Dean Lewis
Spending Valentine’s Day With Dean Lewis
by Emma Fox
To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we had the pleasure of speaking with Australian singer-songwriter, Dean Lewis.
Since his hit single “Waves'' in 2016, Lewis has continued to grow in the music scene. Touring through most of 2022, he rounded out the year with the release of his second studio album, The Hardest Love, released in November 2022. The Hardest Love features the song “How Do I Say Goodbye,” which became incredibly popular around the world and on social media following its peak at #68 on the Spotify Global Charts and #13 on the Spotify US Viral Chart.
To discuss what a successful year 2022 was for Dean, we were able to jump on a Zoom call with him to learn more! We were able to talk with Dean about the storyline and behind the scenes of his album The Hardest Love, his writing process, goals for his upcoming tour, his influences in his songwriting, and his obstacles along the way.
When discussing the story behind The Hardest Love, Dean told us how the focus of these songs were people in his life and things that he was going through at the time. Specifically, Dean mentioned love, loss, and sickness, stating that the album was “a time capsule” of what he was going through in his life at the time. He goes on to talk about his tendency to use dialogue when writing his music, stating that he wants to be able to put the listeners directly “in the scene” of the song.
Asked about his goals for his upcoming tour, Dean stated that his main focus was to continue expanding and continue selling out shows. He went on to say how he has been selling out arenas in Australia and Denmark, that would fit crowds of over 5,000 people.
Dean was asked about his influences in music, specifically when it comes to genres. He was asked what appealed to him so much about pop and alternative music, and specifically how these two genres impacted his songwriting. Three artists that he brought up were The Fray, Goo Goo Dolls, and Eminem.
He compared Eminem’s song “Stan” to his song “Be Alright,” explaining how they had similar elements and that listening to these artists really helped his songwriting, saying his songs have “a rap element, in a melodic sense.”
Asked about his biggest obstacles in his journey as a singer-songwriter, he responded saying, “learning that lyrics are really, really important.” He also mentioned that as a songwriter it’s important to learn that lyrics are even more important than the melody.
When discussing his song, “The Hardest Love,” he specifically mentioned the lyric, “How do I say goodbye to someone who’s been with me for my whole damn life? / You gave me my name in the color of your eyes / I see your face when you look at mine.”
Lewis said that this lyric was one where he feels he’s never going to write something as good as it again. He explains that this is because of how perfectly the lyrics, the meaning, and the melody all fit together perfectly.
Dean Lewis is an artist that you can always rely on for lyrics as impactful as this one, and Lewis stated that he feels very lucky to have created a lyric as captivating as this one.
Following this, Lewis was asked the song that he was most proud of out of his whole discography. He responded with two songs, “Half a Man,” and “How Do I Say Goodbye.”
There was up a specific lyric from the first song: “How am I supposed to love you when I don’t know who I am?” He wrote this lyric when he was looking at himself in the mirror and said when he thought of the line he got chills down the back of his neck, asking himself, “How has no one said that before?” It is difficult to come up with a lyric that is so personal and touches on such a universal feeling.
In his songwriting, Dean Lewis is extremely talented at making his lyrics so beautifully and clearly stated, while also having a very complex element to them. Because of this, Lewis stated that what he wanted people to understand most about his music was “you write songs for you.”
He explained how important it was that in order to get in touch with other people through music, it has to be something genuine about you or genuine from you. He continued by saying that one of the most rewarding parts of releasing songs that were so personal was seeing the way that other people relate to the music, and how much it helps and touches them in their personal lives.
Overall, it is clear that Dean Lewis’ success will not stop here. He is an incredibly well-rounded singer-songwriter, with an immense passion for what he does. He has his sights set high and has many goals in mind that he is well on his way to reaching. There is no doubt in my mind that he is going to accomplish all of these and many more! His love for his craft and his fans is something so beautiful and is just one of many reasons that you should listen to Dean Lewis if you don’t already!
Copyright ©2023 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: February 20, 2023.
Photos by Samantha Monendo © 2022. All rights reserved.
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