Lance Tingey is an alt-pop force hailing from Salt Lake City. Having garnered hundreds of thousands of streams on Spotify, his music is already making waves around the world. Following his most recent release 'Stuck', we caught up with Lance Tingey to find out a bit more about what goes into his songwriting and what inspires him. We can't wait to see what's next!
Please talk us through the meaning of your single ‘Stuck’
When I was 24, a talent scout from a well-known singing TV show reached out to me. They had already heard my songs, seen my content, and thought I would be a good fit. I made it to the final rounds, but unfortunately did not make it on the show.
When I was 25, my song was ALMOST featured as the opening song on a new HBO series. It was an exclusive $80k opportunity. My song was runner-up and one other song beat it out.
When I was 26, another TV show reached out to me; a certain celebrity’s executive team loved my audition and flew me out to LA. I heard back the next day that I had made it onto the show and that they would be flying me out again for filming - I was ecstatic. Unfortunately, that last call never came and I was never featured in an episode.
Over time these “almost’s” in life start to pile up. They can get in your head and convince you that you’ll never quite make it. Eventually, you just have to push them aside and move on.
“Stuck” is about getting out of a rut that feels full of “almost’s” and “maybe’s”, and getting out of your own way. Just like falling asleep, you can’t force anything but you CAN let it happen in the way it’s supposed to. You have to stop overthinking and keep moving forward.
Do you have to be in a certain mood to write?
Not necessarily... if I'm writing with others, we can just bounce ideas off each other til something feels right. If I'm writing alone, it's easiest to write when the emotions are strong and fresh. Or sometimes I like to channel how I imagine somebody else feels with whatever they're going through - I put myself in their position and imagine how it might feel.
How was the recording and writing process?
Mike McClellan produced this song and I was blown away by his talent. We're actually working on a new song right now as well! Because of COVID, we couldn't get together in a studio to record, so I recorded the acoustic rhythm guitar and vocals in my bedroom studio and then he mixed and produced the rest of the track around that. In terms of the writing process, this song came very quickly. Once I wrote the first couple of lines the rest just flowed out naturally - I love when it happens that way.
Where do you live? What’s the music scene like?
When I wrote and recorded this song I was still living in San Francisco, but now I live in Salt Lake City, Utah where I grew up. Honestly, I haven't had much of a chance to get back into the music scene here but I'm really excited to now that live shows are starting up again. I do love the music scene here though. Growing up I would constantly go to Kilby Court and in college I spent many nights at Velour in Provo where I saw artists like Imagine Dragons, Young the Giant, & FUN.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
Oh man... so many. My favorite big name artists are Jon Bellion, John Mayer, Jeremy Zucker. Lately I find myself listening to some really cool new artists like John K, Charlotte Sands, Holly Humberstone, Tai Verdes... I could keep going for a while but those are the first ones to come to mind. Lastly, what's next for you?
I'm working on several new tracks right now and I'm so stoked to get them finished and released. The last few months I've been working on a single with my friend Cody Francis called "Kinda Over It". It's a fun pop song basically bashing on people that are complainers and super negative to be around. Cody is an insanely talented artist, writer, and producer so this one will be really fun to release together.
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