meta-scriptHow Chelsea Cutler's New Album 'Stellaria' Helped Her Appreciate Life's Intricate Moments | GRAMMY.com
Chelsea Cutler Press Photo 2023
Chelsea Cutler

Photo: Blythe Thomas

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How Chelsea Cutler's New Album 'Stellaria' Helped Her Appreciate Life's Intricate Moments

On her third album, 'Stellaria,' pop singer/songwriter Chelsea Cutler let love and vulnerability guide the way — and now she's more present than she's ever been.

GRAMMYs/Oct 18, 2023 - 04:25 pm

Chelsea Cutler's latest album is more than music; it's a mantra.

On her third album, Stellaria, the Connecticut-born singer/songwriter encouraged herself to find beauty in the overlooked. "The biggest lesson I learned between making the album, going to therapy and just getting older has been to meet life where it's at and express gratitude for all the little things right in front of me," she tells GRAMMY.com.

The result of a two-year writing process, Stellaria dives into the delicate moments of love and existing in a post-COVID universe.

With tracks like the starry-eyed love song "Your Bones" and the heartfelt tale about feeling insufficient "I Don't Feel Alive," Cutler guides listeners through a journey of self-exploration and learning to unpack all of life's little gems.

Inspired by the likes of Florence + The Machine, Coldplay and Sam Fender, Stellaria digs deeper into Cutler's indie-pop stylings as well. The project balances electronic and acoustic sounds, from the vocalizer of "you're all i ever dreamed of" to the soft guitar chords in "Hotel June." In line with the album's live-in-the-moment theme, Cutler's Stellaria process mostly involved "paying attention to music that made me feel something, whether it was a good feeling or bad feeling."

GRAMMY.com caught up with Cutler about how Stellaria helped her become more vulnerable, hone her producing skills and tap into her love-song writing abilities.

The interview has been edited for clarity.

How do you feel you've evolved as a musician since your 2021 album, When I Closed My Eyes?

It was really an important goal for me with Stellaria to push myself lyrically, to be more mature and more deliberate with my word choices. With When I Closed My Eyes, I actually took a pretty big step back from the production. With Stellaria, it was really important to me to be across every song.

I think out of the 15 songs, I did production or co-production on 13 out of 15. As a producer, I grew and learned so much, and I really just feel like Stellaria is just leagues ahead.

That's not to say that When I Close My Eyes isn't an awesome project. I think they each reflect where I was and the growth I was experiencing at each time.

How do you feel producing your own music impacts your sound? And how important is it for you to have that kind of involvement in the creation process?

I think it's so important — for me, at least. I'm obviously biased, but I do think that the fact that I'm so involved in production definitely helps my music kind of stand alone as a more unique sound.

I think my production is so funny because I was never technically trained, and everything for me has just been a process of trial and error. And I actually think that's led to some pretty cool, happy accidents and mistakes along the way. So I honestly really love that my processes and growth are pretty clear, and I think it's led to some kind of creative and innovative choices.

It's always been a means to an end for me. I didn't know any producers when I was in college and starting to write music, but it's something I've just fallen in love with.

In your Instagram post announcing the album, you mentioned that creating this album was the most challenging creative process you’ve had thus far. Why was that?

When I started making the album, I was definitely focused on commercial goals. And as wonderful as those goals are, it's also important to have process goals.

It was challenging for me to learn that lesson, because you can't really control the commercial success so much, but what you can control is how you show up in the studio and as a collaborator. Your intention to channel your vision into something and learning to focus on that was much more fruitful and gratifying for me.

What was your inspiration behind the title Stellaria?

Stellaria is Latin and I actually took Latin for seven years. I had this idea that I wanted the album to be a departure from New York City, because so much of my career and story has just always revolved around New York. I wanted to go out West for some writing.

We ended up going to Jackson Hole, and when I was looking around, I kept seeing that word. There was a Stellaria Lane and there's a Stellaria Creek in Yellowstone, and I loved the word so much, so I looked it up and learned what it meant.

Funny enough, it's actually the technical name for chickweed, and the crazy thing is that when I would see it, I was like, This plant's kind of beautiful. It's such an overlooked thing in nature that's so beautiful. Much of this album for me was just learning to be present and notice all the incredible things around me, the small things, the little things that are so easy to overlook. It really felt fitting in so many different ways.

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What about the cover art — what was the idea there?

