Pop singer and songwriter Natalie Major has a tenacity for life. Her latest single “The Moon,” co-written with her friend, Anders Grahn, envelopes her reflection of life, specifically from her younger version’s point of view. The concept for the song came from an accident she was in several years ago in Phuket, Thailand. “The Moon” essentially is a love letter from her younger self to who she is now. For its music video, Natalie is singing to a younger version of herself, and delivers a gorgeous message of perseverance, confidence, self-belief and ultimately, hope. The young actress is portrayed flawlessly by child actress Rylee Jane Cummings.
Natalie has written numerous ballads, and electric, EDM grooves, collaborating with EDM powerhouses like Tiësto, Showtek and Bobby Puma. Her music has been featured on Station 19, Shameless, Grownish and Camping. She also sang the national anthem in 2K’s NBA-themed video games. “The Moon” will be followed by an EP of the same name (Hip Video Promo). Our talk with Natalie demonstrates her great depth of songwriting, her love of music and her upcoming EP, behind-the-scenes commentary on the video for “The Moon,” her bucket list of who she’d like to work with next, and her early years in music. Watch the video for “The Moon” below:
“The Moon” is a gorgeous single! What’s the story behind the writing of it?
Natalie Major: I wrote this song with my friend Anders Grahn, he co wrote one of my favorite songs “Cecilia and the Satellite by Andrew McMahon” so I knew he would be a perfect co-writer.
The story was inspired by a full recovery of an accident I got into 5 years ago in Phuket, Thailand. I lost control of a motor scooter and went into oncoming traffic. Luckily, I survived but it took almost 8 months to recover from a fractured leg/arm and a minor head injury. I took about a year off from music after that, went through a breakup and “The Moon” was one of the first songs I wrote since recovering from the accident. It’s a song about hope and growth. A promise to your inner child that you’re there for her and you’re always going to watch over her and protect her. I finally found the light at the end of that tunnel, the future was bright again and ‘The Moon’ was my reminder.
The music video for “The Moon” is equally beautiful and reminiscent! Was the concept for it your idea, and how was the collaborative process with Michael Gabriele and young actress, Rylee Jane Cummings?
Natalie: The concept was my idea and a collaboration with my good friend and producer, Ossey James. We discussed the idea back and forth for quite some time. I had met Michael through my uncle who does lighting in Chicago.
Michael recently moved to LA and got on board. He wrote a treatment that was so awesome, I was mostly in love with the idea of the single shot throughout first half of the song.
Mike Bove, my director of photography flew in from Chicago to film the video. It was really cool to be able to work with mostly people from my home city! Great, easy-going personalities. I got really lucky.
The idea was me singing to a younger version of myself, almost as if I was a ghost. Like she could hear me and be comforted by me as if I’m speaking from another dimension. Something about this idea spoke to me. I wanted to make something that connected people to the song more.
I wanted it to be in a dark, haunted house and I scoured the web for locations to fit my vision. I pictured it with dark hallways and beautiful natural light coming through the windows.
I found THE perfect house. It’s called the “Historic Harris House” in Glendale, CA. A lot of films and commercials have been made here, and it has an incredibly cool history, not to mention, the way the owner has it decorated with vintage and creepy props. It is also most definitely haunted.
The idea was working with a little girl that looked like me. This was my first video so I was surprised how smoothly it all went in terms of things aligning creatively.
Originally, I had another young actress cast that I was excited to work with that fell through last minute after booking the location for the video. Within about 24 hours, I actually found Rylee by asking people on Facebook if they knew of any young actresses that looked similar to me.
Her and her mom drove down from San Diego for the day to film. Rylee was the best co-star. She was so polite and a great actress. She was so patient and wonderful at what she did. She really was exactly what I was looking for.
You have an upcoming EP of the same name. What experiences in your life influenced your writing and recording of it?
