Just a few months ago, I was an unknown artist in the UK. Today, I'm getting my little army ready for the release of my second single in the UK! How thrilling!
NJ Taylor
My new upbeat pop/dance track is an homage to pop music and all the great pop figures. I wrote it with my co-writer, Los Angeles-based Adien Lewis.
The song all started with the title, 'Pop Army'. I have a list with a bunch of title ideas. I absolutely loved this one and I knew I just had to write that song. I brought it up to Adien and he loved the idea. We would write a song as an homage to all the big pop figures that led to what pop is today.
For the melody of the verses, my initial inspiration was 'Gimme Gimme' by ABBA, and the initial inspiration for the chorus was Michael Jackson. As for the production, I was really inspired by Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga.
The single was co-produced with Ghislain 'Gee' Brind'Amour (Rihanna, Karl Wolf, Victoria Duffield), arranged by Shahe Sinanoglu (Karl Wolf) and mastered by Gene Grimaldi (Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Carly Rae Jepsen, Nicki Minaj).
I went to a songwriting workshop given by the multi-platinum award-winning producer/songwriter Rob Wells (Justin Bieber, Backstreet Boys). He critiqued the demo of 'Pop Army' and he had the best comments. He compared it to Janet Jackson's 'Rhythm Nation'. He gave me clues as to how and make the song better, which we applied, and that's what you hear today.
The music video, directed by NOMAD Industries, draws from elements of Lady Gaga, Madonna and Michael Jackson in terms of dance, costumes and concept. The video was a full day shoot. I had a total of five outfit changes. The outfits were really outrageous; the very last one was a suit made of mirrors. It was a great day that led to an amazing video.
I wanted to write a song to thank all the great pop figures for their music. It was an homage to all great influencers: ABBA, Michael Jackson, Madonna, David Bowie, Prince, etc., and each one of these singers, bands and artists that preceeded one another, all taught each other something. That's the beauty of it: each one teach as the proverb goes.
The song talks about how music, in this case pop, is a reflection of a generation and society. All great music never dies; it will always be around until there is someone that relates to it. A song has no boundaries between generations. Music is a reflection of one's journey and of an entire society's era. Each song that you hear for the first time on the radio might just be about to make history. It could be the next song that plays at your graduation. And every time you will hear that same song, it will remind you of that moment in time, your graduation. Music shapes the soundtrack of your life. Music is really powerful. It evokes feelings, memories and triggers images. Music brings people together from all four corners of the world. Just one song, one rhythm, one beat can bring people together.
My last single 'So You', which racked up 130,000 collective views on YouTube for its lyric and music videos, was placed in numerous songwriting competitions and received airplay all over the UK, but 'Pop Army' is the biggie. 'Pop Army' is the perfect follow-up single. It even made the semi-finals of the UK Songwriting Contest 2015 in three different categories.
The new single's from my self-titled debut EP. The track has been remixed by top charting UK DJ Cutmore, and also by the well-known Mexican DJ J Zuart, which will be out this spring along with an acoustic version.
'This is a reflection of our generations/Hypnotic beats get us lost in the rhyme/It will never let you down/It will always be around/Come join the pop army', you can hear me singing in the song.
Pop music might be popular, trendy and catchy but it really does shape a society. Music makes you escape reality. It makes you think, it makes you dream. All this above is what I wanted to embody in 'Pop Arm'y.
You can say that with this single, my intent is to increase my pop army - so come join my pop army!