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10 Questions with ... Elizabeth Chan
December 11, 2017
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Singer-songwriter, producer, entrepreneur and CEO, Elizabeth Chan is constantly reinventing herself with a holiday flair. The founder and CEO of Merry Bright Music, Chan has produced five albums since 2012, beginning with "Naughty & Nice," which hit Top 5 on the iTunes Holiday Chart the first week of release. Her 2013 single, "A Christmas Song," was nominated for "Best Original Song" by the Streamy Awards. That same year, Chan released the single "Fa La La", off the "Everyday Holidays" album which charted on Billboard. She made an encore appearance on the same chart last year for her single "Christmas in the City". Her holiday dedication has paid off: ASCAP has recognized Chan as one of the most played original Christmas songwriters on terrestrial and satellite radio in the U.S. Her new album "Five Golden Rings" was released on September 30, 2016 and she recently released a powerful music video for new single "Ghost of Christmas Past" which is currently gaining footing again on the Billboard AC charts.
About Merry Bright Music: Founded in 2012, Merry Bright Music is a New York City-based entertainment company exclusively focused on producing Christmas and seasonal holiday content worldwide.
1. A lot has happened since we interviewed you in 2016. You had a daughter! Congratulations! How will the experience of parenthood change the way you think about Christmas and writing holiday music now? How does she feel about having Christmas year round?
I have literally waited my entire adult life for Santa to come around again. He's going to love meeting my daughter and I can't wait to see the look on her face on Christmas day every year.
Christmases will never be the same. My evolution as a Christmas artist is definitely clear in my new album.
2. Your song, "Ghost of Christmas Past" has been doing well on the Christmas charts. Please tell us about the inspiration behind the song and how has it been received by listeners so far?
I had been working hard for years to figure out which song out of the hundreds I have written would stand the test of time and be the standard I've been looking for my entire life. I feel strongly that "Ghost of Christmas Past" could be my standard. The inspiration behind the song is quite frankly the honest nature of time and life. Just as my Christmas will never be the same this year, for others it will be different in different ways. This captures the spirit of the wistfulness and longing we all experience during the holiday season.
The reception to the song has been astounding. From both programmers and most importantly, listeners. I was performing for listeners at WRRM in Cincinnati, when a woman tearfully approached me to thank me for the song. She was confronting a terminal illness of her mother and the song had been helping her to get through it. Anytime the song would play around the country, I'd receive a note from a listener who had to find me to tell me what the song meant to them. One person told me how this song reminds him of how his little children are growing up so fast and to not worry about the little things. Every interpretation was correct.
It was then I knew, that after all these years of working so hard at finding my standard ... this could be the one. The type of song that would touch the hearts of Christmas listeners, who could take the song, internalize it and make it their own.
3. Please tell us about the making of your music video for "Ghost of Christmas Past"? How has the meaning behind the video changed for you since becoming a mother?
The concept for the music video for "Ghost Of Christmas Past" had been in the works months before I personally found out I was pregnant. So the storyline reflecting my real life at that moment was kind of this crazy coincidence. Some people make their pregnancy announcements on social media. I had made my own stealthy announcement through the video. I was priming people ahead of time that Christmas was going to change. The absolute bananas thing is that those are real pregnancy tests from me. The engagement ring aspect was part of the music treatment for months. The day after we wrapped shooting, I went to the doctor. Found out and confirmed I was pregnant. The doctor took a picture of a sonogram and the baby looked like an engagement ring. I can't make this up. I have the sonogram for anyone who wants to see it.
4. Unlike most artists who record Christmas music in addition to their other music, you only write Christmas music. But in 2016, you dedicated a song called "Concrete Tears" to the memory of 9/11, and you recently released a song by Arcade Fire called "Wake Up" on your new album. What inspired you to step out of the gift box this past couple years (so to speak) to record these songs?
My journey to becoming a Christmas artist was not a straightforward journey. The struggle to go after my dream was at times humbling and humiliating. The desire for my dream never waned even though I faced many challenges. There were a few songs that gave me strength to carry on and one of those songs was Arcade Fire's 'Wake Up.'
After my success with my debut EP "Naughty & Nice," I was approached by the casting producers of "The Voice" to audition for the show. I just really wanted to figure out how to make it in the music business and at the time this was the best opportunity I had. The more I started to walk towards the opportunity, the more I realized I was becoming someone I didn't want to be. I realized there would be no short cuts to what I wanted to achieve, which was to become a Christmas composer. We all have those moments in life that help define who we are and this moment helped define who I was not."
"Wake Up" was one of the songs I had rehearsed for "The Voice," but it became a personal anthem and a reminder of how there are no shortcuts and nothing in life is exactly what it seems. Especially this past year, when I found out I would be a mother I knew that Christmas would never be the same. "Wake Up" is also a message for my daughter about life and how sometimes life isn't what you expect and we are all children that one day wake up. I secretly fear the conversation I will have with her about Santa Claus.