Natalie: The Moon EP is a mix of songs written about hope, forgiveness, healing and falling in love again. All the songs are based on specific personal experiences I’ve had from heartbreak to being scared to open up again.
You’ve collaborated with some of the hottest names in EDM. What have you taken away from these collabs that has resonated with you the most?
Natalie: Working with DJ’s has been a great learning experience. It’s much more uplifting and symbolic feel-good writing. So, it creates a balance for me as most of my material is down-tempo darker pop music.
I began writing EDM songs alone in my bedroom one day, starting with On Our Own, my collaboration with Showtek and Brooks. I made the topline on my phone in Garageband and when I had the opportunity to work with them, I showed them and they loved it.
From then on, I got more opportunities to work on other dance projects such as “Someone Somewhere” with Tiësto and Bobby Puma and “Comfortable” with Steve Void and Telykast.
I’ve also recently got into writing trance toplines with collaborations with ATB and an upcoming track with Craig Connolly.
There’s a lot of cool genres within the EDM community and being versatile allows me to try different songwriting techniques.
Who else would you like to perform with; do you have a bucket list of them?
Natalie: I would love to perform with Lennon Stella. I used to watch the show Nashville and watched her grow up on that show. Her artistry is really impressive. And, her voice is like nothing I’ve ever heard. Performing with Lewis Capaldi would also be amazing. He overall seems like the funniest person on the planet to hang out with too.
Taking you back to your younger years, what led you to pursue music, and what does music mean to you?
Natalie: I started songwriting and singing at a young age, I was ten years old when my mom bought an upright piano from a garage sale. I started songwriting to communicate my feelings. Music has always been a form of therapy for me and a way for me to heal and connect with others at the same time. If I’m ever feeling down or disconnected, I know I can write a song about it and make something of it.
Is a tour planned after the release of your EP?
Natalie: For now, I have no tour planned but I am looking forward to hopefully opening for someone I admire on tour someday! My main focus right now is playing shows around Los Angeles and getting my songs placed in TV shows and films.
Fun Questions
Who was your first concert, and do you have a favorite?
Natalie: To be honest, I don’t go to a lot of concerts because I am 5’1 and can never see 🙈
But, my first concert was Switchfoot.
My favorite concert to attend was Ben Howard. I’m a huge fan and he’s so incredible live.
What was your first album on cassette, CD and/or vinyl?
Natalie: My first cassette was The Beach Boys Christmas Album, it was recycled between each of my siblings; we were all equally obsessed with it.
My first CD was Dreaming of You by Selena and another I remember being a first was Christina Aguilera’s first album from 1999. I loved all the pop divas of the 90s-2000s.
Which five albums and/or artists would you not want to live without?
Natalie: I appreciate the versatility of most, if not all genres of music. Most of these choices are older and nostalgic because I listen to far less albums and way more singles now-a-days because of the way Spotify works.
Some of my favorite albums are:
Radiohead- In Rainbows
Death Cab for Cutie- Transatlantacism
Ben Howard – Every Kingdom
Adele – 19
Bright Eyes- I’m Wide Awake and It’s Morning
Do you have a guilty music and/or entertainment pleasure?
Natalie: I have a somewhat secret love of hip hop music. It’s the only thing I listen to while exercising.
Some of my favorite artists to listen to lately are, $uicide Boy$, Tyler The Creator, Denzel Curry, Rich Brian, and Ski Mask The Slump God.
As far as entertainment pleasure, I LOVE watching TikTok. I think it’s such a fun community and it’s going to be bigger than Instagram someday. Don’t sleep on it!
What are you currently listening to, reading and/or watching?
Natalie: Currently watching The Outsider on HBO, so good! I try to keep up with new releases on Netflix as well to keep up with what’s trending. So, I watch a bit of everything except reality tv.
My recent favorite song that just came out is “Peaches” by Grandson & KFlay. It’s a really cute concept.
Find Natalie Majors on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Stream her music on Spotify.
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