Well. Here I am, writing my first blog post about the upcoming release of my debut single. It’s a little surreal. This project didn’t begin gradually. It wasn’t something I’ve been building towards for the last few years. I decided one day I wanted to write and release an album, and that I wanted to do it before my 17th birthday, so here we are.
It’s a tight deadline. I know it is. Plus, some things are out of my control, which is a little nerve-racking. That said, I’m driven, I have a lot of freedom in my schedule, and I’m determined to get it out on time. I’ve officially started recording the music video of my debut single, and have the umpteenth draft of the song prepared.
My debut single (named Single) is the first song in the second trilogy, and it’s a story about catching feelings for a friend. The only issue is that friend’s not single.
Writing this song was a fun exercise in wordplay. I love writing lyrics. I’m a poet at heart, and it’s very satisfying to find a lyric that just clicks. In addition, I’m playing with a new medium of accompaniment. I’m very familiar with acoustic guitar, and piano is easy enough to write, but this song is a cappella. I’m singing backup vocals, bass lines, and melody, and it gives me a lot of freedom. There is so much variation in what we as humans can do with our voices! (If you’re not human, I apologize for the presupposition.)
Working on the music video has been really fun. I made the video and song for Freefall (song 3) with my aunt about a year ago, but really the one creating the music video was her. This time, I’m the one shaping my vision—setting up shots, assembling. It’s a fun process.
I was at a loss for who to ask to star in it, but I had a breakthrough last week. I have friends who are also songwriters! So I got Carrie Fitz and Amira Murphy to be in it (you should definitely check out their respective channels). I paid one of my friends to be a cameraman (with hot chocolate), and we were off.
Single releases December 23rd, but due to the tight turnaround, I’m not sure it will be out on every platform at that time. It depends. It will, however, be on YouTube, so check it out! My YouTube channel is @jacksantillo. See you then!!
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