Speaker A
Anything about your process for "Another Love" though that was different than any other song you had written previously?
Tom Odell discusses the emotional process behind 'Another Love' and its unexpected resurgence through social media.
Key Takeaways
- Authenticity resonates deeply with audiences and can lead to unexpected success.
- Social media can revive and transform the life of a song long after its initial release.
- Artists should focus on creating good work rather than controlling outcomes.
- Songs that blend emotional complexity may face initial challenges but can find lasting impact.
- The music industry landscape has shifted significantly with digital platforms.
Summary
- Tom Odell explains that 'Another Love' was written from a place of genuine hurt and defiance.
- He highlights the song's association with fragile, precarious moments rather than celebration.
- Odell expresses surprise at the song's renewed popularity years after its release.
- He credits social media platforms like TikTok for the song's recent mainstream success.
- The song struggled initially due to its unique blend of sad and uplifting elements.
- Odell reflects on the music industry's changes, especially the role of radio 12 years ago.
- He emphasizes the importance of authenticity in connecting with audiences.
- Odell discusses the unpredictability of artistic success and the need to surrender control.
- He compares the song's initial challenges to its current success as a lesson for artists.
- The conversation touches on the intuitive nature of audiences in responding to genuine work.
Chapters
- 00:00Songwriting Process Behind 'Another Love'
- 00:56Emotional Themes and Defiance in the Song
- 01:56Surprise at the Song's Renewed Popularity
- 02:51Role of Social Media in the Song's Success
- 04:02Challenges in the Music Industry 12 Years Ago
- 04:56Song's Unique Blend and Its Impact on Reception
- 05:56Lessons on Artistic Control and Audience Intuition
- 06:56Authenticity and the Artist-Audience Connection
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
I think I was genuinely quite hurt, and maybe rather than—there's a tendency or a kind of proclivity to want to avoid pain in us all, right?
Speaker A
And I think every once in a while we have the courage as people to face it and to really feel it and absorb it.
Speaker A
And maybe that was one of those moments for me. You know, what is it rooted in?
Speaker A
Definitely feeling hurt but trying to, I guess, trying to—everyone has a certain amount of defiance in them that I think is one of the wonderful traits which ties human beings together.
Speaker A
And I think that it was focusing on that defiance, that strength that I think some of us find at the bottom.
Speaker A
You find it at the moment of surrender. You find that strength, which I think is why the song has become associated with, you know, precarious moments, like fragile moments in people's lives, I think, rather than
Speaker A
moments of celebration or, you know—
Speaker A
Is there any part of you that's surprised that it's taken on a whole new meaning and a whole new life recently?
Speaker A
I think it's a good song. So, like, you know, anything's possible. But of course, yeah, I'm surprised. I think, like, I never—like, someone told me the other day, it's the most—I can't remember what number, but it's like—
Speaker A
It's Alexa, get out of here. The, uh—I think it's like—it was good because Alexa interrupted a moment of self-congratulation. [Laughter] [Music] I don't know. Uh, it's great. The song's done well, yeah. You know, I wish I
Speaker A
could have more. I mean, I'm going to be honest with you: I had no idea that was released so long ago.
Speaker A
Really? When did you think it came out? I mean, in the last year and a half because that's when it's been all over my feed.
Speaker A
We can pretend it did come out a year and a half ago. No, but it's been—I mean, dude, like, that is the power of—I mean, I think Timeless Records, right? Like Timeless Arc has—and I had listened to your music
Speaker A
a bunch over the years, but like that one record I really genuinely—yeah—attributed to it like it took on such a mainstream life in the last two and a half, three years.
Speaker A
Yeah. I think that's definitely like social media. It fit quite comfortably on that platform. I think without social media it would have struggled. But, um, yeah, I mean, it's a weird song. I remember like 12 years ago
Speaker A
when it came out or constantly being told that, like, because it never really was big in America, right? It—and I remember coming here and touring and you'd sort of visit the radio stations and stuff, and back then, like 12
Speaker A
years ago, it was much—you, if you didn't get play on the radio, there wasn't really any other way of getting yourself heard.
Speaker A
It was—that was it. But it could change your life. And at the time of this record coming out, it was a very unique time for hot radio and, like, yeah. And I just remember constantly
Speaker A
being told that, like, we love the song but it's either not a guitar record, it's not like straight-up Adele or Lewis Capaldi sad ballad.
Speaker A
It's just sort of like too much. It has the sad bit and then it has the up bit, and like people have never been able to kind of figure out what kind of song it is. And I think
Speaker A
interestingly, what held it back 12 years ago is the same thing that has helped make it a success.
Speaker A
Yeah. Make it a success now, which is, I think, a wonderful lesson in, you know, the lack of control we have and actually just as an artist just surrendering to the fact that you can just try and do good work and not
Speaker A
try and control the outcome of that because I'm sure you guys have experienced with your successful podcast.
Speaker A
Well, that's relative, dude. No, no, no. But you—you've experienced the fact that things surprise you.
Speaker A
Mhm. The world surprises you almost every day.
Speaker A
Yeah. The world surprises me every time I put an album out. Mostly it surprises me with on mass. I think the audience have this weird intuition for authenticity. And so the
Speaker A
like you see on TikTok, like when someone just puts something up really authentically, that is just a very intuitive moment, it tends to react really well because the audience sees something in it that feels reflective of their own life. And I
Speaker A
think with music, whenever I try and convince myself something is good and it's my cerebral part, my mind going, "This is good, this is good, you want to be more like this, right? You want to sound more like this,"
Topics:Tom OdellAnother Lovesongwriting processmusic authenticitysocial media impactTikTokmusic industryemotional songwritingmusic successZach Sang Show