The crazy story is that we shot an idea for the cover art in a studio, and then we wanted to go recreate it outside. We ended up doing a whole shoot for this cover idea that we had, and we ended up landing on the photo that we had taken completely separately from the cover shoot.

I love the photo so much. It felt to me like it embodied this idea of just being present. I was so lost in the moment when we were shooting out in Joshua Tree in California, and I was just having the best time. For me, that just captured the sentiment of the album more than the idea that we actually went out and shot.

I read that Kevin White and Joel Little had a large influence on this album. What kind of impact did they make?

For starters, both of them are incredible songwriters and producers. Getting to work with Joel Little was honestly a dream come true. He's been a part of projects that I've idolized and getting to do "Your Bones" with him was awesome.

Kevin ended up executive producing the whole album. He's just an absolute rock star, and being able to have a partner really helped me stay true to the vision that I had. Having an incredible team behind you really goes a long way.

What was an average day in the studio for you look like as you were crafting this album?

Honestly, the average day consisted of less writing than you'd think. I remember there was one day where we sat down in the studio and we didn't really know what to write about. So Kevin was like, "Hey, have you ever been to Malibu?" I was like, "No, I haven't." We just got in the car and spent the whole day in Malibu, and that ended up being the first of many times that I would go there for the album.

We ended up getting home and writing a song at night, and that's kind of just how much of the album came together. We'd just go explore and have a great time, and have really vulnerable conversations and come back and make music.

Are there any tracks that are particularly special to you?

There's a song called, "you're all i ever dreamed of," and that song is really, really special.

Why is that song so special?

I wrote it about the beginning of my relationship, and writing love songs has never come easy to me, but I wanted to write something that was a bit more nuanced. I've been dating a girl for five years and before that neither of us had ever dated a girl before.

The beginning of our relationship felt so new and amazing, but also this very coveted thing that we had. I wanted to write a song that really conveyed that delicacy of it, almost just how fragile it was. The song feels just so hauntingly beautiful to me.

You said the same thing when you released "Your Bones," too — that writing love songs isn't really your forte. How did that song come to be?

The craziest thing about "Your Bones" is I actually woke up at 5 or 6 a.m. and had the idea for the hook, so I just voice-noted it. It kind of came out of nowhere.

It's kind of ironic because there wasn't so much conscious intention behind it. I didn't go into that day saying, I want to write a love song, but this idea came to me and it felt really natural to finish it. It ended up being such a special song.

How did writing that song — and also seeing such a powerful fan reaction to it — boost your confidence in your love song writing skills?

It definitely boosted my confidence for sure. If anything, it showed me that vulnerability doesn't have to be this really complicated thing, because writing about the person I love is easy and I didn't realize that something so profound could also come easy.

Were there any new musical instruments or different types of styles that you explored in this album compared to past work that you've done?

I used a lot of cool guitars, like old vintage stuff that all had interesting sounds. Every time I got a new guitar, I justified it to my business manager by saying, "If I write one song with this thing, then it was worth every dollar."

I love instruments, I love old stuff. I love when something feels and sounds like it has a story. That was definitely something I really explored more with this record than ever before.

So digging into the past and finding things that are kind of vintage is something that you're really interested in.

Yeah, definitely. Pretty much every guitar that I used on the record was either from between the 1930s to the 1970s. When things have a story, I feel like there's just so much magic in them.

With everything that’s gone into this album, what do you ultimately hope that listeners take away from it?

I would say that it's really important to me that the music somehow elicits feelings for people, whether it's good or bad. I think all emotions are important for us to feel and be present in. I really paid attention to music that made me feel powerful, and tried to do my best to make music that would do the same for other people.

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Joel Little

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Behind The Board: Joel Little On Working With Lorde, How Vans Warped Tour Inspired Him & More

The GRAMMY-winning producer/songwriter talks though his path of starting a band, a record label and a successful studio career

GRAMMYs/Apr 7, 2020 - 01:44 am

New Zealand-born producer/songwriter Joel Little's career took off when he co-wrote and produced Lorde's 2013 smash hit, "Royals." But as with any successful professional, the journey began long before the accolades rolled.

A guitar player since age 13, Little's road to a career in music started with Vans Warped Tour in 1998, where everything changed. He started taking the idea of forming a band seriously after seeing that show, and went on to form pop/punk outfit Goodnight Nurse in Auckland in 2001.

