Sam Harding is a sunshine singer-songwriter from LA. His upbringing and surroundings clearly reflect on his creation process, as the young troubadour has started creating a unique fusion of modern pop songs that stick.
His new single 'Cry' alongside his new video shows his talent as a musician and as an actor also, in what is a hugely talented artist with his sights set on stardom. We sat down with Sam to talk about his new single, the video for it and some other nice bits too, exclusively for FLEX:
Hey Sam, give us a fun fact about yourself we can’t find from Google/social media!
A fun fact about me is that I collect Spiderman action figures from the 2001-2014 Spiderman movies. I am obsessed with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s portrayal of Spiderman. I also am the biggest Star-Wars nerd ever and I am obsessed with the storyline of Anakin Skywalker. Basically, I am a huge nerd and people don't usually know that. My bedroom is filled with Spiderman and Star Wars memorabilia.
Please tell us all about your new single and video 'Cry'!
Cry is such an important song to me. It really touches on sides of my life that I used to struggle with, and I know others do as well, which is being emotional. Crying was one of my biggest fears. I absolutely hated and feared doing it growing up, and that fear followed me as a teenager and young adult. Something I hate about society today is that a lot of young males are taught from a young age that crying is weakness. I was one of them. I spent most of my childhood crying alone, or if I felt like I could be getting emotional, I would lock myself in a room. I never wanted a soul to see this side of me. However, after a lot of heartbreak and a very abusive relationship, I couldn't hide it anymore. My heart was shattered, and I had lost so much hope in myself. Strangely all that helped me in the long run. I began to become obsessed with tackling every amount of baggage i had held back, even going all the way back to my childhood, and it’s been extremely freeing. That’s why I started making music. That's what Cry is about, and that is what the video follows, people and the world trying to bring me down but breaking free of those chains.
Watch Sam's new video for 'Cry' below:
Please tell us a bit about your creative process when it comes to songwriting?
So for writing, I usually start on piano and start freestyling lyrics and melodies on how I feel until I like the sound of the lyrics, and I will start to write them down slowly; that way, it truly does come from the heart. Then, whenever I get stuck, I have like a 10-page notepad with things I always wanted to say to people or quotes that I like, and I will find ways to pull those into all my songs.
Who or what influences your very unique and individual pop woven sound?
Joji, Jaden, The Weekend, Harry Styles
& Lastly, what can fans expect from Sam Harding next?
I will be releasing a six-song EP called “Tapes That'll Never Reach you” in Fall 2022. The Project will have three of my already released songs such as “ Fly Away” “Thought of me” and “Cry” with three new brand new songs. I am beyond excited for everyone to hear this! I have been working on this for so long now and I can't wait for everyone to hear this story. It's definitely an emotional rollercoaster.