Friday, February 20, 2015 10:18am ET by  
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Sophie and the Bom Boms interview: 'I have so many songs I feel like I could put out 20 albums'

Sophie Stern has previously written music for the likes of Britney Spears and Kesha, so it's a good bet that her Sophie and the Boms Boms project will be somewhat hit-strewn.

The Los Angeles singer is releasing the single 'Power' in the UK on Monday (February 23) and Pressparty caught up with Stern to find out more about the track, songwriting and working with Dr. Luke.

Your single ‘Power’ is out soon - what’s the meaning behind the song?

I wrote it because I feel like power and money are such a driving force. It’s like either they want more power and money or they want to be around more power and money. I feel like people act so funny towards power and money, whether they have it, whether they want to be around it or whether they don’t have it.

Have you come across that much in the music industry?

Well that’s kind of where my inspiration came from. I see it all the time.

Do you think it’s a good introduction for people who haven’t heard your music yet?

I think it’s a good song of who I am - the attitude, the beat behind it.  I think who I am is like a mixture of pop and hip-hop. From my last EP 'Shmixtape'...I feel like it’s a good transition to my new music.

Are there any specific music acts you take influence from?

I’ve listen to a lot old school Aretha Franklin, that kind of music. I listen to a lot of pop music, I listen to Lauryn Hill, Kendrick Lamar. I don’t know how it all comes out through music, but they all inspire me.

You did a fair bit of writing in years gone by - do you prefer performing or writing?

Performing, forever. I’ve been street performing for the last couple of years - I cannot sit in the studio for a while without performing.

 

 

 

You’ve written for acts like Britney Spears - what’s the process behind it? Do you ever get to meet them?

I do. I’ve gotten to meet lots of people that I’ve written for. I never met Britney, but I walked by her once and I forgot that I wrote a song for her and I felt bad for not saying hi. There’s been some amazing artists I’ve worked with. It’s different writing for other people than writing for myself because when writing for them, I’m trying to get out what they might want to say or just something that might be cool for that style of music. When I write for myself it’s really from my heart and what I want to say.

What’s the secret to writing the perfect song?

I really think it’s just writing something that you really mean. I think good melody and lyrics are important, but if you’re saying something so deeply from your heart, there’s no way it can be wrong. I was a music school nerd and I took a songwriting class and I was the only person that got kicked out of it. The teacher put a song on the board - it was a hit Fiona Apple song - and he was saying why it was wrong because the format wasn’t right. And I said there’s no way it can be wrong because it was so from her heart and people got it. Fiona Apple is amazing, I love her.

So will writing for others go on the back burner now?

I’ll do it once in a while if there’s a project that I really love or really want to work on, but mostly I just write for my own project now because it takes all my heart to write my own stuff.

I read you were signed to Dr. Luke as a writer?

He and his team have been amazing for my songwriting career, helping me get in the door that way. 

He’s had a bit of negative publicity recently - has your experience of the producer been good?

He’s been nothing but amazing for me and my career. He was very helpful at the beginning, so I have a lot of respect for him that way.

How does it feel being an American breaking into the UK? As historically it’s been quite hard for Britons to break America.

I’ve loved the UK for so long. I came over here first to work with Conor Maynard on his stuff and then I got so much inspiration that I really just wanted to come back. I grew up in Los Angeles and I was like ready to come here for a change and see what London’s about. I love it over here.

In terms of your future plans, are you working towards an album?

Yeah, I am. I have so many songs I feel like I could put out 20 albums. I’m just trying to put out one song at a time, but then I’ll put out a full-length album.

How far do you think can you go? Do you have any goals?

I just want to keep playing music forever and connect with people that way.

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Listen to Sophie and the Bom Boms' 'Power' below: