maryjo: The Voice Of An Idol
Fresh off her hit single “Living Room”, vocal powerhouse maryjo has just released her newest song, “Love To Hate Me”, at the end of January. It is another heart-wrenching ballad that puts her beautifully crackling voice on full display, with massive piano-driven choruses that punch you in the gut and leave you asking for more.
She first rose to prominence with an impressive run on Season 19 of American Idol. Shortly after her stint on TV, she signed a record deal with Atlantic and has been putting out stripped-down pop anthems ever since, building a strong catalogue of singles that showcase her one-of-a-kind vocal range. Recently, maryjo has relocated to Nashville and is now a fully independent artist, focused on honing her songwriting craft.
Not two weeks after releasing “Love To Hate Me”, maryjo has embarked on tour with Alex Sampson, joining him at House of Blues in Anaheim, CA on February 6th and playing shows across the continent until ending the run on March 14th at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles.
Before she left for California, I asked her a few questions in a short, exclusive interview for CLIFTN:
As powerful as “Love To Hate Me” is, it also feels deeply personal. Was it a difficult song for you to write?
“When writing ‘Love To Hate Me’, it all just pieced itself together. It originally was a song about a relationship, then I realized when writing it that it was more so a message of how the old me used to treat myself.”
Was there any particular artist, book, movie, TV show, etc. that was inspiring to you during the writing process?
“There was! The song production of Selena Gomez’s “Lose You To Love Me” was a big inspiration, especially the large layered vocals. The lyrics weren’t necessarily what I was inspired by- but more so the production.”
Do you view “Love To Hate Me” as the sequel to “Living Room”?
“Personally, since I connect with the songs differently, I do not view it as a sequel. But if I were viewing both songs as a package, it would totally make sense to be a sequel. So maybe? Maybe not. I think that’s more up to the fans and how they connect with it.”
Obviously “Love To Hate Me” came out in January, but do you consider it to be a ‘winter song’?
“You know, even though I’m a happy person, I love writing sad songs. There’s something more fun about singing them to me. I think a lot of my songs have kind of a winter connection. I think if you’re viewing this song as a relationship point of view, it would be a winter song since a lot of people tend to break up at the end of winter before they are all single for the warm weather again haha.”
Are you enjoying the freedom of now being an independent artist? Is it scary?
“To me it wasnt scary at all, we’ve teamed up with an amazing team and I feel a lot more free. I love my old label, but my new team feels a lot more me. I feel at home. I’m curious to see where this goes, but I feel comfortable so I am positive its all going in the right direction.”
How excited are you to go back on tour in February?
“Oh my gosh, I’m beyond excited to go tour. I’ve already gotten a lot of DMs for new fans waiting to meet! I cannot wait to meet them! They all seem so sweet. I’m especially excited because this one I’m doing an acoustic set, which for me is a lot more fun to sing in its own way sometimes.”
What is both your favorite, and least favorite part of going on tour?
“My favorite part of going on tour is definitely meeting new people and interacting with my fans. My least favorite is probably the significant weather changes in the states. Sometimes I’m not expecting them. It’s a lot harder to sing in different elevations. But at the same time, I don’t get too upset about it because it prepares me.”
Best food you’ve had while on the road touring?
“I don’t really remember honestly. I try to eat pretty healthy on tour and pre-pack things to be in the best shape. However, I can tell you the worst, it was in Texas. I love Texas, but a man [at the restaurant] was super mean to me. But other than that, the food was pretty good, so maybe that doesn’t answer your question.”
I’ll end with something deeper: with AI technology exploding and now that there are even charting AI “artists”, what is your outlook on the future of music?
“You know, I was concerned about AI at first entering in the music industry. Now I’m not too worried, I talked to multiple people about it. Most people prefer listening to genuine artists. Instead of looking at it as a takeover now, I look at it as an addition. I don’t necessarily look at it is a positive addition. I think it takes away from your creativity when using it. So I stay away from it, however, to each their own. Robots can do a lot, but they can’t take the personality or emotion away from music or artists.”
If you haven’t already, listen to “Love To Hate Me” now and check to see if maryjo is playing a venue near you soon!