10 Questions with ... Melody Noel

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Even in August, there's little argument that "Reckless Love" will lay claim as the biggest Contemporary Christian song of 2018. So, when radio programmers across the format make assertions that Melody Noel & Influence Music's "Mistakes" just might be "the next 'Reckless Love,' it's obvious grounds for paying the song some added attention. Twenty-six year-old SoCal singer-songwriter Melody Noel took a step away from her usual songwriting confines-having written mainstream pop hits for the likes of J-Lo and others-to co-write and perform the vocals on what could be one of CCM's next big worship songs.

1. What is your artist-career path that's led you to where you currently are, with Influence Music?

The SparkNotes version is that I grew up around music my entire life because my dad is a mariachi musician and Latin music producer. I've wanted to sing for as long as I can remember, but around the time I was 15 years old, I began songwriting and fell in love with it. When I got to college at NYU, my goal was to be a professional songwriter. After getting my feet wet writing pop music for mainstream artists, I discovered that worship music was the only outlet I cared about delivering a song with my voice on it.

2. So you grew up in a family of mariachi players. What's the story there?

I am the black sheep of my family! Mariachi music has run in my family for 125 years! My dad is from Mexicali, Mexico and everybody on his side of the family plays in various Mariachi groups. I did sing with his group as a guest singer every once in a while years ago, but he realized by the time I was a teenager that my passion was for pop music. My older sister and both my younger siblings all have been in my dad's mariachi group at one point or another.

3. What came first: songwriting or performing? At what point did you realize you had a gift with both?

Professionally, songwriting came first. I performed in talent shows as a kid, but had major stage fright. The only time I could sing in front of people without freaking out was in musicals because I could pretend to be another character. In college, I started to perform the songs I wrote every once in a while, but it still wasn't my main passion. It honestly wasn't until two years ago, when I started writing worship music that I became passionate about singing the songs I wrote.

4. How has your musical family's upbringing affected your style as a songwriter and as a vocalist?

My dad has had a major influence on me musically. Even though his passion is mariachi music, he raised me listening to artists like Barbra Streisand, Doris Day, and Karen Carpenter. Their raw talent and ability to interpret what they sing has definitely influenced the way I deliver songs. As far as being a writer, I remember the first time my dad showed me the album "Tapestry" by Carole King. I cried listening to it. It made me fall in love with the art of storytelling. My dad put me through piano lessons for a short period of time. I am not the best keys player, but I play enough to write a song!

5. Artistically, spiritually, culturally-who do you credit as your most important influences?

This is a great question. Artistically, I would say Carole King is one of my musical icons. I wrote my entire college application essay about her and was really impacted by her ability to tell stories. I'd also say Katy Perry. Her first album "One of the Boys" was my soundtrack throughout high school. Listening to that album gave me permission to write music that had a little bit of angst, discovering who she was led me to discover Alanis Morrisette-which led down a rabbit hole of angry music that I found incredibly therapeutic!

Spiritually, I really look up to Heidi Baker. I haven't met her yet, but she is also from Orange County and her fire for Jesus is inspiring. She is completely sold-out for the gospel and has laid her life down to love like Christ. I also am influenced a lot by Andy Stanley. I love what he has to say about leadership and I appreciate the practicality behind his messages.

Culturally, to be honest, I think I am still looking for some strong female figures who I can look up to. I love Jennifer Lopez, she has a reputation for being the hardest-working woman in the industry and also happens to have countless businesses other then her entertainment career. I think the longevity she has had is admirable and I think she has been able to keep a level of class to her branding that is hard to preserve in this industry. Also...she's made a mark in the hispanic market without speaking Spanish fluently. This gives me hope because, as of now, I do not speak fluently.

6. You've garnered some considerable success as a songwriter; what have been some of the highlights of that part of your career so far?

Watching Jennifer Lopez and Lin Manuel Miranda sing the song I co-wrote for them at Rockefeller Center. I watched on TV in my living room in awe as the words I wrote were being sung on national television by one of favorite artists. Also, hearing an EDM song I wrote for an artist named Party Favor playing through the sound system at my local gym. I had never been so happy on a Stair Master!

7. What is the SparkNotes version story of Influence Music and how did you get involved with them?

Influence Music was the brainchild of Phil and Tammy Hotsenpillar, our senior pastors at Influence Church, who have always had a heart for the entertainment industry. I had started going to the church about six months and was worship leading a couple times a month, when, one day, Phil called and asked me to spearhead Influence Music. I responded, "What is Influence Music?" And he said, "I don't know...pray about it." All I knew was that we needed good songs. Within a month, our music director, Jordan Sarmiento, had connected us to all the artists involved. I brought together all my songwriter friends from LA and Michael Barkulis had done all the branding. We wrote. we recorded. And many sleepless nights later, here we are.

8. Your debut radio single "Mistakes" impacts on September 14th. Outside of the obvious lyric content, how was the process of writing that song different than writing a song for a mainstream pop artist? Or is there any difference?

There's a major difference because of the vulnerability. Songwriting for other artists requires getting inside of their own head and putting honest words to what they are feeling. "Mistakes" was about admitting what was going on in my head and my co-writers admitting that they had felt the same way. The other major difference is being able to look at the Bible for inspiration. The entire song starts in the book of Genesis. All we had to do was flip there and we had the skeleton of our first verse!

9. What do you hope radio listeners will take away from hearing "Mistakes," once it's on the air?

Freedom and courage. I hope listeners will hear this song and know that they are not alone when it comes to the battle in their mind. I hope this song will give them the words to sing in their darkest moment. I want this song to be an anthem that helps renew their minds so they can step into who God created them to be.

10. As a young artist, where are you going to find new music? (Streaming? Radio? iTunes?) And what are you listening to right now that resonates with you most?

I love checking out the curated playlists on Spotify. I can always count on finding cool new music there. I am a wierdo who loves to listen to instrumental music. I feel like it allows my mind to take a break from thinking about lyrics or overanalyzing the way something is written. Other then that, I love listening to new artists like Billie Eilish, Cardi B and Jesse Glynn. Anyone who's having a bad day should listen to "Don't Be So Hard On Yourself" by Jess Glynne.