m still reminded that you don’t love me no more / Slowly as time goes, I’ll make my way back to you / Cause we’ll think it’s different, but really it’s nothin’ new.”
– Chorus of “Blinded”

The idea for “Blinded” came to Mauldin while he was writing and playing guitar in his free time. As he pondered through some old notes with the hope of launching something new, a couple of words stood out. “I came across a note that said “Blinded” and “Nothing New.” It immediately sparked an idea in my head that led me to write “Blinded,” Mauldin said. “I really liked the idea, and I wanted it to be perfect so that people understand it completely – and especially relate to it.”

As he was nearly finished writing the song, he sent it to his manager who motivated him to finish it. “What’s cool about the song is the way I recorded it on my phone after I finished it – it is a little different from the actual version I’m releasing,” Mauldin said. “We kept the same chords I originally wrote the song for but switched up some melodies.” After the production process, he found a love for the new version.

“It’s always a good idea to hear other options or opinions from people you trust to interpret the sound.”
– Dalton Mauldin

Even though “Blinded” sounds different from his first single, “Nights Without You,” he loves the way it turned out. “I’ve been focusing on making music the way I want to and also the vibe I’m feeling,” Mauldin said. “I feel as that you tend to limit yourself and you begin to believe you have to conform your sound to a certain genre.” Mauldin plans on being himself and having fun with his music. He feels that if he’s open-minded and stays creative, he’ll be happy.

Mauldin recently played his first live concert in St. Louis back in June. His friends at Apogee Promotions arranged for him to open for American Idol’s Season 14 runner up, Clark Beckham. “It was so cool to hang out with fans and take pictures for the first time ever,” Mauldin said. “After all this time I’ve spent practicing in my room, I actually got to play in front of a sold-out crowd. It was a dream come true.”

“Blinded” is available now to buy or stream on all digital platforms. Make sure to check Mauldin’s social media for his NEXT release, “Lost In The Blue,” coming soon.

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Up & Coming Artist: Mac Hunt