Philadelphia-based country singer Lauren O’Brien is a storyteller at heart. A creative that has spent her life involved in music, singing, and performing in a variety of ways from choir to musical theater, to say music is a big part of Lauren’s life is an understatement, and for her, country music is her favorite way to use music as expression. “I love—I think specifically with writing country music— [that] it’s a very storytelling-based genre…It’s an authentic genre. It’s got great production style.”
Lauren’s latest story is one of getting back together with a previous love. Her pop-country single “Another Shot” is out today, and we had to find out what it took to bring it from an idea in her notes to the studio to our ears.
When it comes to country music, there are a lot of directions for sound from classic country to country pop. Lauren shared that she makes it a priority to include as many true country elements as she can in her music, but country pop has a “cute flirty type of songwriting” which is exactly what she was going for with “Another Shot.”
“I think it’s just a fun, lighthearted song that I think a lot of people can relate to.” Lauren described her latest release to us. A song that fun, has a “disco balls type of vibe” and “just makes you want to dance,” another shot is a “why not try again” kind of love song that Lauren told us is based on a true story.
It’s a love story! Lauren has been telling a lot of love stories with her latest releases. When we asked Lauren about what drives this theme in her music, she shared that love is at the heart of her writing. “I think love is something, as a writer, something that we write about all the time because it’s obviously one of the driving forces in our lives, who you love, who loves you, romantic or friendships too. I think a lot of my stories are about relationships whether they’re romantic or not because that’s kind of what life is.”
This is an optimistic look at life and that’s truly Lauren’s personality and something she tries to bring into her songs. Lauren’s songwriting process starts with title ideas that she stores in the notes app on her phone. “My notes in my phone has tons and tons of titles” (usually with notes for what inspired each title!)—”Drinking Over Me” is a favorite title Lauren has turned into a song we’ll hopefully get to hear soon. From there, Lauren starts her writing on her own before working with her cowriters and producer. She wants her stories and her personality to be the core of each song. It’s this process that makes “Another Shot” such a light, euphoric look at starting a relationship again. All of those emotions come straight from the heart.
Lauren’s other recent releases “Weak Days” and “Match” follow the love theme of “Another Shot” and as she put it, “They kind of all bring out who I am as a person, the fun side and then also more emotional, soft sides of myself.” This collection of songs is also a taste of Lauren’s forthcoming debut EP set to release earlier this year.
With so much in store for the rest of the year, Lauren has a lot to be excited for. “It’s a lot of firsts, but it’s really fun, and I am really excited for [the EP] to come out.” She’s also excited to see how her fans react to her music. One of her favorite things is getting messages from fans around the world (some in other languages!) sharing their love of her music. “I get messages from people all over the world sometimes…It’s so cool to just see that my music is reaching people that don’t live in the United States, that don’t speak English. I love getting to see the ‘press translation’ button on a message.”
“Another Shot” is streaming now, and with an EP on the horizon, we’ll definitely be hearing more from Lauren soon.