On the side, he started a label with his Goodnight Nurse bandmate, Sam McCarthy, and found some early success working behind-the-scenes on music. He setup a recording studio, and one of the first artists who came in to work there was Lorde. Little earned a GRAMMY win for Song Of The Year and another nomination for Record Of The Year for his work on "Royals."

In the latest episode of Behind the Board, Little shows us around his current setup, and talks about what works for him as a producer/songwriter. To Little, it's not about his ego or imposing his influnce into the process.

"I shouldn't be trying to force myself on the song," he said. "I'm there to help [the artist] say what they want to say."

He aslo recounts the best advice he's ever recieved, talks about learning the ropes and setting up his studio without studying audio engineering in school and more above in the video above.

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BROODS

BROODS

Photo: Recording Academy

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BROODS Talk Trippy "Peach" Video, Resurrecting Bob Marley & Finding Strength On "Too Proud" | Up Close & Personal

Hear from the electro-pop group about the inspiration behind their wacky visual, growing up with music as the driving force and who they'd want to perform with, dead or alive

GRAMMYs/Sep 24, 2019 - 04:03 am

Sibling electro-pop duo BROODS, consisting of Georgia and Caleb Nott, love making music but don't take it too seriously. Growing up in New Zealand, their parents encouraged them to sing and learn instruments from a young age and, consequentially, music became, and remains, their lifeblood.

Back in 2013, they released their first (self-titled) EP, co-written by the duo and produced by fellow Kiwi Joel Little. (Little would go on to earn a GRAMMY win for his work with another rising New Zealand alt-pop artist that year: Lorde.) The next year, they followed up with their debut album, Evergreen, with the singles "Bridges" and "Mother & Father" charting in New Zealand, Australia and the U.S., launching a still-growing, global fan base.

Earlier this year, Georgia and Caleb dropped their third album, Don't Feed The Pop Monster, on Feb. 1. For the latest episode of the Recording Academy's Up Close & Personal, they spoke about their latest album, the creative process of it and why "Too Proud" was a big deal for them.

They also talked about the inspiration behind their wacky "Peach" music video, growing up with music as the driving force and who they'd want to perform with, dead or alive. You can watch a portion of the conversation above and read the full interview below. You can also visit on our YouTube page for a longer version of the video, as well as for other recent episodes.

So you guys released your third album, Don't Feed The Pop Monster, earlier this year. What was your original vision going into that and the overarching themes?

Georgia: When we were making this album, Don't Feed The Pop Monster, there wasn't really—

Caleb: —any kind of vision.

Georgia: We were just kind of in a position where we'd made a couple of albums and we'd been on a couple of labels and been dropped a couple of times. We had an opportunity to kind of just make whatever we wanted and kind of use our freedom to our advantage, rather than get down about being a little bit lonely and isolated.

Caleb: And having no label support or money, so we just did whatever we wanted as a result!

Georgia: I think the fact that we were in that position made the album what it is. The themes of the album are very in line with going through that experience of questioning yourself and, like every creative person, I think, goes through self-doubt.

Caleb: Imposter syndrome.

Georgia: And so it's a lot to do with that and trying to figure out how to be self-congratulatory and sustain yourself without having a clear, "This is what will happen if you release this album, This is what you'll get back," because there's never really anything like that. So you just gotta kind of do it for fun!

I love it. And on the album, you worked with Joel Little again, right?

Georgia: We did a couple of songs with Joel Little.

Can you talk about your creative process specific to this LP?

Georgia: With this album, we didn't work with one producer. In the past, we've worked with one producer for pretty much the whole album. This time we worked with—

Caleb: A bunch of different friends; Tommy English and Leroy Clampitt a.k.a. Big Taste.

Georgia: We did lots of co-writing as well. On the last records, we didn't really have other co-writers. But [for this album] we did this amazing writing trip in Nicaragua where we were working with different writers every day. I think the amount of collaboration that we did on this record was awesome, was definitely—

Caleb: Super fun!

Georgia: It taught us a lot about writing and how to, you know, be adaptable and kind of push yourself and experience with different kinds of music and different vibes, different themes.

What do you think was your favorite part about the collaborative process from that experience?

Caleb: I think collaborating with others is a key part of dodging creative block, number one, because you've got multiple minds working with you that can assist you and you're not just by yourself going, "Ugh, I have no idea what to do," and you can bounce off each other. I think the productivity of collaboration is awesome.

Georgia: Yeah. It kind of takes away a lot of the pressure as well.

Caleb: Especially if you like the people that you're working with, you know?

