Exclusive Interview: Soulful Pop Star Musician Maggie Szabo
Maggie Szabo, a soulful Canadian singer who has won over audiences worldwide — including a massive 13 million views on YouTube — seems to be poised to take over the world with her catchy tunes about life and love. She comes comes from small town in Ontario and is now an accomplished singer/performer living and working in Los Angeles, California.
From a young age, Maggie honed her musical skills in her hometown of Dundas, Ontario. Knowing she wanted to pursue a musical career, she moved to Nashville to improve upon her writing and performing. Wasting no time, Maggie scored a record deal with Linus Entertainment in Ontario. Her debut pop album Now Hear Me Out was released in November 2012 (buy it here on iTunes or Amazon). All songs were co-written by Maggie, with production by Justin Gray (Joss Stone), Gavin Bradley (Nelly Furtado) and Tanya Leah.
The single Lovesick was released to heavy rotation on Canadian airwaves, and Maggie was named Bell Media’s Emerging Artist—personally chosen by famed blogger Perez Hilton as his Can YOU Sing? contest winner. He hailed Maggie as a superstar on the rise.
Have a listen below:
Since living in Los Angeles, Maggie has performed to sold-out shows at the infamous Viper Room, House of Blues, and famed venue the Hotel Café. She also wrote and recorded her song Tidal Waves and Hurricanes. The music video premiered exclusively by Ryan Seacrest and has garnered great reviews from media and fans. Maggie also won the 2014 Toronto Independent Music Award in the category for Best Pop, and most recently was the Pop/Top40 winner for the International Songwriting Competition.
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Aside from having her original music placed in many notable film and TV projects, Maggie has recently landed two co-written songs and is the featured vocalist on the upcoming album for German electronic DJ, Schiller, who has so far sold 7 million albums worldwide. The album is scheduled to release in early 2016.
Get a sneak peak of her new song Forgive and Forget:
Maggie took time out of her busy schedule of working on her new album to answer a few of our questions.
Social Underground: First of all, thank you for taking the time to take some of my questions. What was that initial trigger you growing up in Ontario to get into music? A specific song, voice, guitar lick, or experience?
Maggie Szabo: As early on as I can remember, I knew music was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I started taking dance lessons when I was 4 years old, and when I was about 8 years old I begged my parents to put me into singing lessons. It was just always something I had a passion for. After that, I became obsessed with songwriting. I remember my first concert was seeing Gordon Lightfoot at Massey Hall in Toronto. Growing up, one of my favourite songs was ‘If You Could Read My Mind’, so when my parents surprised me by taking me to his show, I was ecstatic. I’ve always admired artists who are prolific songwriters.
How hard was it to take that leap from your hometown to Nashville to try and make your dreams come true?
I’m not going to lie, it was really hard, but also very exciting. I moved to Nashville by myself when I was 18, and it was just scary being in a new country, not knowing anybody, and being away from my family. But on the flip side, being in such an amazing musical wonderland like Nashville was super inspiring. I felt like I belonged there, where as back home, I always felt a little bit like an outcast.
Off the top of your head, what are 5 artists that have significantly inspired your music?
Carole King, Tracy Chapman, Eva Cassidy, Etta James and Gordon Lightfoot.
What is your musical writing process? Do you start with lyrics/poetry, strumming on the guitar, jamming with your band, or a mix of it all?
For me, there are so many ways that I get inspired to write. Sometimes it will be a lyric idea, or a fun little melody idea, or sometimes if I’m going through something I’ll just start playing piano or guitar until a song starts happening. When I’m writing with producers, sometimes we start with a beat or a track too. There’s so many different processes that it always makes it a new adventure. When I get together with one of my writing partners in Los Angeles, we start off with him asking me, ‘So what are you going through’? It honestly feels like I’m in a therapy session! I trust him so it’s easy for me to open up, and that’s usually how we start writing our songs together.
You’ve played famous venues like the Viper Room, House of Blues, and the Hotel Café. Tell me about what it was like doing shows in such iconic places where such legendary acts have played.
Truly amazing! I remember standing on stage at Hotel Café and thinking to myself, ‘Wow, I’m here, doing what I love, in Los Angeles, at this amazing place where so many legendary artists have shared their music’.
I’ve heard of artists recording entire albums, leaving it for a month, and then coming back and starting all over. Have you ever wrote a song and loved it only to hate it later or vice versa?
Heck yes! I mean, I wouldn’t go as far as hating it, but I’ve definitely lost the enthusiasm for songs I once had for after sitting with them for a while. I do love when the opposite happens though; when I finish writing or recording a song and I think ‘Meh, not too sure about it’, but when I hear it back after giving my ears a break for a little while, I love it and my team loves it too. Those are the best surprises.
Is there any artist you’d really love to work with that you haven’t had the chance to yet?
There are many artists that I would love to work with; John Mayer, Justin Timberlake, and Macklemore are probably on the top of my list. I admire their writing and artistry a lot.
You’re working on a new album and a tour. How is that process coming along?
The whole process always takes longer than you hope it will, but I’m at the homestretch with the album. The songs are there, everything is there, so it’s an interesting transition now getting into actually sharing these songs with people after being hidden away in the studio for so long.
What music are you currently listening to right now?
I’m listening to a lot of singer/songwriter albums right now. Chris Stapleton’s album is my favourite one at the moment!
I’m in Detroit, so Canada is basically a second home since many of our radio stations play both Canadian and American music (I’m also a huge Our Lady Peace fan). Any particular cities you plan on hitting when you’re on the road? I’m sure Detroit/Windsor would love to have you play a show or two here.
I used to drive through Detroit on my drives to Nashville! It’s not that far from where I grew up, so Detroit/Windsor is definitely a place I’d love to hit! I also would love to go back to Nashville, New York, Toronto, and I’ve always wanted to play in Austin too!
You can find more of Maggie Szabo online:
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Jeff Sorensen is an author, writer and occasional comedian living in Detroit, Michigan. You can look for more of his work on The Huffington Post,UPROXX,BGR and by just looking up his name.
Contact: jeff@socialunderground.com