How Little Big Lies using River took acclaimed blues man Leon Bridges to the masses
HIT TV series Little Big Lies brought Leon Bridges a whole new audience and he’s determined not to rest on his laurels for follow-up album, Good Thing.
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LEON Bridges felt the Big Little Lies effect instantly.
As soon as his song River featured on the ultra-cool soundtrack to the TV hit suddenly the US singer saw his debut album Coming Home reach a new audience.
“It introduced me to soccer moms and models who never knew who I was and were coming to my shows saying they found my music through Big Little Lies,” Bridges says.
“The placement was perfect. That sync did everything for me. It brought that song and my album back to relevance when we were really done touring it.”
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Released in 2015, Coming Home’s marketing was as old school as the soulful blues it contained.
“Word of mouth was the whole campaign for Coming Home,” Bridges says.
We got some radio play but we didn’t have any radio hits but we kept playing bigger venues. It was soccer moms, to nerds, to thugs, to models.”
For his second album Bridges, 28, changed things up. While his debut was created in-house for Good Thing he worked with external songwriters for the first time.
“I’d done a lot of writing and recording back in Fort Worth and I just felt really I wasn’t hitting the mark that I wanted,” he says of an R & B set he still plans to release next year.
Enter pop writers including Dan Wilson (Adele), Justin Tranter (Selena Gomez), Ricky Reed (Jason DeRulo), Teddy Geiger (Shawn Mendes) and Wayne Hector (Nicki Minaj, One Direction).
“I do my thing but I got a lot of growth as far as songwriting,” Bridges says.
“This album opened a door into ways I wasn’t aware of. Working with people who are way better than you at the craft of course it’s inevitable you’ll learn things — you’re always a student.
“Coming Home was the statement I wanted to make at the time. I wanted to tell my story and my family’s story through that (retro) sound. Going into the second album I didn’t want to repeat myself. I wanted to make an album that reflected the different styles of R & B I love and I feel like we achieved that.
“I wanted to keep that authenticity. We didn’t chase pop hits we just made good music.
I look at myself as a young songwriter I don’t have it all figured out. It was like a whole bunch of homies in the studio pushing each other to something great.”
Beyond is “modern R & B on a country song”, Shy his “90s R & B moment” while Forgive You’s 80s synths came after a champagne fuelled final recording session.
“I wanted to make something I love but I was definitely conscious that I could alienate some fans but I think people are more attached to me as an artist than the concept I originally put out into then world.
“I really didn’t want to repeat myself — that lane and that style is so specific. You dig yourself into a hole you can’t get out of. I want to show people ‘Hey I’ve already established I can do this let me show you the full range of my artistry’. We could have made Coming Home 2 and it would have been good but I want to push people out of their comfort zone. I had to take advantage of it — this second album is going to be my statement.”
Bridges knows there’s pressure to follow songs like Coming Home and River.
“River is a gospel song, I didn’t think it’d be accepted. But everyone can find their own meaning to it.”
One lesson from his debut — he won’t read reviews after being pigeonholed as a retro act.
“It’s not a thing of wanting to be nostalgic for me it’s just telling my truth through the foundation of black music. I’ve heard ignorant comments saying my music isn’t black music. It is, this is who I am. I don’t read things now. I’ve already got enough things that f--- up my confidence!”
Bridges was insistent on continuing his honesty policy in his lyrics — which includes everything from not feeling “black enough” in school to revealing his first sexual experience.
“I’ve always been kinda closed off about my personal life, but I lost my virginity to a prostitute in Oklahoma when I was 18. My mom will probably kill me when she hears the album!”
Good Thing (Sony) out now
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CHASING CARS — SNOW PATROL
THE Scottish alt-rockers had been plying their trade for 13 years and three albums before then red-hot US medical drama Grey’s Anatomy chose the power ballad for the finale of its second season in 2006. It sold millions of copies around the world and made the band a genuine arena-filler.
LAST DAY ON EARTH — KATE MILLER-HEIDKE
THERE wasn’t a dry eye in the house when the Aussie singer’s Last Day On Earth was chosen to soundtrack the death of beloved character Bridget on longrunning soapie Neighbours. The song shot to the top of the singles chart and propelled her album Curiouser back into the album chart.
FOREVER YOUNG — YOUTH GROUP
THE Sydney rockers’ unheralded cover of the 1984 song by German New Wave band Alphaville found its way into the ears of millions around the world thanks US teen drama The O.C. It went to No. 1 on the ARIA chart and earned the band a Breakthrough Single ARIA Award in 2006.
CALIFORNIA — PHANTOM PLANET
THE O.C also had a hand in the Phantom Planet’s breakout song. Thanks to its use is the teen drama’s theme turn, as well as featuring in the movie Orange County and on The Simpsons it went top 10 several countries around the world.
BABY BLUE — BADFINGER
WITH its opening lyrics “Guess I got what I deserve”, the 1972 hit by the British rock band was the perfect tune for the finale of acclaimed TV series Breaking Bad. Online streams spiked and downloads surged immediately after it aired and Badfinger guitarist Joey Molland Tweeted his approval.
Originally published as How Little Big Lies using River took acclaimed blues man Leon Bridges to the masses
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