Singled Out: Sonny
. "Bad Girl" is a perfect example as to why my new album is titled International. I grew up traveling the world performing for all kinds of audiences in everything from music to theater and dance. Which in return has inspired my music choices and surely made me the artist that I am and strive to be today. When listening to my album International you will hear how it goes through completely different genres from soul, pop, 60s brit-rock, R&B, dance etc. but still keeping all tracks bound together by a pop universe. The song "Bad Girl" was created on both sides of the Atlantic. The track was produced in Denmark and Europe, the melody was written in Los Angeles to then later return to Denmark to write the lyrics and record the song. To top it off, the song is about a girl from Iceland. My ex-lady that is, which I am sure she is not excited about! Even though she wasn't as "bad" as she turns out to be in the song. This is a song created in the U.S.A and Denmark singing about a girl from Iceland. With "Bad Girl" I tapped into some of my childhood heroes like Stevie Wonder, Prince and Michael Jackson. There was not a master plan in the studio that we had to create a song that sounded like this but it just happened naturally. It came straight from the heart, tells my story and has my groove and dance to it. With the song literally changing every time it traveled across the Atlantic to its final recording session in the midst of a beautiful and serene snowy European Christmas Day I am still surprised it turned out so funky, raw and straight to the point. It had all odds against it :) But this is not just the story of my music but also me as a person. I travel I live I learn and create "International." It is truly a privilege. In a time where pop music is faster than ever what I really wanted to do was to slow down the music so that you could actually hear the drums and snare hits and the chord progressions. This in turn gives you the time to rock out and appreciate what your listening to without being stressed out and never settling into a pocket. With that as well I really had to cater to the vocals making sure my background harmonies were thick and intricate. With this style of music everything is heard as a whole. With the response the track has received so far that is really all I could have ever hoped for. I truly feel we as artists have a responsibility to pass along some of the foundations laid down by the greats in popular music on to the next generation, just as my idols did for me/us. This is what truly motivates me and what I can only hope to do for others. Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and check out the video right here!
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