INTERVIEW: Malissa Whitehouse

INTERVIEW:

Malissa Whitehouse

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IT has been a pleasure…

speaking with an incredible British artist who is thriving in America. The amazing Malissa Whitehouse has been talking to me about her amazing and hugely captivating single, Simple, and what inspired it. I also ask whether we might get more new material later in the year, when music came into her life, and what it was like being signed at such a young age. Whitehouse tells me about some amazing opportunities and recent projects she is involved with in America, and the fact that she is working on a T.V. comedy. A truly inspiring and wonderful artist that everyone should follow and know more about, I hope that we get to see Malissa Whitehouse hitting the stage in the U.K. soon enough. I am really hooked on Simple, and I am really excited to hear what comes next. This is a major talent that needs to be…

IN your life.

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Hi Malissa. How are you? How has your week been?

I’m really well, thanks Sam. It’s been a fabulous week working on the promo for my third solo single, Simple. I had a worldwide launch, and I have been busy with radio and press interviews the past few days. I was fortunate to have great coverage in the U.K. and Europe, as well as a U.S. premier on WSDI Radio in Chicago, L.A., and N.Y. This then led to a feature on Sports Byline USA, one of the biggest sports channels Stateside, along with a podcast from Nashville on Story and Song with Susan Gabrielle. It has been amazing to have such great support as an English artist in the U.S.

Looking back at 2022, what would you say your personal highlights were?

I think to have my first two solo singles released, Dear Diary and Wine & Roses, was a major highlight, especially when my second single achieved over 150k views on YouTube. That was a big achievement as an independent artist growing organically with no major labels. This led to me achieving five singles of the week on national radio stations in the U.K. and Europe, and an offer of a co-host on a radio show with on-air celebrity Steve Benz for a show called OutLoud in the U.S. This show launched on 4th July (Independence Day) last year, and it has been syndicated worldwide to over forty-five stations. This has been a dream come true.

“Secondary school was a turning point for me, as I took music GCSE and started to write my first songs”.

How early did music come into your life? Which artists and albums struck you at an early age?

Music was in my life from the beginning. My house was always filled with music, as my mum loved Motown and would always have the radio on. Secondary school was a turning point for me, as I took music GCSE and started to write my first songs. That lead to me entering a competition for Songwriter of the Year, in conjunction with Capital Radio, Coca-Cola and The Evening Standard. Out of 10,000+ writers, I came second. Disappointed as I was so close to first place, but a great driver for my tenacious nature to become a successful singer-songwriter.

I know you signed your first management deal as a singer-songwriter aged sixteen. What was it like being signed at such a young age? How much flexibility did you have in terms of your career direction?

My first signing was a big learning curve as I was so young. This was short-lived, as I only stayed with the management for around a year and was talent-spotted by a famous music manager who wanted me to front a new female Indie-Pop group. That lead to great opportunities and touring around the U.K. with established top-20 acts that were in the charts. As far as direction, it started off really well, then as the group started to make progress there were more pressures with creative works and image. In honesty it wasn’t really me, hence my departure - which lead me to working with the in-house producer Tony Matthew at Soul II Soul studios in London.

Simple is your recent single. What was the inspiration behind the song?

The works of Dear Diary and Wine & Roses were very storytelling, and Simple was a progression of these singles. The simplicity of the track about finding your way in life through relationships and how the right person can gravitate towards you without you searching. The inspiration was really like a diary of emotional entries to take the audience and listener on the journey.

I really love the music video for it. Can you tell us what the shoot was like?

The video was put together over a six-month period, as I was travelling back and forth to the States. I went to Nashville and that inspired me immensely, as it’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit as a singer-songwriter. Different footage was put together over that period, and we had some amazing cinematic aerial shots of Music City. I put the whole video together and worked with an editorial video specialist to get the cut. I fell in love with the organic feel of the video and Rock edge, but the running horses and open space shots really do lend themselves to the drama and intent of the song.

I have recently written a feature that highlighted how some female artists have been taken off the BBC Radio 1 playlists because they are over thirty. Do you think there are some radio stations that are prejudiced against women when it comes to age and how ‘relevant’ they are seen as?

I haven’t experienced this personally, as the radio support I’ve had worldwide has been amazing. I feel radio stations are under immense pressure to reach big audiences, and sometime decisions are made on RAJAR results to meet demographics and listener targets. That would affect who makes the playlist. It is a concern to hear that woman over thirty are being taken off, as some of the best artists we have are in that category and above and have been making worldwide hits for decades!

“I can’t wait for that moment to reconnect with my audience”.

Just on a slight tangent, we both share a love of comedy. As I am working on comedy ideas myself, I have to ask how you got interested in it, and is there a relationship between your music and comedy?

I wrote my first T.V. comedy pilot pre-COVID and was fortunate enough to have this funded and filmed with a celebrity cast. The show has a strong connection with music, and opened a big door for me with the soundtrack, which has been great fun to write. After the impact of COVID we are only just reviewing the project again, but I hope to make developments over the coming months. It is semi-autobiographical; about my journey into music.

What does the rest of this year hold in terms of new music? Might we see an E.P. or new singles?

I have started an album of works with producer Kevin Hughes. We are very excited as the next single is already in production. As for an album or E.P., that will really depend on progression of works for the T.V. show and timings. I would love to support or get some gigs in towards the end of the year, as lots of people have reached out and want to see me live. I can’t wait for that moment to reconnect with my audience.

Finally, and for being a good sport, you can select any song (from another artist) and I will play it here.

I was always a huge fan of Kate Bush, and I had the pleasure of studying my music GCSE in London with her nephew William Bush (who was in my class). Kate came from my hometown of Eltham, London, so I would definitely say Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) from the Hounds of Love album was a firm favourite.