Dean Lewis on Freestyling Eminem, Finding Inspiration, and His Newest Album ‘The Hardest Love'
Photo by Kent Tarver
Australian singer-songwriter Dean Lewis has had a flourishing success on the global charts following his 2016 hit-single, “Waves,” and continues to achieve amazing success for every year that goes by. The singer recently began his newest tour in Australia and is heading to Europe in a few weeks to continue to take the world by storm with his talent. We had the opportunity to sit down with Dean Lewis in an exclusive press conference to talk about everything from the inspiration for his second album, The Hardest Love, and his newest single “How Do I Say Goodbye,” to past relationships and hardships.
Dean was asked about the story his album was telling, to which the singer began by explaining that it was written during the COVID-19 pandemic which gave him plenty of time to self-reflect. The album is essentially a time capsule of everything that was going on in his life from love to sickness, and loss. A major reason why the singer has accumulated such a loyal fan base is because he continues to be vulnerable about difficult topics, with hard-hitting, emotional lyrics, strong vocals and a beautiful sound.
People expressed what his music means to them by sharing their personal stories while Dean was listening intensely and chiming in with thoughtful commentary, as well as expressing his gratitude towards his fans. The singer was immensely excited to connect with music lovers and be able to share this important moment with them. With his excited energy and continuous smile you could truly understand the importance of connecting his music with his audience.
When asked about the storytelling devices used for his songs, he said, “There was a song that I heard by Bruce Springsteen, Dancing in the Dark, and he used very specific things. So I really like drawing scenes.” Dean continued to explain that he enjoyed using dialog in his songs to create a scene in which the listener can understand it as a scene in a movie. He explains that the use of this stems from enjoying the details of the stories, and mentioning that; “I’m really trying to define my own style, and I don’t think I’ve done it a hundred percent yet, but I've zoned in on the things you’re saying,” referring to the storytelling devices he’s prone to incorporate in his songs. By aiming to establish his true and distinguished sound, he hopes to be able to expand on the current element he uses without simply copying it - he wants it to be new and exciting while still being his own.
Surprisingly, Dean names Eminem as a musical influence, in addition to bands such as Goo Goo Dolls and The Fray. On the European tour, Dean would sing Iris and the crowd would go crazy as it is such a beloved song. Further, he explains that his songs “Be Alright” and "Hurtless” have been inspired by elements from the Eminem song, “Sta.” I think it’s incredible that an artist can be influenced by such opposing genres and still create something that is beautifully his own.
Dean continues to say that, “When I was like twelve or whatever, and I was with my brothers, I used to freestyle and it was so embarrassing. I was so bad at it but I think that it really helped my songwriting.” Again, Dean is referring to listening to Eminem and D12 while messing around with his brothers.
Photo by Kent Tarver
When discussing deeper themes and hardships, his track “How Do I Say Goodbye” is in focus. The song presents an incredibly heart-wrenching and vulnerable story about his father’s cancer diagnosis and coming to terms with it. Dean opens up and expresses the importance of telling this story, and expressing his thankfulness for his father being okay. When performing the song on stage, the crowd was crying, and it made him realize the importance of vulnerability in music. The lyrics are incredibly direct and he explains that the melody fits perfectly, which makes the entire song feel more beautiful.
Continuing along the same wavelength with the song, a question about his favorite lyrics on the album was asked in which Dean responded that he will “never write anything as good as this again” while referring to the lyric “How do I say goodbye to someone who's been with me my whole damn life. You gave me my name and the color of my eyes, I see your face when I look at mine.”
While discussing the most important things to understand when listening to his music, Dean mentions that for the music to feel genuine it must be a song for you. He says that you have to write for yourself about your own life experiences and allow yourself to be open in order to even have a chance of creating something that can connect with others. Dean says that the most important thing is that; “It means something to people, and that is an incredible thing. You see those comments and you go, wow this is really impacting people.”
The singer expressed the rarity of having a hit song in America when you’re from Australia because everything is coming and going quickly in the current culture of music. Specifically, he mentions that there are gatekeepers everywhere, and while you might have a hit single one day, you can essentially become irrelevant the next. This is all because everything is moving incredibly fast, which makes artists work even harder to be able to achieve greatness. He believes it is important to keep true to oneself and write about what is genuine. Dean keeps working relentlessly to create great songs that are important to him and that he hopes will resonate with others as well.
With his songs already being immensely popular in Europe and Australia, he is aiming to achieve a sold-out tour in America as this would be an incredible next goal for him. I have a strong belief that Dean Lewis will only continue to flourish from here!