Georgia: Yeah. It also makes the experience of just making something with your friends and then getting to listen to it and show people and play it on stage. The whole process of this album was so fun and playing it on stage is so fun.

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What have been your favorite songs this go around to perform live?

Caleb: I don't know, I feel like a surprising song to play on tour for us was "To Belong." We didn't really expect that crowd to respond to that one as much as a single or anything but they seem to know all the words. It's also the one six-minute song on the album.

Georgia: Yeah, we start our set with that song second and it's just all about vibes and pulling in the audience into our heads. And it's such a live album, if that makes sense. It's was so easy when we were writing it to imagine it live. And the way that it felt actually playing it live was just satisfying as hell.

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I want to talk about the "Peach" video because there's a lot in there.

Georgia: It's very overstimulating, that video!

It's very '90s pop vibes, I love it. Can you speak to the story behind that song and video a bit?

Caleb: I think a lot of people expect there to be a lot more in-depth thought about the "Peach" video, or a lot more planning or writing that went with it, but it was just the right people on the right day, kind of. And we had an incredible director [Sam Kristofski], a friend of ours from back in New Zealand as well, that's based here and basically just let him go—

Georgia: Go crazy!

Caleb: —and do what he thought because we love everything he makes. And he's super funny.

Georgia: We kind of just had one initial idea that we wanted it to be kind of the show that we used to watch when we were kids called "Top of the Pops." Is that a thing here?

Caleb: I don't think it was.

Georgia: No, but it's basically just a music TV show where pop artists from that time would come and do a performance, lip syncing obviously, and it was just like amazing lights and super early-2000s/late '90s. So cringey but in the best way!

And we wanted to recreate that kind of vibe, that nostalgic music show thing but then just trip it out like crazy. And have six different costume changes, because I am obsessed with dressing up. Every time I clean my room it just turns into a big dress up party. And we basically just wanted to have as much fun making the video as we did making the song.

I love that. It does look like it was a lot of fun.

Caleb: It was the hottest day ever. It was 118 degrees that day in Burbank.

Georgia: I'm so glad that we chose to do the video in a studio, wow.

And then one of the other songs on the album, "Too Proud," is the first song Caleb also sings on, which is really cool. And it's such a powerful song. Caleb, what did it feel like for you to offer your voice, literally, to that track?

Caleb: I guess writing "Too Proud" and performing it is something that I had never done before. Singing in front of people scares, you know—can I say sh*t? Living sh*t out of me! And it took me quite a while to even figure out how I was gonna even do that on stage, to be honest.

Georgia: You did it on TV and everything though!

Caleb: It was the first time I sang in front of anybody was on national television.

Georgia: I was so scared for him, I was just trying to walk around and be like, "Keep his energy good everybody. He's about to sing for the first time!" [Laughs.]

Caleb: During the performance, my arms went completely numb and it was slowly going up my arms. And so I was singing and at the same time I was thinking, "You better not pass out on live television." I took my hand off the mic stand for one second and it went like this. [Shakes hand.] I had to put it back on the mic stand.

Georgia: It's scary! It's scary singing on TV.

Caleb: I guess, yeah, writing that song, there's a large stigma around men and mental health and that, you know, you gotta be tough and keep your feelings in. But it's actually really relieving to let out feelings and talk about them and, I guess, just trying to encourage that with more men and—

Georgia: People.

Caleb: —especially men, but everybody. Therapy's pretty awesome. [Chuckles.]

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BtpAGqdncTH/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BtpAGqdncTH/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BtpAGqdncTH/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">@j_corden had us come over to @latelateshow last night and perform a song that’s really special to us.</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/broodsmusic/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> BROODS</a> (@broodsmusic) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2019-02-09T00:19:28+00:00">Feb 8, 2019 at 4:19pm PST</time></p></div></blockquote><script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

Growing up in New Zealand, it sounds like you guys had a pretty musical upbringing at home. When did you first start making music and then when did it maybe shift to, "Okay, I think I wanna be a musician"?

Georgia: I think music has just been the focal point of our lives, since day one really. Our parents have always, you know, made it such a huge part of—

Caleb: Just day-to-day life.

Georgia: Yeah, day-to-day life, like connecting with other people and just literally something to do if we needed something to do.

Caleb: It was entertainment for us, really. It was just instruments everywhere.

Georgia: We'd just get pushed up in front of, like, the piano.

Caleb: And we weren't allowed to watch any TV shows basically, just because they were like, "Well you can do something better with your time. Go play guitar or sing or something."

