Singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson is back with one of the most intriguing album concepts of recent years. ‘Stranger Songs’ is a collection of ‘80s tinged synth-pop anthems inspired by the Netflix smash ‘Stranger Things’. The album will be released on June 28th, a week ahead of the July 4th premiere of the show’s third season.
The concept is already capturing the imagination of fans. The flirty, palpitating lead single ‘Missing You’ is inspired by the Nancy/ Jonathan/ Steve love triangle, and has already exceeded a million streams – in the process pushing Ingrid past 3 million monthly listeners at Spotify.
Stream & Download Missing You here https://ingridm.lnk.to/MissingYouSong
And that momentum continues with the percolating beats and immediate hook of the new single ‘Jealous’, which was co-written with Casey Smith (Jonas Brothers), Jason Evigan (Maroon 5), Cook Classics (Beyonce) and Gian Stone. It’s a snapshot of the moment Eleven uses her supernatural powers to trip a girl who’s talking to Mike, the object of her affections.
“She immediately feels bad because that’s not who she is,” says Ingrid. “That’s an interesting concept: I do bad things when I’m jealous.”
The idea for ‘Stranger Songs’ first emerged in 2017 when Ingrid wrote ‘Christmas Lights’, a poem based upon the relationship between Joyce Byers and her son Will. That poem evolved into a song, and instigated a period of creativity in which Ingrid wrote and recorded the album between November 2017 and spring of this year in Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Nashville. It also empowered her to break new ground, embracing a contemporary sound that’s infused with an Eighties spirit.
As Ingrid explains, “I’ve already made seven records, I have a lot to say. But I’ve said it so much from the brain and mind and soul of Ingrid Michaelson. I wanted to create something through a different lens.
There’s something about ‘Stranger Things’ that’s really comforting, it brings me back to my childhood. It’s the best kind of escapism and I find myself seeking that now more than ever. I took inspiration from the show and the characters and all these ideas started to come to me. Every song on the record includes a reference from the show, some more specific than others, but all of the themes are universal.”
Eleven is the kindred spirit driving ‘Stranger Songs’, and the catalyst for its most powerful song ‘Pretty’, which recalls a scene in which the tomboyish heroine gets a makeover involving a blond wig. Other highlights include ‘Best Friend’, a buoyant ode to Barb, who many fans believe was in love with Nancy, and ‘Hate You’, which continues the story told in ‘Missing You’.
Ingrid Michaelson collaborated on the album with writers and producers including Alex Hope (Carly Rae Jepson, Marina), Sarah Aarons (Khalid, Mabel), Jason Evigan (Madonna, Bebe Rexha), Katie Herzig, Cason Cooley and Sam de Jong.
‘Stranger Songs’ is available to pre-order from https://orcd.co/stranger_songs and will be released on Ingrid’s own independent label, Cabin 24 Records.
After four Billboard Top 20 albums, countless song placements in everything from ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ to a Google ad, and co-writing the Cheryl Cole hit ‘Parachutes’, Ingrid Michaelson consistently sets the bar high. She recently announced that she will develop a musical adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ best-selling novel ‘The Notebook’, which was later made into a much-loved film starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams.
Ingrid Michaelson will commence a North American tour in September which culminates with two homecoming shows at New York’s Webster Hall. Please see https://www.ingridmichaelson.com/ for a full list of dates and ticket information.
