In this weeks episode of Pop Culture Weekly, Kyle McMahon talks with country star Cassadee Pope about her new album Rise and Shine, hitting #1, The Voice and so much more!
While the COVID-19 pandemic may be affecting many things, creativity isn’t one of them. Country star Cassadee Pope was due to record her third album this Spring when the pandemic hit. That meant the full band backed album she had planned wouldn’t work out the way it was supposed to. Pope could have done it virtually, but likes the feel of being involved creatively and in person. Her solution: release an acoustic record.
Rise and Shine, her third album and first acoustic album, reflects what’s going on in the world, where she is at and what she wants to say right now. It’s not just lyrically that may seem a bit different, her sound is a bit different as well. “I wanted to make a Dashboard Confessional album with my voice”, she told me in the latest episode of Pop Culture Weekly. “I also wanted this album to act as a bridge into the next project that I’ll hopefully get to do at the end of the year. I am going more pop rock and these songs specifically were perfect for that.”
When I asked her what inspired her as she recorded Rise and Shine, Pope stated: “I’ve always been a really big fan of Michelle Branch. I’ve always loved the way that her lyrics are conversational but there’s so much depth there and then she slaps an amazing melody on top of it. I’m a sucker for a catchy melody. I’ve always been a fan of hers”. “I love organic sounds. I love pop and that stuff is amazing too. There’s a lot of my old stuff that has a lot of stuff in it. Strings and synths and sample loops. I’m in a time in my life where the nostalgia is real and I want to get in touch with it. I want to get back to...my roots are country but I want get the area right above the roots which is Pop Rock. So it’s kind of like coming home which feels good.”
You can check out my interview with Cassadee Pope in the video above or listen to the podcast version on the iHeart radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Rise and Shine releases in July.
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