Like his new single and EP, Smile, AV Super Sunshine radiates a smile and pure joy, and that enthusiasm is evident with his new single, “Smile,” featuring blends of his signature music style with pop, rock, and EDM. AV’s music has grown exponentially with massive radio play in Asia, Europe, South America, and the UK, featuring countless number one hits on the EuroIndie Music Charts, and the World Indie Music Charts. He’s received support from the BBC, entering him in the top 20 on DRT Global Adult Contemporary and Global Rock charts. “Smile” was also previously successfully released three years as a dance mix and video.

“Smile” was produced by studio master Michael Bradford (Madonna, Anita Baker, Deep Purple, Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart), and with the music video AV and his entourage filmed in the desert near LA, shooting at the Rest Easy Inn, which is “a movie set originally built for a straight-to-video Dennis Hopper flick, and the “Smile” shoot is probably the most fun the dusty location has seen in years.” AV’s collaborator and partner, as well as executive-produced, Philomena is featured throughout the video, casually hanging out, with a mannequin. The other mannequins featured in the video were featured in the popular film “Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” and the horror film “The Hills Have Eyes,” which AV tells us that there’s a story behind that he’ll be sharing soon.

“Smile” is a reminder to be joyful and cheerful no matter the circumstance, and to lend a ‘smile’ to others who might just need it most. AV Super Sunshine shares with us his love of different genres and lyrics, his two versions of “Smile” and what the song means to him personally, the mannequins used in the music video for the song, and much more.

I love that you blend pop, rock, and EDM to create your music. What is it that you love most about each of these genres?

AV Sunshine: I’m primarily into great lyrics but the music has to be hip too. I like a song that wakes folks up, makes them think, has relatable lyrics that make good sense, and is musically solid enough to compete at the highest level. Each of those genres are currently very popular and to even be competitive you have to bring your A-game. I like that. So there’s a lot of musical and lyrical experimenting to find the cream that will rise to the top and stick out. What could be more fun.

I also like to dance. Pop, Rock, and EDM are all genres you can dance to, and combining those genre’s in a way that sounds fresh and modern is extremely satisfying. I think being able to combine genres into something new is a big reason we’ve done so well competing against global superstars on the global adult contemporary commercial airplay charts and on the global club play charts. It’s seriously a lot of fun.

You’ve released two versions of your current single, “Smile.” One version was released three years ago as a dance mix, and this version is pop/rock. Why did you decide to release two versions, and what does each version mean to you personally?

AV Sunshine: We actually just launched a Smile EP which has 5 different versions of the song including pop, rock, adult contemporary, and EDM. The different takes and mixes were recorded independent with each other so to me it’s truly 5 separate ideas. Check it out, Smile the EP, it’s available on Google Play, Youtube, iTunes, and Spotify.

I recorded the rock version first at Sweetwater in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The studio brought in a group of famous Nashville musicians to record with me. The sessions were lead by Kerry Marx, who was Johnny Cash’s last and longest lead player. Everybody loved the recording and my producer, Michael Bradford, wanted to try some dance remixes. I was like “for sure” and when we hit number 1 on the global DJ club charts I got a call from a promoter who told me over 45,000 DJs worldwide had downloaded it for club play. That’s a lot of folks dancing.

“Smile” is a feel-good, uplifting song that’s definitely needed with what’s going on. What do you hope people take away from this song, and altogether, your music?

AV Sunshine: I try not to be too serious and instead let the music speak. Let me say that “Smile” was inspired by Philomena. She somehow is able to maintain a constant smile. When we first met I was going through some emotionally hard times and her smile really helped me trust life again. Like myself, I know others have gone through or are going through similar emotional hardships. It would be cool if we could all try our best to be more positive, share that positivity with others, and in turn create some positive change in each of our lives. Life is meant to enjoy not to suffer. The lift which comes from receiving or giving a smile can really make a difference.

“Smile” was produced by multi-platinum studio producer Michael Bradford. What was it like working with Bradford?

AV Sunshine: Personality-wise we both hit it off straight away which has really helped what we’ve been able to achieve together. It also helps, creatively speaking, that we’re musically on similar wavelengths. We understand how to communicate musically with each other and we trust each other. When it comes views on life, family and stuff, we’re like-minded there too. We’re turning into great friends which is awesome.

With that said Michael is also the real deal and his studio’s got a wall full of gold and platinum records to prove it. He always has an arsenal of great musical ideas and he’s a lot of fun to hang with too. Michael will always be straight with you. He plays bass like a true master and knows his way around a Moog, for sure. I’m very fortunate to work with him and I always try my best for him.

Love the aerial shots in the music video and the mannequins used, which were also used in “Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and “The Hills Have Eyes.” What was the idea behind using them for the video?

AV Sunshine: That’s a crazy story which I’m going to be fully divulging soon. We have a film coming out which was partly filmed at a movie set in the desert east of LA. The mannequin footage is from that adventure. The guys doing the filming had to have those exact mannequins. We tracked them down and rented them from a famous Hollywood movie prop rental company. I thought it would be cool to use some of the behind the scene footage for “Smile.” The “Smile” music video is a simple story of filmmakers trying their best to get mannequins to smile.

What was the experience and camaraderie working with Philomena, cinematographer Reinhart (Ray) Peschke, and the entire crew?

AV Sunshine: It was a blast. These film guys are crazy fun. While the nearest coffee shop was miles and miles away we kept it flowing. We dragged a phone booth into the desert and threw mannequins off the roof into the swimming pool. Also, the mannequin which they had in the pool eventually filled with water and made swishing sounds when we returned it to the prop rental company.

Ray is a super talented cameraman. He got his start working with Oliver Stone (“Natural Born Killers”) and also helped on a number of the Mission Impossible movies. He’s very disciplined but liked to call me “mustard pants” which was hilarious. I talked to him just recently. He’s a great guy and we hope to work with him again soon.

Do you have anything planned for your music throughout the rest of the year?

AV Sunshine: We’ll be launching new music to global radio all this year. Our current single, “Smile,” just launched last week and is just now getting added to radio playlists. We’re seeing most of the early station adds coming out of Europe and the UK. We’re also getting a lot of US stations coming on early including KUAF (NPR), WCRB (Boston), and WNSC (NPR). The first week’s spin report shows we reached a US audience of over 4 million which is one of our strongest first-week showings yet. That’s considered a really good start for an indie artist.

We’re busy right now making music videos to support the radio singles we’ll be dropping later this year. We’re trying to leverage new fans coming from radio and having a video of each single really helps when they first start searching for you online. It’s a lot of work but it’s been paying off. Our main YouTube channel has 20 full production music videos and is now approaching a million views. Video is a medium which Philomena and myself really have fun with.

We also have an hour film we will be promoting soon which I guarantee will totally blow your mind. Philomena and I have have been working with a very talented filmmaker out of Beverly Hills and Michael is doing the music score. Along with some desert footage, like in the “Smile’ video, it was also filmed in and around LA. There’s also footage filmed in our home stomping ground here in Wisconsin. You’re going to love it.

We were going to do a European tour this spring, but the promoters who checked out early footage of our film loved it so much they advised us to finish it first. They think it’ll be a smash and they thought finishing it was a more valuable use of our time than a tour. It worked out because the current touring situation would have surely meant cancellations and instead we have actually finished the film. We can’t wait for you to see it.

Follow and connect with AV Super Sunshine on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Stream his music on Apple and Amazon Music.