Paul McDonald

[Miguel]

Interview: Paul McDonald
The American Idol alum recently released his new track, "Bright Lights."

Your new single, "Bright Lights" just premiered on Billboard the other day - it's awesome! Where'd you pull inspiration from for the track?

Thanks so much for the kind words! I’m glad you like it! I wrote "Bright Lights" back in March. The song is pretty simple. It’s about love and how you’ll always be there for someone, no matter what the circumstances. If things go wrong, or you ever lose your way, if time’s get hard - because they always will. I’ll be around, I’ll have your back, and I’ll cover you.

The video for "Bright Lights" was released this week - where'd you come up with the concept for it?

The idea really just fell into place with my good buddy and director Sean Hagwell. He was in town for a few days and we came up with a simple concept and some cool visuals that would get across the emotion of the song. We shot the bedroom scene in my friend Marc Scibillia’s studio/bedroom - the same room that we wrote "Bright Lights" and recorded the track. That night we went into the CMT parking garage around 2 in the morning to snag the parking garage shots. It was a fun day.

Back in 2011 you were a finalist on American Idol. How did being on the show shape your sound? What's the most valuable thing you learned during the competition?

To be honest, American Idol never really shaped any kind of “sound" for me. Idol was more of a fun break from the creative side of my brain and a heavy lesson in life and the music business. I learned so much from being on that show and met some phenomenal artists and people - some of my best friends. I also learned how to perform on television and in front of a large audience. I learned about major labels, big contracts, working with high profile people, attorneys, and seeing how a big business like 19 is really run. Shaping your own sound comes from years of development and trying new things on your own. Putting out records that fail, putting out records that people love, and exploring with your creativity and inner self- really finding exactly who you are as an artist. It doesn’t just happen overnight. I had been touring for almost six years full time and we were playing almost 200 shows a year before I auditioned for idol.

I also had put out multiple albums out and was really into songwriting, so I was already in the process of finding a sound, but I’m always growing as an artist and experimenting with sounds. I never want to stay stagnant - I want to continue to grow and explore - and push my own boundaries. I do know where I’m comfortable now and what feels good to me, and at this point in my career, I just want to create art that feels good and genuine to myself. I’d like to go to sleep at night feeling proud of the music I’ve written and know that I’m always moving forward on my personal musical journey. I feel like this new batch of songs has really done that for me.

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