He just released his latest track “You Got Me” featuring Frut via the imprint, A.M. Music. The smooth new song and its music video depict Mahone falling for a woman who is playing hard to get.
Mahone collaborated on the track with longtime friend, artist, and songwriter Lunchmoney Lewis, and his newly-created production collective Frut, comprised of talented writers and producers hailing from Miami, Florida. “My boy, Lunchmoney Lewis, sent the song over to me. He came to my house and we cut it together, in my studio, in my condo in Miami, and it started from there,” he said.
“Any chance I get to work with Lunchmoney Lewis is a great day. That’s my boy,” he added.
“You Got Me” follows the success of “Summer Love,” which was released in October. “‘Summer Love’ was one of the most real songs I’ve ever written,” he said. “I was at the keyboard and I pressed a random key on the keyboard and the beat started playing, and it came together very easily. It’s one of my favorite records.”
On life during the quarantine, Mahone said, “I am blessed to be able to live in Miami and to ride my jetskis and have some quality alone time with myself and the people that I live with. It has been great for me, personally. For me, I’ve grown the most I’ve ever grown in a year.”
“Being able to grow during the quarantine is the silver lining in it,” he added. “You grow to love the simple things more.”
Regarding his songwriting inspirations, he said, “All of the life that I’ve lived since I was 15 years old. I have so much material to write about now. I’ve always loved songwriting and now that I am 24, I have so many creative experiences and endless material. It has been nice. This quarantine has allowed me to unpack my songwriting for myself.”
On being an artist in the digital age, he acknowledged that it does feel “overwhelming.” “It’s so inspiring and revolutionary, but it’s a time of true creativity and it’s about coming out with something original and authentic. It forces everyone to be themselves,” he said.
Mahone offered the following inspiring words for his fans during the pandemic: “Don’t be afraid to really dig deeper into yourself and figure out what it is that you like to do creatively. This is a time to be creative, where people can figure out how to be more artistic and creative. I think people need that in their lives. I encourage them to do something fun.”
He listed pop princess Ariana Grande as his dream duet choice in music. “I love Ariana so much,” he said. “I definitely still want to do something with George Strait, I would do anything for a collab with him.”
Regarding the title of the current chapter of his life, he responded, “I Am…”
For Mahone, a career-defining moment was being able to buy his masters back from Cash Money Records when he left the record label in 2016. “That was one of the biggest defining moments in my career just because as an artist, I now have everything that truly belongs to me. It’s about the artistic and creative freedom and it’s one of the most amazing feelings,” he said.
He defined the word success simply as “being.” “Expressing your true self and actually fully taking in the moment that you are living. That’s really it,” he explained.
“In the past, I was releasing music at a very slow pace and that wasn’t my choice,” he said. “I am an artist, I love to create and I want to release it all. I’ve been listening to these new songs for a long time and ‘Summer Love’ was a really special one because I was listening to that one for a year and a half before it came out. Now, I won’t take long to release new music. Basically, these records I have out right now are for the fans to enjoy and to hear my voice. I have some very patient, and loyal fans, and I am very grateful for them.”
“You Got Me” featuring Frut is available on Apple Music, Amazon Music, and on Spotify.
To learn more about Austin Mahone, follow him on Instagram and on Twitter.
