Australian pop singer-songwriter Dean Lewis chatted about his new album “The Hardest Love” and his new single “How Do I Say Goodbye.”
How did you approach the song selection process across the album? Were you going for a certain theme?
The song selection for this album is really just – I always write songs that are about things that I am going through in my life and the things that are most present. So, I wrote a lot of songs about this girl that I thought I was going to end up with, songs about my dad, songs about my life, how I had been feeling, lessons I learned, and I just chose the songs that felt right for me.
I knew I wanted to have a ten-track album because I like the idea of having a light album that’s like meaningful and breezy. It’s not overwhelming and it’s not too long. I chose the songs that I just loved and that meant the most and the ones that I really enjoyed to listen to.
What is your personal favorite song on there and why?
I would have to say “How Do I Say Goodbye” just because I don’t think I’ll ever write a song as good as that again or as good and meaningful. Although I will still try it’s just, I write enough songs to know how rare that song is. There’s no other song that will ever mean that much I don’t think. At this point in my life, I don’t think so either.
What inspires the music and songwriting?
I get really inspired by hearing other people. When someone else writes something great and I hear it and I go “oh my god” and I just want to pick up a guitar. So great art is inspiring, and I just get inspired by things that are happening in my life. Just pick up a guitar and just all of a sudden whatever is going on in my subconscious or things that are bothering me or things that are present I just write about those.
Congrats on the global success of “Be Alright”… how did that feel?
It felt amazing I remember when “Be Alright” blew up it was – I kind of had this crazy run where I had a song called “Waves” that blew up and it kind felt like every song I put out was like a big hit and all of a sudden “Be Alright” is a global hit and I’m like “I’m from Australia this is never possible” it’s one in a million if you know what I mean.
So I remember just feeling overwhelmed by it but also at the same time so stressed because I had no money before that, I had nothing, I had moved in with my nan for a year to save money and I knew kind of what life was like without that. So it was a lot pressure.
And now you have “How Do I Say Goodbye” how does it feel to see that song getting so much attention?
It feels great. I just hit 100 million streams and in 2022 I know how hard that is and I can’t believe it because you know it’s been three years since I’ve kind of had a song that is a hit, and it just feels amazing to see that it can happen again because I didn’t know if I still had it – what it takes even though I kept trying.
Every song I had released since “Be Alright” kind of did worse and worse than all of a sudden, this one blows up. It is also incredible to see how people are reacting to it, and seeing all the shows everyone is crying and they’re all opening up and telling me stories about their lives which is amazing.
Which artist would you like to do a duet with and why?
I just did a duet with Kygo which is actually incredible and that’s kind of like scratched my itch but maybe Lost Frequencies or something in the future.
How does it feel to be an artist in the digital age now with streaming and technology being so prevalent?
Well, TikTok’s so important, so it’s different and just means you have to keep going. I don’t think there’s a two year break between albums anymore , I think it’s all about the algorithm or that’s what I keep getting told and posting on TikTok, but I think on the other hand there’s an ability for anyone in a sense because TikTok’s leveled the playing field and you can now be anyone and if you write something great and you think about it and post about it you can actually exponentially grow your audience.
At the same time, there are so many people that are doing it so it’s a very different world to how it was three years ago like with “Be Alright” when that was a hit actually pre-TikTok.
What do your plans for the future include?
My plan is to not stop. I mean there was two years off with covid where I couldn’t play and now, I’m doing a bunch more tours and next year is all touring and releasing new music and I just don’t want to stop because I just didn’t know if this would happen again after covid, and I am so excited that it has.
What does the word success mean to you?
The word success, wow I mean every time I’ve achieved what I would perceive as a success, and I write these goals down I always get there and move the goal post further away and so I never really feel like I achieve it.
I don’t really know what it is I don’t really feel successful, I’m one of those people that if I’m successful or I get to where I want to go, I’ll at someone else who is doing better and feel a bit like a failure which is kind of stupid.
I’m working on that; I’ve written a song about that. I actually wrote a song called “Falling Up” about it and even though I’ve written it I still think the same, but success has to mean peace or fulfilment.
What would you like to tell our readers about your new album? What’s the one thing you want to get them to get out of it?
Well, I would say with my new album that has a lot of if you liked my first album which is called A Place We Knew it’s kind of me zooming into the three songs that I love the most off that album which are probably like “Waves,” “Half A Man,” and “Be Alright” and kind of going further into those ones.
I wanted to make my own sound by going further into my own sound if that makes sense in different – sharing myself in that way. Rather than doing some really crazy turn creatively, I wanted to kind of get further into that. So it’s an album I’m really proud of and the songs are honest and I hope you like it.
“The Hardest Love” is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
To learn more about Dean Lewis, follow him on Instagram and check out his official website.
