THE JOURNEY FROM CHURCH SINGER TO RECORDING ARTIST: MICHAEL J. WOODARD TALKS ABOUT HIS NEW EP MJW1
Former American Idol contestant, Michael J. Woodard is taking the next step in his career with the release of his first EP, MJW1, via Katy Perry’s label, Unsub Records. The Philadelphia native has been pursuing his dream of being a recording artist since he was five years old. Michael had a humble beginning, singing in his local church choir during his childhood, which gave him the tools he needed to later on go to New York for auditions. By the age of 13, he had already performed for President Barack Obama at a rally in Philadelphia and sang at the U.S. Open in New York. After moving to LA for school, he had an opportunity to audition for American Idol, where his personality and talent caught the attention of judge Katy Perry.
Since leaving the show, Michael has focused on his own music, releasing three singles in 2023: “Ruined,” “Face,” and “Trouble.” Last month, his new EP MJW1, featuring his previous tracks as well as some new ones, hit the streaming services. After listening to the album in its entirety, the project seems like a strong introduction to the different sides of Michael, both musically and on a human level. Lyrically and melodically the music is versatile encompassing a multitude of genres that he draws inspiration from like hip hop, soul, R&B, afro beats, and pop. The layered vocals, predominantly utilized throughout the EP, highlight his church roots from being in a choir; that is just one example of how all the different stages of his career so far, along with who he is looking to be, can be seen through this project.
We got to learn more about the EP from Michael at a press conference hosted by 1824. Here is what he had to say:
How did your time on American Idol shape who you are as a music artist today?
The American Idol experience is something you can't really buy. It gives you kind of a simulation of what the industry is like before really entering into it. So it’s something I’m super grateful for. It really gives you a well rounded experience where you’re able to pull from the things that it gives you. Whether it's a tour, or whether it's the aspect of performing in front of millions before there is pressure to achieve any commercial success - I think a lot of it, if not all of it, is really giving me so many things that I continue to integrate into the career path that I’m on today. You know I’m really grateful for that experience.
How has growing up in Philly influenced your music and artistic identity?
Oh my goodness, well I want to say Philly and the church culture is huge. It’s probably one of the most prominent cultures in Philly, which I’m lucky to have experience in and have grown up in that culture. So I will definitely say just growing up in Philly, and kind of like being raised in the church was the first thing that had a really developed the ear when it came to what I enjoy with music. It taught me how to harmonize and it taught me how to really put emotion into what I’m doing, so just things like that.
Also the community that’s in Philly as well, I feel like everybody knows somebody that knows them. It’s huge but it’s super duper small. So being able to have that community, whether it’s in school or church - and schools was another thing that kind of supported me when I first started - are really the key components of what makes Philly such a huge part of my life and career. But it really did kid of set the path for me early on where I knew what I wanted to do immediately, you know? Whether it was from church or school. So Philly it’s everything it’s talked about to be for sure.
In what ways do you feel like your EP MJW1 represents your growth and evolution as an artist?
Yeah, I mean listen, what you’re hearing is what I’ve been doing for the past three years of being signed to Katy. Like it was very important putting out a project that not only tells you where I am now, but is telling you where I was. I wanted to make sure my listeners and my followers got an opportunity to grow with me and I could have, you know, put songs out that I made yesterday or last night, but I just felt like I wanted people to see where I started from, and let that be a kind of glimpse into where we’re going in the future. Luckily what I had created these last three years, being signed to Katy, was great enough to me to be able to share with the world.
Can you speak to the meaning behind the song “Ruined" and the music video?
Yeah, “Ruined” is that special record. It's the kind of record that allows me to be vulnerable. I think some of the other records on my project, they are vulnerable as well, but I think “Ruined” is so stripped back to the point where you don’t hear a lot of vocal production and things like that. It’s just me and like the raw emotion of what I’m feeling in that moment. So that record is really really special to me in that way.
Then I think, you know, the story, when it came to putting the treatment for the music video together, it’s like the story wrote itself. I wanted to be creative and be able to give you guys something that was visually pleasing, just as much as the song is pleasing to your ears. I wanted it to be pleasing visually but I didn’t want to do too much where it takes away focus from the song. So I just took key elements in and key lyrics and kind of transformed that into what it communicated to me visually.
We took the lyric at the end where I say baggage - I pulled from that and I wanted to do like a creative spin on it. So we decided to get suitcases and kind of let that be I guess the love interest in a way. Where you do see me being in my head, you know, and took a deep tour through my thoughts where you see me thinking. Being very much in my head, but at the same time having a representation of what my past relationships were like, were the idea of the suitcases.
Was there any song you were nervous to put out?
The song I was most nervous for was “24 Hours.” I think "24 Hours" because when you hear it, it doesn’t sound as current, you know what I mean? As a lot of the other songs that are out right now, which was on purpose. I think when I walked into the studio that day, I knew that I wanted to make something that was reminiscent of the early 2010s. Like the era where the dream was like the person that was writing half of the soundtrack on the radio, like Ester Dean and you know...Dewain Whitmore, the songwriters that wrote at the time. So I knew that it would be a risk, but it was for me, FOR ME to you guys and hopefully everybody likes it.
What song were you the most excited to share off of the EP?
I was excited for people for people to hear "Hems." I really was. That is probably one of the most abstract record I have put out. There’s a story there and I really don’t even think I had to say anything. I could almost have hummed that record and arranged it and I feel like it would have resonated because of all the different things that are happening in that record. Putting that record out really brought me joy, as well as the others, but I was the most excited for you guys to hear "Hems."
Your music is heavily influenced by R&B. Who are some artists you listen to outside of that genre that also inspire your work?
The Beatles is one. Coldplay is another. Tina Turner, she's kind of R&B but there are elements of RocknRoll into her stuff that kind of makes her an artist outside of the realm of R&B. Imogen Heap - I adore. Those are the main ones. But then I am a fan of the "24 Hours" reference when it came to the 2010s. I am a fan of early 2010s pop. Like Loud by Rihanna, Teenage Dream by Katy. I Am...Sasha Fierce by Beyonce. I'm sorry, just great pop. I say sorry because a lot of people wouldnt put that into in their top probably, but I don't care. Radio, crazy.
How do you stay motivated in the music industry and what advice do you have for people looking to become musicians?
I think that there are so many things I want to accomplish. My mom always teases me about this but she's like "if I asked you to do anything outside of music, it takes you like forever in a day, but when it has something to do with music, you do it right then." With that being said, there's just so many goals that I want to accomplish with music. Another thing is that I love it. You really don't have to elaborate when it comes to motivation; that love that you have for music, it really outweighs any other thing that would come in between you not going for it. When you love music, you'll go to the grave to make your dream come true. A lot of people understand it and a lot of people don't.
We hope you enjoyed getting to know Michael J. Woodard as much as we did. Find more information about Michael here:
