Interview with Pop Artist Melroze

Inspired by vulnerability and being her true self, Nashville-based pop artist Melroze is not afraid of sharing the realities of her resilient character through her music. Influenced by dark pop, acoustic, and electronica genres, Melroze stands out with her ability to make people feel and think about the words she includes within her intricate songwriting skills. Studying classical voice in college, Melroze was inspired to start writing her own songs and eventually moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music. In 2014, she performed at the Troubadour Club in London, a stage that brought us the talents of Ed Sheeran, Adele, and Bob Dylan. Influenced by bands such as Evanescence and the Cranberries, Melroze took a deeper stride at songwriting by collaborating with funk/R&B producer Ryan Prewett in 2019 to record her next project to be released this year. In hopes of sharing the importance of genuinity with her fans, Melroze is eager to share her newest releases in hopes of inspiring others to always be true to themselves.

If we were to look at the artists you are listening to, who would be on your playlist?

I actually really love this question because the answer has so many different types of artists and genres of music. I think that’s something I really love about the time we’re living in now- it’s totally normal for a person to like all kinds of music. Even artists are making music in multiple genres! But here are my top 10 artists I’ve been listening to lately:

Banks
Demot Kennedy
Eivor
Sasha Alex Sloan
Chelsea Lankes
Blink-182
Imagine Dragons
Rob Thomas
Backstreet Boys
FLETCHER

What has been most challenging aspect of your current releases?

I have absolutely terrible stage fright. I have anxiety, as well, so preparing for a show or for a performance is literal hell for me. I end up getting all kinds of psychosomatic symptoms- a sore throat, a headache, dry mouth. It is a true battle of nerves and willpower to get me on stage in front of anybody. I think most of my time on stage as a kid was in plays and musicals, where there’s a director and there’s a set and there’s rehearsal. And you can count on somebody else’s opinion to keep you from doing something wrong- like providing blocking or having lines or rehearsing over and over. But when it’s JUST you? It’s terrifying because it’s all on you to be entertaining and I find most of my music to be soft and haunting and emotional. And getting people to pay attention is very hard to do during some live shows because of that. So, I have learned when I perform, I have to wear something flashy. Lots of sequins or a leather jacket or a crazy hat or something. That gets people’s attention so that they quiet down enough to hear what I’m doing.

Are you creative in other disciplines?

I am before there was music, there was visual art. I don’t draw much anymore, but I was in art classes all my life through elementary to high school. I mostly drew black and white portraits of people with charcoal. In college I moved on to painting with acrylic paints. My degree is technically in Creative Writing, as well, so I’ve written quite a few short stories and essays. Combining my love of writing with music actually seemed to lend itself best to writing songs, so that’s what I ended up focusing on.

What is the best advice you’ve been given?

Write songs you’d want to listen to. That and: stop being afraid of failure and just go enjoy your life. Success alone won’t bring you happiness and happiness is worth so much more than success. If you do something and it doesn’t work out at least you tried and you won’t have any regrets. So, stop beating yourself up over feeling like you’re failing- you only fail when you don’t enjoy what you’re doing.

What is your creative process like?

For me it usually starts with a melody. And then I ask myself: “What do I want to say?” And I start off singing something really blunt and not lyrical at all, but after you repeat it a few times, it turns into a “lyric.” And if I’m stuck on a rhyme, I’ll literally write a list of words that rhyme, or I’ll go to an online thesaurus and search for words that mean what I’m trying to say to see if any of them work. I usually don’t like to get stuck for too long on a song though, so if I’m stuck, I’ll just record what I have on my iPhone, give it a couple days, and listen with fresh ears. Then the process kind of repeats until the song is done.

Do you have a cherished childhood teddy bear or other stuffed animal sitting on your bed at home?

I do! My grandmother gave me a stuffed duck and a stuffed bunny when I was 4. I named them “Ducky” and “Bunny” (very creative) and they have moved 5 times with me all across the south.

If you had to describe yourself as a flavour, what would it be?

Probably some kind of chili-chocolate. I’m very sweet and easy going, but I still have a little bit of spice.

Which are cooler? Dinosaurs or Dragons?

Dragons, of course! No contest.

What is the most useless talent you have?

I can put on a pretty believable New York accent at the drop of a hat!

What was the last TV series you watched on TV?

I finally got around to seeing “Stranger Things” and all l I can say is WOAH. It was incredible.