Georgia: Thanks mom and dad. [Laughs.] And we started writing music pretty young too. I think I started trying to write music after my dad told me, about my favorite singer, "You know, she writes all of her own music. You can do that too!" And I was like, "Oh, okay!" I just went into my room and started writing songs. I was, like 10 and then I didn't really get good until I was about 16, 17 and had something to sing about. I guess for us, we didn't really have a choice really. We've just always done music and always had music be the main event everywhere we go. Every relationship that we've had that's lasted has been brought together with music. And I think for us it's just such a necessity for our own survival and sanity. To be in a career now that we get to do this and share our music specifically with people is pretty amazing.

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BOVF8AnAf5Q/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BOVF8AnAf5Q/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BOVF8AnAf5Q/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Throwback to these crisp do&#39;s</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/broodsmusic/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> BROODS</a> (@broodsmusic) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2016-12-22T18:31:42+00:00">Dec 22, 2016 at 10:31am PST</time></p></div></blockquote><script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

Were your parents also musicians or where did that influence come from them?

Caleb: I don't know. Our parents were musicians in a hobby way, not professionally.

Georgia: Yeah, mom taught me to play the guitar though.

Caleb: She didn't teach me. I had many guitar teachers but I only had a couple lessons with each one because I couldn't really handle it. I ended up teaching myself. I wasn't very good with direction as a child.

Georgia: Just a little bit too all over the place.

Georgia: But yeah, our parents sang a lot. They'd sing at weddings and church and my mom ran the choir at our elementary school.

Caleb: Which I was very upset about because she made me stay in it. Georgia wanted to be in it, didn't you?

Georgia: Well, she'd do this thing, where she goes—

Caleb: It was at recess, so you had to go and sing at choir during your break time.

Georgia: I kind of just wanted to play.

Caleb: I just wanted to kick balls around.

Georgia: My mom, wow, she'd do this thing. Every time I tried to quit the choir she'd be like, "Oh I thought you wanted to be a singer..." And I was like, "I do! I do want to be a singer, mum!" And she's like, "Well, you gotta take every opportunity then."

Caleb: I said, "Mom I don't want to be a singer. Why do I have to be here?"

Georgia: Well look at you now! I think our parents were huge in making us actually stick to all these comments about wanting to pursue music. They saw how much it was a part of us and I think they never forced it but they did tell us, "If you want to do it, then you're gonna have to work really, really hard and have to have really thick skin. And you're gonna have to be able to deal with disappointment and discipline." So I think that was really important.

Caleb: And I still can't handle any of those things.

Georgia: It's really hard. But it's also really worth it.

<iframe width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7T40dW3_bG0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

What was each of yours first CD and first concert you attended? Your early musical loves.

Caleb: I think we got cassette tapes, didn't we?

Georgia: Yeah we got cassette tapes. You got Robbie Williams, I got the Vengaboys.

Caleb: No I got Ricky Martin, "Livin' La Vida Loca."

Georgia: And the first CD I ever bought myself was the single "Lucky" by Britney Spears.

Caleb: Mine was Bob Marley: Greatest Hits, the gold album.

Georgia: Yeah, that's definitely had more spins than the Britney Spears. Sorry Britney.

Caleb: "Toxic" though, many spins.

If you could perform with any artist dead or alive, who would it be?

Georgia: Probably Bob Marley. I don't think I'd want to perform with him though, I'd just want to watch him. I think that still makes me pretty sad sometimes when I know that I'm never gonna see him live. I just feel like it would complete me as a person.

Caleb: Yeah. I'd have to almost agree fully on that one. I think there were a couple years where I strictly listen to Bob and pretty much nobody else.

Georgia: Which meant that I strictly would listen to Bob.

Caleb: So I think that's where it came from. My big brother introduced me to Bob Marley when I was 13 and that was the end of it.

Georgia: I'm surprised that we're not a reggae band!

Caleb: Yeah. I feel like I'd want to see Blondie. Done. Like a king.

Georgia: You'd want to perform with Blondie? I'd want to perform with Blondie.

Caleb: Yeah I feel like that would be so fun.

Georgia: I feel like we'd be great together. Me and Debs. I kind of look like Debs in this sexy tank. Have you seen that picture of Debs in the sexy tank? It's a good one!

I love it. So we're gonna resurrect Bob Marley and see him perform. You'll open with Blondie for Bob Marley?

Georgia: We'll open with Debs. Yep.

