New York singer-songwriter Elizabeth Chan chatted about her new album “Songs From Noelle.”
Chan discussed being a recording artist in the digital age, and she offered her thoughts on AI (artificial intelligence) on the future of the music business.
Collaborating with her daughter, Noelle, on the album
Her six-year-old daughter Noelle is on the album and she wrote two songs. This makes Noelle the youngest artist ever to have a song on the radio, who wrote a song.
Chan holds the distinction of being the sole artist to be releasing original Christmas music for 14 years. “Every album that I put out is a timestamp of where I am in my Christmas journey. Every CD is curated to telling the world what my experience has been being the only fulltime living Christmas artist,” she said.
“I am really lucky, I really love what I do,” she acknowledged. “I take my job very seriously; I know that it’s an honor to bring Christmas music to the world.”
Origin of the new CD ‘Songs From Noelle’
On the idea for her latest studio offering, she said, “When I was pregnant with Noelle, and I knew that my entire world was about to change and that I was going to be a mom, I knew that my Christmases were never going to be the same. I dedicated an entire album to her before she was born, for her.”
“Now, it is six years later, she is writing her own Christmas music, and the album is really from her. It has been really wonderful to just be a mother and watch her grow, and watch all of our holidays change, and be able to have a timestamp through this music to commemorate it. The album is a collection of new songs that we put together, but also a compilation of songs,” she elaborated.
“My daughter wrote her first song when she was two, and that song is on the album titled ‘Christmas Holiday.’ She has sung with me on my past albums, so we collected some of that and put it together and we just called it ‘Songs From Noelle’,” she explained.
“I am really proud of Noelle. My daughter has four songs on the radio right now. She is definitely one of the youngest Christmas artists in history for sure,” she added.
The digital age
On being an artist in the digital age, Chan said, “It’s great. I think it’s wonderful because I can now listen to playlists from all over the world. I am able to hear my songs play all over the globe, and my fans are able to connect with me.”
“In a world where we even have that opportunity, it’s a much smaller world. Now, it’s awesome; I love Christmas music and I get to hear my music play all over the world, and I get to hear new songs. I think it’s an excellent time to be a Christmas artist right now,” she elaborated.
AI on the future of the music industry
Chan shared her thoughts on AI on the future of the music industry. “Art and medium have always stood together from the beginning of time. It is not any different from Gutenberg and the printing press,” she said.
“It is really not that different. What is most important in the advent of new technologies is that we don’t lose sight on the importance of the human connection and the human spirit. Music is really intrinsic to the human experience,” she added.
“The need of humans to connect with other humans through art and song is going to be forever and timeless. You will never stop that need to connect unless there are no more humans on the planet, and then we have another problem,” she said.
Stage of her life
On the title of the current chapter of her life, Chan said with a sweet laugh, “The Queen of Christmas presents my little ‘princess of Christmas’ with ‘Songs From Noelle’.”
“I am just really happy that I am able to provide an opportunity to give the stage to others,” she admitted. “That is one of the proudest things that I’ve done in my career: to be able to give this holiday openly to others.”
Dream collaboration choices in music
Chan listed John Mayer and Michael Bublé as her dream collaboration choices in music. “I am a big fan of John and Michael. I would love to do collaborations with them,” Chan said.
Success
Chan defined the word success simply as “being able to leave great things behind.” “That’s in everything that you do: such as being a great mom and showing my children what the best things about life are, and having them live their lives fully, and leaving that behind for them to share with their children,” she said.
“Also, as far as my musical legacy goes, success means to make sure I leave this music and great music behind that people can connect with in the future. You can’t bring anything you; you can only leave great things behind,” she concluded.
“Songs From Noelle” is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
To learn more about New York singer-songwriter Elizabeth Chan, follow her on Instagram and visit her official website.
