INTERVIEW: Introducing… Conor Maynard
You've got the wrong Justin! Why Conor Maynard is nothing like Bieber. Plus, the Brighton singer talks about working with Frank Ocean, Ne-Yo and Pharrell, his old friend Rita Ora, and his awesome new album, Contrast.
Al OverdriveGLAMOUR: What’s your earliest memory of music?
Conor Maynard: “Well, my parents listened to a lot of music when I was really little. They used to listen to people like Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder and I used to be really into that. From a really young age, I couldn’t really talk properly yet, and I just used to say the numbers of what track I knew was on the CD, and they had to put that one on. And also, I couldn’t say music, so I used to say, ‘sic,’ and they knew that when I said, ‘sic on,’ I wanted to put the music on… But my aunty who used to babysit me had no idea what it meant. She thought I was going to throw up, like, 'I’m going to be sick!' So my mum used to have to come and pick me up.”
Al OverdriveG: What gave you the confidence to start performing covers of these artists and put them up on YouTube for everyone to judge?
C: “I think the moment for me would be when I was 15 years old and I was walking down the road after school one day, and I’d never really sung for anyone before. I’d sung in front of my mates, but the best reaction you’re going to get from your mates is, ‘Yeah… You’re pretty good.’ You’re never going to get much further than that. I never really sung in front of any girls or anything like that. So I was messing about singing with this guy who was a friend of mine, and a girl a few paces ahead heard me and she stopped and said, ‘Do that again.’”
Al OverdriveC: “So, I did, and she said, ‘You’re amazing!’ And then for me, that reaction, I thought, ‘Oh, OK then, maybe I should think about actually doing something.’ And I remember the next day, she pretty much made me sing to every person in my year. And that really shocked, amazed reaction allowed me to think that singing was definitely something I should think about. Then I knew people who were putting covers on YouTube, and it all really started from there. The first cover I recorded was with two SingStar microphones from PlayStation 2 sellotaped together, then sellotaped onto my bed post as a microphone stand.”
Al OverdriveG: You’ve worked with some pretty amazing people on your debut album, Contrast, including Ne-Yo and Pharrell Williams. How did that come about?
C: “Well, Ne-Yo was one of the first people I actually got to speak to in the music industry. I’d been doing my covers, and I started to get a lot of hits. The attention was there, and I had a crazy online fanbase that would follow me. And then I got an email from someone who claimed to be Ne-Yo’s manager, and I thought, ‘I don’t really believe this…’ And then it got to the point where they started calling me, going, ‘We’re going to get you over to America, Ne-Yo wants to meet you.’ I as like, ‘Erm…’ I didn’t want to get all the way to America and then have my friends be like, ‘Wahey, got you!’ So I wanted some sort of proof. So, sure enough, a few days later, I was sitting on Skype with Ne-Yo just talking about music, and he said he wanted to sign me…”
Al OverdriveC: “So that started the whole kind of buzz, like, ‘Who’s this kid Ne-Yo wants to sign?’ Obviously, I ended up signing with EMI, because it was the best thing for me at the time. And there were no grudges down the line. Obviously, I’ve worked with Ne-Yo on this album, and he’s featured on a lot of these tracks. And then Pharrell reached out to me to try and sign me, not realising that I’d already been signed and was about to start here in the UK. But he was like, ‘Well, I’d love to work with him anyway’. So I flew out to America to work with him for the week. There are two tracks on the album that feature Pharrell.”
Al OverdriveG: And how was that week in the States? You said you got to meet a lot of stars…
C: “It was crazy. I got to meet a lot of people. I met more people in that week than I’ve met in my entire life. Obviously Pharrell was there, and then on the third day Ludacris just rolled into the studio to listen to the music. And Tyler, The Creator rolled in as well. And then right at the end, on the last day, Pharrell took us to this Tyler, The Creator concert in Miami, and I just remember I was standing with Pharrell on my right shoulder and Lil Wayne on my left. Just chillin. It was pretty cool, they’re pretty cool guys.”
Al OverdriveG: You also worked with Frank Ocean on this album. He’s one of your heroes, isn’t he?
C: “Frank Ocean… I think he’s like a modern day… He’s kept RnB going in a weird, modern way, and I think the way he’s done that is incredible, so to have him on the album is… Yeah, definitely amazing…”
Al OverdriveG: He’s just come out in the press as bisexual. Quite a brave thing to do given the stigma and homophobia that exists in urban music. What was your reaction to that?
C: “For me, it was a shock… Like, no one expected it coming. But I think it’s great. It’s amazing that we’re in a place in time now where people can do that, and it’s obviously a big thing to do, and it must have been really scary to think what people were going to think. For me, it was extremely brave to do that and I really respect that he has already built up this big following and no-one knows, or had any idea. I’ve seen all the respect he’s been getting on Twitter, it’s really cool to see that. It would be awful to think that people would think badly of it. And also, the song he’s written for the album is incredible, regardless of whether he’s gay or not. I’m happy to have that, and happy to have him on the album.”
Al OverdriveG: If you had to describe the sound of your album to an alien who had never heard pop music before, what would you tell them?
C: “I’d tell them it’s the best thing they’re ever gonna hear, ha ha! No, just joking. I’d probably say there are songs for all different situations. I’d say if you want to party, then there are songs for that. If you want to chill and listen to something a bit more emotionally deep, then there are songs for that, and there are songs in between. It’s quite hard-hitting. Some of the tracks are like hip hop beats with RnB, poppy vocals over the top, so yeah… I don’t know what else to say, ‘cos he wouldn’t understand a word I’m saying right now anyway, ha ha.”