Caleb: At Red Rocks.

Billie Eilish On Her Long Relationship With The GRAMMY Museum, How Rihanna Shaped Her Fashion Sense & More

Chelsea Cutler

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Chelsea Cutler On Writing 'Brent' With Jeremy Zucker, Playing Lolla & More

While On The Road At Lollapalooza 2019, the "Your Shirt" singer tells the Recording Academy about how her 'Brent' EP came together and how leaving New York for Connecticut helped her creative process

GRAMMYs/Aug 6, 2019 - 01:02 am

Rising indie electronic-pop star Chelsea Cutler is one half of her latest album Brent, which she created alongside her friend and fellow singer/songwriter Jeremy Zucker.

At Lollapalooza 2019, Cutler, who got her start dropping music on Soundcloud and has been releasing a series of singles and EPs since 2016, told the Recording Academy about how the album came together and how leaving her home in New York for Connecticut helped her and Zucker's creative process. 

"We stayed in a one room carriage house in the Berkshires...and we just wrote the most magical project together and had the best time," she said. "It's just this beautiful place that allowed us to really access this raw creativity."

She continued: "It was really essential for us to get out of New York, get out of the industry, get out of the noise and just write from out hearts and just write things that felt honest and raw for us and just make music that we love, not thinking about how it will be received commercially. It was super refreshing for us."

Cutler will joing singer Lauv on tour this fall. Watch the video above for more on Brent, how Cutler felt playing Lollapalooza and more. 

Meet Us Behind The Scenes At Lollapalooza 2019

Brandon Urie & Taylor Swift

Brandon Urie & Taylor Swift

Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

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Taylor Swift & Brandon Urie's "ME!" Breaks YouTube & Vevo's 24 Hour Streaming Records

Swift released the track last Fri., April 26, along with a playful candy-colored visual, which she co-directed with fellow GRAMMY winner David Meyers

GRAMMYs/May 3, 2019 - 01:08 am

GRAMMY-winning pop star Taylor Swift has broken yet another record. Her music video for "ME!," which features Panic! At The Disco's Brendon Urie, now holds Vevo's record as the fastest video to reach the 100 million views.

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Via a press release, Vevo revealed the visual hit the 100 million mark in just 79 hours following its release on Fri., April 26. The video replaces Ariana Grande's "thank u, next," which hit the mark in just under four days, following its Nov. 30, 2018 release. Vevo notes that Swift's own "Look What You Made Me Do" previously held the No. 1 spot, following its 2017 release.

More: Taylor Swift Delivers New Song "ME!" Featuring Panic! At The Disco's Brendon Urie

"ME!" also broke Vevo's record for the most views in the first 24 hours, hitting 65.2 million views at that point. That number (all Vevo videos are hosted on now YouTube) also gave Swift the No. 1 spot on YouTube held by a solo artist and a female artist. At the time of this writing, 6 days after its release, the video has earned over 126.9 views.

The candy-colored video has had the Swifties buzzing with excitement, not just for its joy-filled scenes but for all the fun surprises and Easter eggs she hid throughout. Not only is the adorable kitten that Urie gives her in the video now her newest family member, she also hid the otherwise-yet-to-be-revealed name of the album and second single in the video, which she clued fans into the following day on Twitter.

It was directed by Swift and GRAMMY winning video director Dave Meyers, who is known for his stunning music videos, including Travis Scott and Drake's "Sicko Mode," Grande's "God is a woman" and Kendrick Lamar's "HUMBLE.;" which earned them both a GRAMMY for Best Music Video at the 60th GRAMMY Awards.

"Taylor has consistently demonstrated the ability to break records on Vevo. She continues to expand upon a deep history of incredibly striking audio-visual work. Likewise, director Dave Meyers continues a storied career as one of the premier music video directors in our industry. On behalf of the Vevo family, we congratulate Taylor Swift & Republic Records on yet another historic accomplishment," JP Evangelista, SVP of Content, Programing & Marketing at Vevo wrote in the press release.

Swift co-wrote the song with Urie—her first time collaborating with him—and GRAMMY-winning songwriter Joel Little, who earned a win at the 56th GRAMMY Awards for his co-write on Lorde's breakout hit "Royals."

"'ME!' is a song about embracing your individuality, and really celebrating it, and owning it. With a pop song we have the ability to get a melody stuck in people's heads and I just want it to be one that makes them feel better about themselves," Swift said in a recent interview.

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