By: Alexandria McLean

With over two million subscribers on YouTube, Megan Nicole is a YouTube artist that you should have in your subscription box. Posting covers of some of the most popular songs, Megan Nicole has grown as a YouTube artist since 2009. Megan has been able to travel and share her music on worldwide tours. This summer Megan Nicole made three stops in Canada, performing at Family Channel’s Big Ticket Summer Concert!

While in Toronto, The Magazine got the chance to sit down with Megan Nicole. We got the inside scoop on her new EP Escape which is set to release October 14^th! Megan even gave our readers some great advice for anyone wanting to start their own YouTube Channel.

 

 

The Magazine: What first made you decide to start posting to YouTube?

Megan Nicole: My dad was actually the one who encouraged me to post my very first video. Before that, I was just out performing at restaurants, and malls, and open mics. He was like “Hey, have you seen people using this platform to share their covers?” So, I gave it a try and you know definitely put in some hard work of just continually posting and kind of getting those first few comments and taking their requests. It became a slow build because the fans who discovered me, they were the ones who would watch and share the videos and brought me to where I am today. Here, in Toronto!

The Magazine: Any advice for people wanting to start a YouTube channel to showcase their musical talents?

MN: It is so funny to me when kids come up to me and say they want to be a YouTube star! The fact that’s a thing, and I am considered a part of this community as well is pretty insane. I never had the intensions of posting a video to become a YouTube star, but it was more so an outlet to share my music with people. I am very blessed to have the opportunity to tour and travel the world because of it. My biggest advice is to first of all, and I always say this, but no matter how many times I say it, it still rings true, be yourself. Whatever it is that you are doing, whatever kind of videos you are posting, just stay true to who you are because I think people come to that and relate to that. I think if you are putting on a front as well, people will see through it and it would become tiring to be someone you are not all the time. My other advice would be, besides trying to do the YouTube thing, I would encourage them to find those opportunities to do open mics, and sign up for talent shows in your school, because there is nothing like getting up in front of people and performing.

The Magazine: Do you have a favourite cover you have done to date?

MN: I think one of my favourite covers that I have done would have to be, I have done so many, I have done a lot of them…I really like the You Da One, Rihanna rendition I did. I kind of like putting my own twist on that one. Video wise, I did a little parody of The Lazy Song and that one was really fun to make because I had my friends and my sister in the video. We had to do it in one take so it was pretty crazy and fun to make.

The Magazine: How do you choose which song you are going to cover?

MN: I think first of all I look to see what is hot on the Billboard, and the iTunes chart. I did that even more so in the beginning because that is how people were even able to discover my channel because they were searching for these songs and happened to come across my cover. From there, I would just find a song I connect and relate to. Most of the time it is an artist I really like. I saw a comment the other day, “I feel like you do so many Bruno Mars, Katy Perry and Maroon 5 covers,” and well I really like those artists so I think it naturally just happens because I connect with those songs and enjoy them.

The Magazine: What was it like recording and creating your EP?

MN: Yes, I recorded an EP and it is coming out in the fall, October 14^th! It’s called Escape and I am super excited about that. I am actually announcing to my fans next week that it is coming out. I have been kind of hinting at it. This will be really the first original body of music that I am putting out for them. I have put out singles here and there, but this one is really special to me. I had a lot of songs recorded, and I was with a major label for a while, and unfortunately, it just wasn’t the right fit and a lot of those songs I lost and I had to start from scratch recently. Honestly, it was kind of a blessing in a sense, because I have been able to discover music that I want to create and that in itself has been an incredible journey and I hope the fans can relate and connect to the new music.

The Magazine: You co-wrote your new song Electrified. What is your song writing process like?

MN: It was just me and this other guy named Tom. Tom is the one who produced all these songs on the new EP. I co-wrote Electrified with him, and pretty much, yeah, all the songs on the new EP. It was just a really fun process. I have been working with Tom since I was sixteen. He actually did a lot of songs on the old record, which people unfortunately never got to hear. What I really like about Tom is, he was the one who really understood the direction I wanted to take the music in and he is also very patient in the sense of giving me a chance when we are writing to give me a second, and pull things out of me. Where other times, the people just go really fast, especially when you are co-writing with two other people who have written together before and they are just bouncing back an forth. Of course at the end of the day, it always reflects me walking out of that room in a writing session. This album even more so I feel like it reflects me even more because a lot of those words are words I am saying and want to communicate. I think that is the reason that this piece is special to me.

The Magazine: You have been posting a lot of pictures on social media from your Electrified music video. Any spoilers on what we can expect from the music video?

MN: The music video just think 80’s aerobic. That’s basically it. That’s the video. My videos are very quirky, that’s for sure. I always encourage people not to take themselves to seriously.

The Magazine: What are you most excited for with performing at Big Ticket Summer?

MN: This whole experience has just been incredible. These are some of the largest crowds that I have performed in front of before. The energy of the kids and teens out there is just insane. When I walked out for the first time in Halifax, for the first show of the series, I could hear all the screams and I got chills all of a sudden. This is real! I am here! These people are supporting me and my music, and it’s wonderful to be here in this moment!

Thanks Megan Nicole!

Be sure to subscribe to Megan Nicole’s YouTube Channel and check out all her amazing covers!

All photos were taken by the writer, all rights reserved.