Al OverdriveG: Rita Ora features on the album as well. What’s she like to work with?
C: “Rita’s crazy. She’s actually an old friend of mine, so I knew her from before. When we got in the studio together, it really worked well. When you hear the track, it’s a track that fits what we’re about. We couldn’t have sung a love song together, because everyone would know that it wouldn’t be real. So I think for us, it was a clever thing we came up with.”
Al OverdriveG: How did you know Rita before?
C: “We were managed by the same person. I remember the first time I met her, actually, was way before either of us had got any attention, and we were babysitting our manager’s kids. And I remember they were really little, and they're twins, and one of them threw up on Rita. So that’s the first time I met her. With baby sick all over her. Oh, it was awful, but it’s a funny memory, definitely.”
Al OverdriveG: Talk us through your three favourite tracks on the album…
C: “They change all the time… But I think one of mine is a track called Animal. It’s the opening track to the album, and it’s a very upbeat song, very kind of crazy, and I love the beat behind it. It’s very urban and very cool. And I love the concept of it. It’s basically about a girl who can tear you apart, which is a cool idea to go on. Another one’s called Just In Case. That’s the last track on the album, funnily enough, and that’s at the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s very chilled. It’s about a previous relationship that I was in that I wrote this song about, that I’d gone through before. Then the third one’s between the Pharrell and the Ne-Yo track. The Pharrell track’s got his old-school sound, his massive stamp on it, and then the Ne-Yo track is just a big, big stadium song. So that’s one of the biggest tracks on the album.”
Al OverdriveG: A lot of the lyrical content focuses on partying and girls. Do you think this relates to your own lifestyle?
C: “I think so, I think it relates to most 19-year-old boy’s lifestyles. I think being 19 and being a guy, a lot of my time, other than doing music, is about partying with mates and girls. Those are the two main aspects of my life. I don’t think I’ve got anything else to focus on right now, apart from eating. And I’m not going to write an album about food. So those are the two main things I like to write about.”
Al OverdriveG: What do you look for in a potential girlfriend?
C: “I always find that quite hard to answer, because when I look back at previous relationships I’ve been in, it’s been with all different types of girls. There’s never been a very common factor between them all, so for me, I think that if I meet someone and there’s a connection there, a sense of humour or we like the same things, then it could grow into something.”
Al OverdriveG: If you could date any female celeb, who would it be and why?
C: “I normally just go to Rita [Ora] in this situation, because she’s on the album, but I’m trying to think about someone else. Hmm… Kylie. She’s really cool. She actually presented me with my first ever award the other day, and she’s really nice and really sweet, so yeah. Tell her, please tell her…”
Al OverdriveG: How do you feel about the Justin Bieber comparisons? Do you think they’re fair?
C: “I think for me, I think it’s just comparisons in general are hard to get around. When it’s early in your career, people are going to compare you to what they think you’re going to be like, because they don’t have much to go on other than one song. So they are going to base it on the fact that I’m young and I came from YouTube. And I think that’s as far as the comparison goes. I think when people hear the album, it’s older, with an RnB twist on it, and it features Pharrell, Ne-Yo, Frank Ocean… There are different elements on the album. I’d rather people listen to it and form their own opinions rather than being told exactly what this album is.”
Al OverdriveG: Are you a fan of Justin yourself? Do you like his music particularly?
C: “Erm, I think Boyfriend is sick. It showed a change in him a lot. I wasn’t so much of a fan of the earlier stuff, because that wasn’t aimed at someone like me. That was aimed at a younger audience. But I think now, his new stuff…”
Al OverdriveG: Who would your dream comparison be to?
C: “MJ, Michael Jackson.”
Al OverdriveG: A lot of UK stars at the moment are having a lot of success in the US. The Wanted, One Direction, among others. What do you think it is about British boys that are having so much appeal over there?
C: “I don’t really know what it is, there’s just been a sudden surge of UK talent recently. I don’t know whether it’s luck or fate or whether something has actually happened. One theory I’ve got is that it was the one series of the UK X Factor that they had over in the States, and they didn’t have that before. They had American Idol, but it got a bit old. And it was that one series where it was One Direction, Cher Lloyd… And I think for that period of time there was a lot of eyes on British talent. And obviously there was Adele. She’s a world wide super star. Now The Wanted… And now Ed Sheeran. I just think it’s a really good time.”
Al OverdriveG: Who’d the hottest act alive right now?
C: “Adele. I think Adele is definitely a phenomenon right now today. Her sales are literally a joke, they are huge.”
Al OverdriveG: What do you think about her quitting everything to go and have a baby and get married?
C: “Yeah, I think that’s crazy. When I found out she was pregnant, I was like ‘Huh?’ But I think she’s one of those artists where, you know, at the end of the day, one of those artists that can release an album once every ten years. I don’t think she needs constant output. I think she’ll make one amazing album that will last a long time, then, when the time is right, she’ll release some more music.”
Al OverdriveG: What are you most looking forward to in the coming months?
C: “I’ve got a mini tour at the end of July that I’m really looking forward to. Obviously the album’s released on 30 July, and the single, on 23 July, Vegas Girl. So a lot of stuff coming up for me, so just keeping focused on what I need to do, and really looking forward to it, so we’ll see.”