5. You recently released your album, "Songs for Noelle," a collection of songs written for your daughter as the title suggests. How many songs were initially written for the album and how did you decide which songs would make it onto the final release?
Before I was pregnant, I had written an entire album of originals entitled "Oh What Fun." Seven different songs were slated for the album. After finding out I was pregnant, I wasn't sure I'd be able to record an album. Pregnancy has its physical challenges. I also started to think about this album differently. My albums are always a commemoration of where I am in my Christmas journey. This time I had envisioned how Christmas would now be filled with toys. How my year would be spent battling a newborn to stay sleeping through the night. Christmas is about the celebration of the birth of baby Jesus. Here I am celebrating the birth of my own baby and I wanted to reflect and pay homage to the season in that way.
So instead of presenting new originals that felt out of place for this moment of my life, I started to curate a theme around babies, toys and lullabies. These songs were recorded while my daughter Noelle was in my womb. I was 7.5 months pregnant when we wrapped the album. Every song on the album I still play for her and she has a recollection of them. She could be crying ... and the moment I play a song from the record she calms down to listen. It's already familiar to her!
6. Christmas is about many things, but it is especially about the joy we see in children at this time of year. For 2017, you also released another new song entitled, "Toyland." What did your daughter do to inspire this track?
Before the birth of my daughter, the only toys I'd buy were for my dog Toby. I realized that with the birth of Noelle, I'd soon be visiting Toyland. This made me laugh because the classic's lyric is "Toyland, once you pass it's borders, you can never return again." This year marks when I entered Toyland.
7. Do you have any interesting new collaborations you can share?
Yes, I've had the honor to arrange a Christmas song for Five for Fighting, for a televised Christmas special and I arranged the opening number, "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear." My friend Dave Eggar and I worked on the arrangement and I had this crazy idea to weave "Superman" with "Joy to the World." It's a gorgeous arrangement and I'm always happy to spread Christmas cheer with others!
8. The production on these tracks sounds amazing! Once again you've brought in some great musicians. Please tell us about the making of "Songs For Noelle"?
Sometimes I listen to my first EP, "Naughty & Nice" and I am proud of how I've evolved as both an artist and a record producer. I think my last LP, "Five Golden Rings," helped me find my place and stride as a producer. I'm definitely more comfortable in trusting my vision and making sure I do everything to achieve the song as composed and intended in my mind. I really love the musicians I work with. They have become some of my closest friends throughout the years, so it's just always a great time to jump into the studio with your friends. It just happens to be my job!
9. What were you doing before you became a Christmas recording artist?
I was doing all the wrong things. I worried about all the wrong things. So it doesn't matter. If people want to know they can find out. There are vestiges of my past life out there to uncover. These days I just focus on who I am now.
10. As a one-woman writing, recording, producing and marketing machine, please tell us what it's like running your own label, and what a typical day would be in the hallways of Merry Bright Music?
It's an amazingly liberating endeavor that at times can be quite thankless. There is absolutely no typical day at Merry Bright, especially since I now have Noelle with me in the office. Merry Bright Music is a family business. She's already wearing the reindeer uniform as we speak.
Bonus Questions
What's your earliest Christmas memory? What's your favorite Christmas memory? What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?
This is a loaded question. My earliest Christmas memory is being tucked into bed with the windows wide open. In Manhattan, Santa throws presents through the window since no apartment dweller has a chimney.
My favorite Christmas memory didn't happen during Christmas, but definitely was the filming of my first music video for "A Christmas Song" in Times Square.
My favorite Christmas traditions have yet to be done. Now that I am a mom, I'm sure we will have new ones with my daughter.
Please tell us how you felt the first time you heard your music on the radio?
It never gets old. There is always a magic that you feel when you hear your song on the radio. For me, when I hear my songs played between some of my most favorite classic Christmas songs, it's such an honor. I always like to take note of the song before and after my song has played. I imagine they hold hands like the Christmas friends they are.
What's a common question or comment you get from fans about your music?
Why Christmas music? The answer is quite clear after all these years. I was meant to do this.
As a new mom, what tradition are you most excited to share, or start with your daughter this Christmas?
Introducing her to my friend Santa Claus is something I've waited my entire life for. I want to teach her that the magic of the holidays is not in the receiving but it's in the giving. She is also the heir of my Christmas catalogue, so I would like to bring her into the family business of appreciating and loving Christmas music!
In closing, please tell us what Christmas means to you?
Christmas means something totally different to me today than it did this time last year. Christmas is my time to commemorate everything about my life I love, and that is my family. Christmas means my family.
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