W.Waking up on New Year’s Day will be a mind-changing experience for many. Overeating the night before can make even the simplest of daily tasks impossible. But for up-and-coming artist Mae Stevens, the first day of 2023 was surprising for a completely different reason.
A few days ago, the 19-year-old musician posted a clip of his recent single “If We Ever Broke Up” on TikTok, sharing 15 seconds of the funk-filled melody. This short clip was an instant hit. With lyrics like a joke that Stevens repeats a brilliant kiss-off, “Even if we break up, I will never be sad.” – With signature synth riffs and a sexy bassline that recalls Blue Detiger’s fluorescent pop, this track was a long-awaited blockbuster. Stevens was the only one who didn’t have to wait long.
“After a New Year’s Eve party, I woke up with a hangover and I got a spam email,” she recalls. NMEs, Described how her video exploded overnight. The video went viral, with countless missed calls and messages from friends who saw Stevens on her TikTok feed.
“I was like, ‘This is not real, I’ll probably wake up soon,'” she says. NME Months after her first online success. Chatting from his cozy studio in north London, Stevens added: ‘. TikTok is usually a one-hit wonder, but the views kept growing. ”
Stevens’ original video now has over 11 million views, and more viewers are leaving the app. After the official full version was released in February, “If We Ever Broke Up” has her over 18 million hits on his Spotify alone. , which reached number 23 on the UK charts. This success may seem like it happened overnight, but it’s something Stevens has been working on for years.
Growing up, Stevens spent his after-school evenings playing the piano. She started performing live at local open mic nights in her early teens. From there, she began to live further afield. “Music festivals, charity events, Christmas events, we tried every angle and tried to get different audiences comfortable with the right gig,” she explains. With the help of her father, Stephens worked as hard as she could. “I’ve gotten pretty used to being able to adapt to different settings. It’s given me a solid shell when it comes to criticism.”
With more new music in the pipeline, ‘If We Ever Broke Up’ continues to grow. NME I caught up with Mr. Stevens in the middle of the virus whirlwind.
Congratulations on the success of “If We Ever Break Up”. Where’s the craziest place you’ve ever heard this song?
“Radio 1. I listen to it on my commute, and so do most of my friends, but I got this song on Radio 1 and I cried the first time I heard my song there. There was that, I had another tattoo the other day, and the song was playing in the tattoo shop, and it was really weird to have my voice on a platform like that.”
Are you at a stage where you can mentally grasp the success of this track?
“It’s still like a dream. It’s so weird, especially after playing a small gig, that all of this happens and it feels like everything is completely cut off. It’s literally like a dream – very strange once you get used to it.” I feel like I’m still in a coma somewhere in my head.”
When did you first start working on tracks?
“It was last year during a week in Amsterdam working with various producers. We just made this really epic and emotional ballad and then changed producers. [Morien Van der Tang] I made this beat and put a synth on top of it. I was very resistant to that sound. It wasn’t my style at all.
I was used to writing heartbreaking Adele-esque music. It took a while to start writing, but in the end he literally had the song, demo and vocals in three hours and was nearly late for his flight. ”
Were there any musical influences that inspired your new sound?
“The sessions I’ve attended have referenced Sigrid’s music. I’m an avid Sigrid fan. I met her once at my first BRITs afterparty. I had to calm myself down.” I was lucky I had glasses on, I literally cried in a picture with her Her music has saved my life so many times it’s like meeting a hero of mine I felt like.”
When you finished writing, were there any points that you thought “this is good”?
“I remember sitting in my living room and they sent me the finished demos. They hadn’t heard it, but my dad has this smile, and he only smiles when he knows something is really good, and he brought out this little smile. The moment he smiled, I knew it was good. I trust my father’s judgment in everything. ”
Are your parents the first to go with new music?
“Yeah, I think it’s because I worked with my dad for eight years in this business, and he was always my first person to talk to. spell check for me he was behind everything like captions hashtags thumbnails etc he understands what we are going to do so i talk to him about everything He spent five and a half years learning all he could about analysis and the music industry, and he was definitely the person I went to for advice on everything.”
Was music what you always wanted to do when you were growing up?
“At first it wasn’t. My parents wanted me and my brother to find something we were good at. We studied art, martial arts, theater and skiing, but we had a really hard time at school. It was really bad: I got kicked down the stairs, got my hair cut, got water in my shoes, went home, went to clubs, and was never released until I started playing the piano.
“I started to realize that writing music was a good way to release my emotions, so I became less depressed and angry. For four years, I spent four and a half hours playing the piano every day when I got home from school.” It became therapy. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for music and writing and of course my family. Music kept me alive.”
Do you want your music to let people who have gone through something similar know that it can get better?
“Absolutely. If you want something enough and work hard for it, you can get it. I used to get bullied a lot because of my height, my personality, my looks, I was the one who was ridiculed all my life as a kid and now I’m doing things other people can only dream of. I feel like I need to say, “Look, it doesn’t matter who you are, if you want enough, go and do it.”
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